The Allied landings in Morocco and Algeria were an easy battle: Vichy French troops were the original opponent, and they quickly changed sides. But 'Torch' was the first successful strategic offensive, and American troops crossed the Atlantic for the first time.

Victory in Tunisia, the invasion of Sicily and the Italian surrender followed. But 'Torch' and the Mediterranean strategy, urged by the British and accepted by Roosevelt, meant ultimately that there would be no cross-Channel landing in 1943.

The battle of Alamein , fought later that November, was much bloodier and a decisive British victory, but 'Torch' had a deeper significance