It's the evening of November 7th, 1942. In the moonless night floating in the Western
Mediterranean the men of the 1st Ranger Battalion are steaming towards Vichy-held
Algeria. The U.S. has been at war for almost a year and is about to make its combat debut
against the European Axis in North Africa. The Rangers are under the command of Lieutenant
Colonel William Darby and have been aboard three British passenger ferries for two weeks.
Just part of a 96 ship task force bound for Oran, Algeria; the central prong of Operation Torch,
the invasion of Northwest Africa. Fifty Rangers from across the battalion had been
attached to the British Commandos and Canadians during the ill-fated Dieppe raid in August.
However, the battalion hass yet to undertake its own independent operation. This is their day. The
Central Task Force area of operations is centered on the port city of Oran split into three landing
sectors. To the west, X Sector will land a part of the 1st Armored Division's Combat Command
B while Y Sector lands the 26th Regimental Combat Team. At Oran's port, a small and ultimately
unsuccessful anti-sabotage mission codenamed Operation Reservist will also be attempted by
two armored infantry companies. But the largest force will land at Z Sector to the east. The
3-mile-long beachhead will receive Combat Command B's Task Force Red, as well as a 16th and 18th
Regimental Combat Teams (two-thirds of the 1st Infantry Division). The Rangers will be directly
supporting the 1st Infantry at Z Sector. Directly overlooking the beach is the city of Arzew. The
19th century colonial settlement is home to a navy seaplane base and multiple barracks. Its harbor is
enclosed by two jetties with a retractable boom to close it off from the open ocean. The city sits on
the harbor's western bank while the northern bank is occupied mainly by warehouses, docks
and a rail line. The rail separates the docks from the Djebel Sicioum heights overlooking the city.
Arzew was defended by colonial troops from the 1st Company of the 16th Tunisian Tirailleur Regiment
as well as one battery of the 68th African Artillery Regiment. In case of invasion they'd be
integrated into a battalion task force with units from throughout the area. But when the Rangers
land, the French will be caught undeployed. The 5th Torpedo Flotilla's two torpedo squadrons (navy
units equipped with Latécoère 298 seaplanes) are also stationed on the southern end of the harbor.
On the north end, 2 naval coastal artillery batteries guard the harbor.
Two 75 millimeter cannons are manned at Fort de la Pointe, while 500 yards to the northeast
a 4-piece 105 millimeter battery sits on the high ground near the block house serving Fort du Nord,
These two batteries directly threaten the main landing zones and have to be neutralized.
That's where the Rangers come in. Their mission is to seize the key terrain north of the city,
destroy the batteries and hold them until relieved by elements of the 1st Infantry Division.
In order to maintain the element of surprise the Rangers will land in two elements so they can take
the objectives in quick succession. Battalion XO Major Herman Dammer will lead a task force
directly into the harbor and seize fort de la pointe. Darby meanwhile will lead a larger force
in taking out the northern battery. At 12:50 a.m., Task Force Dammer consisting of Able and
Baker Companies launch from HMS Royal Scotsman and 8 LCAs. Heavily inspired by the british commandos,
the Ranger Battalion is organized so one company can be carried in 2 British LCA landing craft.
But Dammer Force is also reinforced with HQ elements and naval gunfire liaisons.
These craft reach the harbor at about 1:30 a.m. catching the French unaware. However,
the moonless night disorients the pilots and they enter the harbor incorrectly. They circle around,
exit and re-enter multiple times, hitting the jetties along the way. At some point
the French became suspicious of all the activity and lowered the boom that closed off the harbor.
But the craft were eventually able to correct themselves and land west of fort de la pointe.
The assault on the fort will be handled by Able Company, but first Baker Company
must set up a blocking position to ensure the French in the city can't reinforce the fort.
Baker Company's 2nd Platoon under Lieutenant James Larkin lands first and immediately
establishes a defensive perimeter across the rail line and street intersections.
Meanwhile, 1st Platoon under Lieutenant Dean Knudson set up a line north of the
fort running from the eastern coastline through a cemetery. With this move the fort is completely
isolated. For the defensive effort Baker Company has been reinforced with 6 M1919
belt fed MGs from the battalion weapons pool. The Rangers take after the British Commandos in having
a weapons pool for tailoring their otherwise barebones companies to specific missions.
Baker's 60 millimeter mortars are also on standby to support the fort assault if necessary.
Meanwhile Able Company under Captain Steve Meade follows up in short order passing through Baker's
lines towards the fort. The whole landing process is complete within 10 minutes. Able moves in two
platoons with Lieutenant Jacob's 1st Platoon heading for a grassy embankment on the fort's
northwest corner and Lieutenant Dirks heading for the front gate. As platoon scouts reach the
fort they're challenged by a French sentry who calls out, "Who are you?" The rangers answer,
"We're your friends," earning safe passage to the fort. As 2nd Platoon reaches the front gate,
firing can be heard nearby as Frenchmen attempt to flee. It's time to go. Second Platoon gives the
signal to commence the assault, with Jacob's first section leading the charge over the embankment.
Moving in two squads first platoon breaks through the barbed wire and scales the fort walls.
While the alarm is raised, the dazed fort garrison surrenders with Able securing a
bag of 60 prisoners and both howitzers. To signal their success, Major Dammer launches a red flare
at 2:15 a.m. A U.S. Navy base unit under Captain Walter Ansel supported by a Royal
Navy port party and 12 U.S. Marines are already at work seizing the crewed vessels in the harbor.
Shortly after mission success, Dammer starts sending out patrols to secure
the oil refinery north of the fort. The southern attack, wrapped up in 35 minutes,
remains consistent with today's doctrine for assaulting a strongpoint. Prior to mission start,
Darby and Dammer indirectly reconnoitered the objective via aerial photography and intelligence
reports and developed the concept. Baker Company effectively isolated the objective to prevent the
enemy reinforcement or withdrawal. Able Company then breached the fort's wire obstacles and
exploited their foothold before the enemy could react to clear the objective with no casualties.
But with some Vichy troops in the city now aware of the Rangers' presence, Baker Company begins
taking fire from reinforcements reacting to the fort siren. At this point Lieutenant Larkin and
his runner Technician 5th Grade Murray Katzen advance half a mile forward to scout out for
snipers. Finding nothing Larkin returns to the Platoon CP, but Katzen continues.
With his Thompson and a spare BAR, he sweeps the French barracks in the cities east. Encountering
the French Katzen pulls the pin on a grenade and with it held above his head forces the surrender
of 42 Vichy marines. For this action he was retroactively awarded the Bronze Star with a V
for valor in 1952. Meanwhile Darby Force set off from the HMS Ulster Monarch and Royal Ulsterman
about 30 minutes after Dammer. The task force includes Charlie, Dog, Easy and Fox Companies,
plus HQ elements. Dog Company has been detailed as a mortar battery with four 81 millimeter mortars
for providing indirect fire support on objective. However, Darby force's journey to shore encounters
more problems than Dammer. First, one of his LCAs is lowered into the water asymmetrically, flooding
it and sending its passengers, radios and flares for signaling mission success into the drink.
The rescue effort and darkness causes a great deal of confusion requiring the Ulster Monarch
to guide the landing craft in itself. Before reaching the beach, one of Fox Company's LCAs
runs aground on the rocks 30 yards from shore, leaving most of the platoon stranded. But the
rest of the force makes it ashore behind schedule, scaling the 15 foot cliffs overlooking the cove.
After subduing a sentry, they set off on a 3-mile road march towards their objective.
Following the coastal highway Darby's force eventually cuts southwest making the slow trek up
the height to the battery's rear. By this point, Dammer has already captured Fort de la Pointe.
As Darby approaches the objective he transitions into an attack formation with scouts forward.
Dog Company sets up their 81 millimeter mortars at the base of a ravine
500 yards north of the battery. At around 3 a.m. the force runs into layered bands of barbed wire
just short of the battery [14 ft tall]. Just as they're about to break through the final
layer the French artillerymen unleash a hail of fire over darby's head. Unable to advance,
Darby makes a call for fire from Dog Company. A barrage of at least 50 mortar rounds follow.
Deadly accurate they adequately suppress the defenders for the final assault.
Once taken, Darby silences the cannons by shoving explosive bangalore torpedoes down their barrels.
With their objective complete, Darby force moves down the hill to take Fort du Nord. The breach
is spearheaded by Easy Company's Edwin Dean who charges in only to have the drum magazine fall
from his Thompson. Luckily this is only met with laughter from the French and the fort commandant
surrenders in his pajamas. As the convalescence home for sick and injured foreign legionnaires
the fort falls with relatively little drama. With all the 1st Rangers' objectives complete, Darby
launches green flares at 4 a.m. to signal mission success. However, this isn't what the navy was
expecting. They were meant to launch red and green flares followed by a white star cluster to signal
the entire mission's completion. However they lost their white star clusters during the sunken
landing craft incident earlier in the morning. With ship-to-shore communications lacking,
the Royal Navy sent out a party at 5 a.m. to make contact with Darby and confirm mission success.
By then elements of the 1st Infantry Division had already made it ashore. The 3rd Battalion
of the 18th Regimental Combat Team moved on Arzew from the south and encountered Vichy resistance at
4 a.m. They readily captured a barracks taking 62 prisoners as well as the naval station at the base
of the southern jetty after shelling it with 60 millimeter mortars. The 13 torpedo armed seaplanes
in the harbor were also captured. By mid-morning on the 8th the city of Arzew was mostly secure,
save for some lone snipers and a 75 millimeter howitzer in the hills that sporadically shelled
the landing ships that had anchored close offshore. After two days spent attached to the
18th RCT containing French forces at Saint Cloud, the Rangers returned to the city on November 10th.
There they assumed rear echelon duties and Colonel Darby was made the town's of mayor.
Here they'd remain, training amphibious assaults and urban operations until it was
time to move out again in February 1943. This time to Tunisia to conduct raids against the Italians.
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