I just read that a portuguese spy, who was following allied convoys for the U-Boats, was on the verge of alerting the germans that the Torch forces were heading for North Africa. The british, through Ultra, detected it and arrested him in his boat in mid-Atlantic.
Well, I always thought that, if the Axis had any chance to stop an allied landing, Torch was it.
They still had a sizeable air force, they had the italian navy and air force and, more important,they had the Vichy forces. The french had a lot of airplanes and ships, and in OTL, caught by surprise, did defend themselves. The allies had two weak points: initial dependance on carrier based aircraft and Axis considerable naval power.
Imagine the portuguese gets his way and germans get the news with a one or two day advance. Could Torch have ended in failure?
And if so, how does it affect the course of the war?
Well, I always thought that, if the Axis had any chance to stop an allied landing, Torch was it.
They still had a sizeable air force, they had the italian navy and air force and, more important,they had the Vichy forces. The french had a lot of airplanes and ships, and in OTL, caught by surprise, did defend themselves. The allies had two weak points: initial dependance on carrier based aircraft and Axis considerable naval power.
Imagine the portuguese gets his way and germans get the news with a one or two day advance. Could Torch have ended in failure?
And if so, how does it affect the course of the war?