Early 1942 - Operation Torch begins
We saw that the Netherland cruisers came in Cape St. Vincent to seek the Axis shipping supplying Morocco; and in turn Regia Marina reacted.
The W.Allied naval power reacted as swift as they could, dispatching in the sector
four British CVs, and an amount of other naval assets to support the core of their force.
But the Regia Marina surprised in night naval combat the W.Allied force, a small task force of Italy composed of cruisers snuck through the pickets of the W.Allied and sunk the unaware Ark Royal. In the pursuit combat as the Italian cruisers were disengaging with haste the salvos damaged a heavy cruiser per side.
Both sides insisted in remaining in the sea zone, the Netherland cruisers alone (sitting on their own at the 4 box) found the Axis convoys. Alas to much of their dismay they were under heavy escort, both Littorio class BBs and other two older BBs
The Dutch admiral issued an all out attack despite being severely outgunned damaged one of the old BBs (and after having avoided the Macchi 200 flying over. On a relevant note, we use a "house" rule that I saw debated on the Yahoo WiF group having the range of land based planes affecting how many surprise points are to be expended to avoid naval-air combat).
Then the sides simply did not met any further.
With the start of March / April 1942, the W.Allies start Operation Torch - the landings in Marocco (and in this case, Marocco only!).
Sailing from the Canaries and from Spanish Sahara two US task forces joins in with the Royal Navy carrier escort, meanwhile the US bring directly from their homeland new bombers into the Canaries.
The Abwher reports that the W.Allies had plans for a more grand attack including double invasion at once, at Mogador and Rabat. But ultimately (deemed too risky and prone to Axis counterattack at Rabat) the W.Allied landed with certainty of making it ashore at Mogador, earning a new port and bypassing the mountain ranges branching to kiss the seaside.
The Regia Aereonautica had based at Mogador a fighter squadron, that was promptly evacuated.
In the while the fresly arrived F.M. Von Leeb (shipped via train in Jan / Feb) found his headquarter in Casablanca under the bombs of carrier-borne strike groups of the Royal Navy. Something new to the poor F.M. Von Leeb, used to the Soviet Front where the VVS was reduced to its knees by the end of '41 Summer.
Goering justifies the fact the new FW190 in Marocco are still "new" to the pilots as well and they're to get used to its potential. (The 7 strong German fighter got slipped under its nose both CVPs going to bomb, escorted by 2 * 4 strong Fulmars!)
Nonetheless, the results of the Royal Navy strike groups are negligible.
The Condor Force - the long range group of the Luftwaffe, indeed composed of Condors (2 of them!) and operating from Lisbon was tasked to immobilize the beachead of the W.Allies - where the US boldly and without air cover of sort (as the RN spent its Fulmars already) issued also 2 tactical squadrons, revealing grand ability in adapting the smaller airfield for the Italian fighters to a larger airstrip allowing to operate twin engined medium bombers.
The Condor Force, veteran from the campaign of Gibraltar and with experience in raiding naval shipping lanes, found in this new task an astonishing success - their report informing F.M. Von Leeb that the US Marine corps were left in disarray and that the airstrips were so littered with craters that the US forces were unable to operate.
(The two Condors nailed 4 units out of 5 in Mogador; leaving only the MAR-Division untouched. 2 MAR and 2 LND3 disrupted at once!)
Feeling a potential victory at hand F.M. Von Leeb issued immediate counterattack before the W.Allied could reinforce the beachead and thrust from the Spanish Sahara with their armoured forces.
Alas Mussolini had other plans originally - and was not expecting the Condor Force to achieve such success.
Von Leeb, supported by 2 Italian Corps, attack nonetheless the beachead; but the US Marine Corps give a good show of tenacity, exhaust quickly the attackers and secure not only the beachead itself but lay down the premise for a disaster for the Axis.
In the while the DAK was formed in France from other regular Panzer formations, and dispatched via train to Casablanca (railed this turn there), but F.M. Von Leeb was in haste, before the W.Allies could reorganize themselves.
(The W.Allies have Clark-HQ on a TRS and a 7-3 INF on an AMPH in the sea zone. That means the next impulse they can move of 1 hex their Marine Division and have the HQ and the INF simply debark. A very dangerous situation for the now disrupted Von Leeb.)
Recap of losses of 2 Impulses of Jan / Feb and 1 of March / April each:
Allied losses:
Ark Royal + Fulmar + Pilot.
2 Dutch cruiser destroyed. (One of them had no place to return on being aborted. Ports filled with US ships).
Axis losses:
1 Italian INF
