Good idea on liberating Africa. After all, you can get African divisions that way.
That was the general idea behind the liberation
Very nice gains, Africa seems open for the taking. I have to agree with sentiments already expressed, giving each respective African nation its own independance is probably the best bet. Creating a sole African union/nation, seems quite a radical idea.
It is radical, but I also thought it would be cool at first. but I have decided against it.
After months of advancing through almost empty territory, Bradley finally encountered some resistance. The resistance came in the form of a rather large force of Vichy troops who where garrisoning Tunis. However, Bradley had a plan to force their surrender. He ordered Clark to split his force into two halves. One would remain to defend the Kasserine Pass. The other would take Sousse in the South while he seized Bizerte in the North. The Vichy troops would then be surrounded and either forced to surrender or wiped out to the last man.
Admiral Kimmel and his force of Light Cruisers was also ordered to Sydney to join up with Admiral Hart and serve as escorts to his transports.
The French forces in Tunis also made a move and were able to force the unit left behind by Clark in Kasserine to retreat. This force Clark to double back to defend the region and Bradley to request reinforcements. He was granted use of General Simpson's unit over the objections of Patton, as Simpson was currently commanding seven divisions in Spain. These were to take up Clark's former position in Sousse and help in the pincer.
The French also sent a force to Bizerte to try and halt Bradley, but it was to no avail as Bradley brushed them aside.
Clark managed to halt the advance on Kasserine and Bradley finally reached Bizerte despite the delay.
Shortly after this, the French launched another attack on Kasserine. Bradley and Simpson used that opportunity to launch an attack on Tunis.
After two battles, the first of which destroyed the bulk of the French force, and halted the advance on Kasserine and the second that forced the remaining 8 divisions to surrender, The French were annihalated and Bradley was able to advance on Tunis.
Back in West Africa, the Americans had seized yet more territory with little to no resistance and were no advancing on some of the last remnants of French North Africa.
In North Africa, the Germans sent a force to try and defend French North Africa. Bradley, using what would become something of a signature tactic, intended to surround and destroy this unit as well and ordered Clark to advance on Gafsa.
Meanwhile, in the Mediterranean, Francois Darlan was able to catch Admiral Leahy's transport fleet in the open without escort, something that had not happened outside of the Pacific since the Kriegsmarine was decimated.
He was able to retreat but lost a transport in the process.
Clark also managed to seize Gafsa.
However, with the Leahy refusing to risk his fleet again without protection and Nimitz fleet in need of repair, the original plan, to ferry Simpson to Gabes behind the lines, had to be scrapped. Instead, he would march overland into Gafsa and Clark would march into Gabes.
A curious event also happened in West Africa. some retreating Spanish soldiers retreated directly into the Siguiri region, which was behind American lines.
This force was destroyed and Marshal ordered to retake it.
After this happened, Generals Richardson and Weaver reached Taoudeni. Richardson then was ordered to seize the once great city of Timbuktu and Weaver was ordered to advance on Gao.
Back in the Pacific, Admiral Kimmel linked up with Hart and put his fleet of carriers at his command.
Meanwhile, two of the recently constructed carriers where rechristened. After many suggested that FDR did not deserve a carrier named after himself after the state he left the military in, the Carrier was rechristened as the
Nathan Madien, after one of Truman's advisors. Also, after much confusion over why a Carrier was named after an insignificant pair of islands, the
Midway was renamed the
Avenger,
Soon after, the encirclement of the German division was complete and Bradley attacked and annihilated them.
Truman was ecstatic. In Africa, he had finally found a place where he could seize massive amounts of territory very quickly and potentially break the stalemate. If North Africa and the Suez Canal could be seize and the Middle East invaded, he could deprive the Axis, and especially, Italy, of a major source of oil. Only time would tell if such expectations were justified.