Less than a year after America’s entry in World War II, British and U.S. forces – under the command of Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower – executed an unprecedented joint invasion that would serve as a blueprint for all future operations in Europe.

Code named Operation Torch, the November 1942 mission entailed a series of amphibious assaults on Vichy French-controlled Morocco and Algeria. For the first time, a military force would assemble in the U.S., cross an ocean, and land on a hostile shore. Eisenhower also faced the prospect of combat operations against French forces, which had staunchly stood with the U.S. since the American Revolution.

Louis DiMarco, a military historian at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, discusses the bold plan, the military and political weight on Eisenhower, and the strategic importance of the successful mission.