Mediterranean Theater of Operations
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The Mediterranean Theater of Operations, United States Army (MTOUSA), originally called the North African Theater of Operations, United States Army (NATOUSA), was a
military formation Military organization or military organisation is the structuring of the armed forces of a State (polity), state so as to offer such military capability as a military policy, national defense policy may require. In some countries paramilitary ...
of the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
that supervised all U.S. Army forces which fought in
North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
and
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. United States Army operations in the theater began with
Operation Torch Operation Torch (8 November 1942 – Run for Tunis, 16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of secu ...
, when
Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
forces landed on the beaches of northwest Africa on 8 November 1942, and concluded in the Italian Alps some 31 months later, with the German surrender in Italy on 2 May 1945. For administrative purposes, U.S. components were responsible to Headquarters North African Theater of Operations, United States Army (NATOUSA), which was created 14 February 1943. NATOUSA was redesignated Mediterranean Theater of Operations, United States Army (MTOUSA), on 26 October 1944.


Origins

Allied Force Headquarters (AFHQ) was created on 12 September 1942 to launch
Operation Torch Operation Torch (8 November 1942 – Run for Tunis, 16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of secu ...
, the Allied invasion of
French North Africa French North Africa (french: Afrique du Nord française, sometimes abbreviated to ANF) is the term often applied to the territories controlled by France in the North African Maghreb during the colonial era, namely Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. In ...
. At the time, this was within the boundaries of the
European Theater of Operations, United States Army The European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) was a Theater of Operations responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the European theatre of World War II, from 1942 to 1945. It commanded Army Ground Fo ...
(ETOUSA). The initial Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the Allied (Expeditionary) Force, was
Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
. Lieutenant General
Mark W. Clark Mark Wayne Clark (May 1, 1896 – April 17, 1984) was a United States Army officer who saw service during World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. He was the youngest four-star general in the US Army during World War II. During World War I ...
was deputy commander-in-chief. As Supreme Allied Commander, Eisenhower controlled the ground forces through
Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
George S. Patton Jr, Major General Lloyd R. Fredendall, and British Lieutenant-General Sir Kenneth Anderson. The naval forces were commanded by British
Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...
Sir
Andrew Browne Cunningham Admiral of the Fleet Andrew Browne Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope, (7 January 1883 – 12 June 1963) was a senior officer of the Royal Navy during the Second World War. He was widely known by his initials, "ABC". Cunningham ...
, and the air forces by Air Marshal Sir William Welsh and
Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...
James H. Doolittle James Harold Doolittle (December 14, 1896 – September 27, 1993) was an American military general and aviation pioneer who received the Medal of Honor for his daring raid on Japan during World War II. He also made early coast-to-coast flights ...
.


North African Theater of Operations

The North African Theater of Operations (NATO) included French Africa, Spain, Portugal and Italy. For administrative purposes, US forces were controlled by Headquarters North African Theater of Operations, United States Army (NATOUSA), which was activated in
Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...
on 4 February 1943. Eisenhower commanded both the Allied Force and NATOUSA. The boundaries of NATOUSA were not the same as those of the Allied theater, and included all of French North Africa, Spain, Portugal, Austria and Switzerland. Brigadier General Everett S. Hughes, who had been responsible for the logistical planning of Operation Torch at ETOUSA, arrived in North Africa on 12 February 1943 to become the deputy theater commander and commanding general of the
Communications Zone {{Short description, Aspect of military theater of war operations Communications Zone is a US Army and NATO term which describes a part of the theater of war operations. The Communications Zone is the rear part of theater of operations (behind but ...
. The three base sections, the Atlantic Base Section at
Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...
, the Mediterranean Base Section at
Oran Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...
and the Eastern Base Section at
Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I *Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...
, became part of the
Services of Supply The Services of Supply or "SOS" branch of the Army of the USA was created on 28 February 1942 by Executive Order Number 9082 "Reorganizing the Army and the War Department" and War Department Circular No. 59, dated 2 March 1942. Services of Supp ...
, North African Theater of Operations, United States Army (SOS NATOUSA), commanded by Major General
Thomas B. Larkin Lieutenant General Thomas Bernard Larkin (December 15, 1890 – October 17, 1968) was a military officer who served as the 32nd Quartermaster General of the United States Army. Early life Larkin was born in Louisburg, Wisconsin and attended th ...
, which was responsible for the logistical support of U.S. Army forces in the Mediterranean. British
General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...
Sir
Harold Alexander Harold Rupert Leofric George Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis, (10 December 1891 – 16 June 1969) was a senior British Army officer who served with distinction in both the First and the Second World War and, afterwards, as Governor G ...
became commander of the British 18th Army Group, which was activated on 19 February 1943, and was responsible for the detailed planning and preparation, and the actual conduct, of combat operations. In effect, Alexander was the ground commander. Air forces were grouped under the Mediterranean Air Command under Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder, which became active the day before. This included the US Ninth and
Twelfth Air Force The Twelfth Air Force (12 AF; Air Forces Southern, (AFSOUTH)) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. The command is the air component to ...
s. For the
Allied invasion of Sicily The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis powers ( Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany). It bega ...
, Alexander was appointed Eisenhower's deputy commander in chief and responsible for ground warfare, while Cunningham and Tedder remained the naval and air commanders respectively. Having overseen the early stages of the Italian Campaign, Eisenhower left AFHQ on 8 January 1944 and returned to England to assume command of the forces assembling for
Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The operat ...
, codename for the Allied landings in Northwest Europe. He was succeeded as Supreme Allied Commander in the Mediterranean by British General Sir
Henry Maitland Wilson Field Marshal Henry Maitland Wilson, 1st Baron Wilson, (5 September 1881 – 31 December 1964), also known as Jumbo Wilson, was a senior British Army officer of the 20th century. He saw active service in the Second Boer War and then during the ...
. Lieutenant General
Jacob L. Devers Jacob Loucks Devers (; 8 September 1887 – 15 October 1979) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the 6th Army Group in the European Theater during World War II. He was involved in the development and adoption of numerous w ...
became Wilson's Deputy Supreme Commander and also the commanding general of NATOUSA. Operation Dragoon, the Allied landings in Southern France, was conducted by the Mediterranean Theater. An advance echelon of SOS NATOUSA was organized in Italy and arrived at
Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...
on 12 September to control the Delta Base Section and Continental Advance Section (CONAD). SOS NATOUSA became Communications Zone (COMZONE) NATOUSA on 1 October, Lieutenant General Joseph T. McNarney succeeded Devers as the Deputy Commander of NATOUSA on 22 October, allowing Devers to devote all his time and energy to running the
6th Army Group The 6th United States Army Group was an Allied Army Group that fought in the European Theater of Operations during World War II. Made up of field armies from both the United States Army and the French Army, it fought in France, Germany, Au ...
in France. The 6th Army Group was activated on 1 August, and it became operational in France on 15 September. NATOUSA was redesignated Mediterranean Theater of Operations, United States Army (MTOUSA), on 1 November 1944, and no longer had any responsibilities in Southern France. MTOUSA boundaries were considerably diminished (on the north) from those of NATOUSA, and U.S. Army forces in southern France passed to the administrative control of ETOUSA. The forces in Southern France had their own line of communications from MTOUSA, but by February 1945 the integration of the Southern Line of Communications (SOLOC) with ETO Communications Zone had progressed to the point where the SOLOC headquarters was superfluous, and SOLOC was abolished on 6 February 1945. Wilson remained Supreme Allied Commander for just under a year, until 21 November 1944, when he was sent to Washington to head of the
British Joint Staff Mission British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
, a position rendered vacant by the death of
Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...
Sir
John Dill Sir John Greer Dill, (25 December 1881 – 4 November 1944) was a senior British Army officer with service in both the First World War and the Second World War. From May 1940 to December 1941 he was the Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS ...
on 4 November 1944. Wilson was succeeded by Field Marshal Sir
Harold Alexander Harold Rupert Leofric George Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis, (10 December 1891 – 16 June 1969) was a senior British Army officer who served with distinction in both the First and the Second World War and, afterwards, as Governor G ...
, who remained until the end of the war. Headquarters MTOUSA and General Headquarters CMF formally separated from AFHQ on 1 October 1945, leaving AFHQ to consist of a small interallied staff responsible for combined command liquidation activities and commanded by British Lieutenant General Sir
William Duthie Morgan General Sir William Duthie Morgan, (15 December 1891 – 13 May 1977) was a British Army officer. During the Second World War, he commanded the Mediterranean Theatre of Operations during the late stage of the war. Early life and military career ...
as Supreme Allied Commander Mediterranean. AFHQ was abolished, effective 17 September 1947, by General Order 24, AFHQ, 16 September 1947. McNarney was succeeded as Deputy Theater Commander and Ccommanding general MTOUSA by Lieutenant General Matthew B. Ridgway, who in turned was succeeded in December 1945 by Lieutenant General John C. H. Lee, who commanded through 1946 and 1947. The Africa-Middle East Theater of Operations was "established on March 1, 1945, was mainly concerned with the liquidation of the Army's property holdings and other interests in Africa, Palestine, and the Persian Gulf area. The North African installations of the Mediterranean Theater and its base commands at Casablanca were transferred to the new Theater in March 1945; the United States Army Forces in Liberia were transferred to it in April 1945." "The United States Army Forces in Liberia were subsequently under the North African Service Command, which was the former Mediterranean Base Section, at Casablanca. By 1946 all he Town Commandsexcept the agency at Casablanca were discontinued."


Campaigns

* Algeria-French Morocco (Allied invasion of French North Africa) 8–11 November 1942 *
Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...
17 November 1942 – 13 May 1943 *
Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...
9 July-17 August 1943 * Naples-Foggia 18 August 1943 – 21 January 1944 (Air); 9 September 1943 – 21 January 1944 (Ground) *
Anzio Anzio (, also , ) is a town and ''comune'' on the coast of the Lazio region of Italy, about south of Rome. Well known for its seaside harbour setting, it is a Port, fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine I ...
22 January-24 May 1944 * Rome-Arno 22 January-9 September 1944 *
Southern France Southern France, also known as the South of France or colloquially in French language, French as , is a defined geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi ...
15 August-14 September 1944 * Northern Apennines 10 September 1944 – 4 April 1945 *
Po Valley The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain ( it, Pianura Padana , or ''Val Padana'') is a major geographical feature of Northern Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of including its Venetic ex ...
5 April-8 May 1945


A theater of operations


Notes


References

* * * * * * * * * * *


External links


General Records of Allied Force Headquarters (AFHQ)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mediterranean Theater Of Operations, United States Army Commands of the United States Army Military units and formations of the United States Army in World War II Mediterranean theatre of World War II Military units and formations disestablished in 1947