Operation Sledgehammer
슬레지해머 작전
Operation Sledgehammer was an unexecuted Allied plan for an autumn 1942 cross-Channel landing to seize Brest or Cherbourg in France and open a second front. It was supported by the U.S. military and the Soviet Union, but Britain judged it premature, and the Allies instead chose Operation Torch, the November 1942 landing in North Africa.
In depth
The plan grew from the U.S. Joint Chiefs' call for an immediate 1942 landing in continental Europe, with a captured port serving as the base for a larger offensive in 1943. Concerns about available troops and landing capacity, as well as German counteraction, were central to the dispute over feasibility. At the June 1942 Washington Conference and the July London conference, the British North Africa proposal prevailed, the plan was abandoned, and Torch became a compromise that also gave U.S. forces limited combat experience in Europe.
Sources
- Wikipedia (EN) (supports the 1942 cross-Channel plan, intended seizure of Brest or Cherbourg, its rejection, and replacement by Torch)
- history.navy.mil (Naval History and Heritage Command, supports the strategic context and that the northern-European landing was judged premature and replaced by the North Africa operation)