“The Center Task Force, aimed at Oran, included the U.S. 2nd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, the U.S. 1st Infantry Division, and the U.S. 1st Armored Division—a total of 18,500 troops. They sailed from the United Kingdom and were commanded by Major General Lloyd Fredendall, the naval forces being commanded by Commodore Thomas Troubridge.”

This ‘Algeria’ map titled "Oran” shows the coastal region of one of the most infamous amphibious landings of Operation Torch executed by the Central Task Force. Charged with taking the Algerian city of Oran, Maj. Gen. Lloyd R. Fredendall's Center Task Force consisted of the 1st Infantry Division with the 1st Ranger Battalion attached and Combat Command B of the 1st Armored Division. Fredendall's troops were to land at three beaches along a fifty-mile stretch of coastline: Beaches X. Operation Torch was the codename for the Allied invasion of North Africa. It was designed to end the German presence on that continent. This invasion marked the first battle experience as a battalion for the 1st Rangers, as an independent American unit. The 1st Ranger Battalion spearheaded Operation TORCH, the Allied invasion of North Africa in November 1942. The battalion conducted a night landing with LCAs (landing craft–assault) at the Algerian port of Arzew on November 8th, 1942. At about 0100 hours, the landing craft carrying two Ranger companies (A and B) under the battalion executive officer, Major Herman Dammer, stealthily entered the inner harbor. As the landing craft touched the dock, the Rangers jumped out and ran down the quay, directly into an attack of Fort de la Pointe. In about fifteen minutes, “Dammer Force” had captured the fort and had sixty surprised French prisoners, including the commandant in his pajamas. “Darby Force,” consisting of C, D, and E companies headed for the Batterie du Nord, whose four 105mm cannons overlooked the harbor approach. For the mission, Company D served as a mortar company using four 81mm mortars to support the attack. The Rangers suffered two dead and eight wounded in the attacks. The battery and the nearby fort were captured. The successful Ranger missions helped to open the way for the 1st Infantry Division to capture Oran.

D-Day Landings of Oran:

The Center Task Force was split between three beaches, two west of Oran and one east. Landings at the westernmost beach were delayed because of a French convoy that appeared while the minesweepers were clearing a path. Some delay and confusion, and damage to landing ships, was caused by the unexpected shallowness of water and sandbars; although periscope observations had been carried out, no reconnaissance parties had landed on the beaches to determine the local maritime conditions. This helped inform subsequent amphibious assaults—such as Operation Overlord—in which considerable weight was given to pre-invasion reconnaissance.

American troops on board a Landing Craft Assault heading into Oran, November 1942

The U.S. 1st Ranger Battalion landed east of Oran and quickly captured the shore battery at Arzew. An attempt was made to land U.S. infantry at the harbor directly, in order to quickly prevent the destruction of the port facilities and scuttling of ships. Operation Reservist failed, as the two Banff-class sloops were destroyed by crossfire from the French vessels there. The Vichy French naval fleet broke from the harbor and attacked the Allied invasion fleet but its ships were all sunk or driven ashore.[29] The commander of Reservist, Captain Frederick Thornton Peters, was awarded the Victoria Cross for valour in pushing the attack through Oran harbour in the face of point blank fire. French batteries and the invasion fleet exchanged fire throughout 8–9 November, with French troops defending Oran and the surrounding area stubbornly; bombardment by the British battleships brought about Oran's surrender on 9 November.