75 years ago today, the U.S. and Britain began their first ground offensive against Nazi Germany when they invaded northern Africa.

It was Nov. 8, 1942, and Operation Torch had a clear objective: Landing at three different sites in Morocco and Algeria, the Allies intended to swing east to capture Tunisia and consolidate a Nazi-Axis defeat in Africa. This would then allow the Allies to surround Axis forces in Europe on all sides.