Operation Torch was the first major Allied manoeuvre of the Second World War. Its success or failure could determine the outcome of the conflict. In London and Washington, no detail was overlooked to ensure its success. And convoy SL 125 was nothing less than a detail… of the utmost importance! Unlike the other civilian convoys of the time, SL 125 was not planned for a long time and it seems to have been set up especially to serve as a decoy for the German submarines. The aim was not so much to spare the fleet coming from England and the United States as to delay the moment when it would be spotted by the enemy submarines. By diverting the U-boats, the convoy allowed the ships of Operation Torch to approach the Strait of Gibraltar as closely as possible and to pour their troops onto the beaches of Morocco and Algeria. The Nazi forces, but also the French government and General De Gaulle, did not learn of the landing until the very last moment. The French forces in Algeria and Morocco, as well as the German air force based in Sicily, were unable to react and engage in the fierce fighting that the Allied command had feared. If the German submarines had been able to detect the enormous armada of Operation Torch as early as the 3rd, 4th or even 5th of November, there is no doubt that the reaction of the French forces in North Africa, assisted by Luftwaffe aircraft, would have been more significant. Perhaps it would even have compromised the landing… This is the thesis that we will try to demonstrate by carrying out this investigation 80 years after the facts!
