Allied Forces Headquarters was the headquarters that controlled all Allied forces in the Mediterranean theatre from late 1943 to the end of the war.
It was established in the UK in August 1942 under General Dwight Eisenhower in order to command the forces committed to Operation Torch. Eisenhower had the title Commander-in-Chief, Allied Expeditionary Force. Shortly after the establishment of the headquarters, expeditionary was deleted from its title for reasons of operational security. Eisenhower thus became Commander in Chief, Allied Force.
By the end of 1942, there was a need to unify the Allied forces, since those from the west landed during Operation Torch, and those from the east that had won the Second Battle of El Alamein were now close enough together to need coordination. Therefore, in February 1943, Allied Force Headquarters assumed control of the British forces advancing from the east as well.
Wilson was in command for just under a year, until he was sent to Washington in December 1944 to replace Field Marshal Sir John Dill of the British Joint Staff Mission who had died suddenly. Wilson was succeded by Field Marshal Sir Harold Alexander who was Supreme Commander and commander of AFHQ until the end of the war.
After the war, AFHQ was no longer needed, and it was inactivated on 1 August 1945.
By the terms of his appointment he was responsible to the Allied Commander-in-Chief for the security of the sea communications of the expedition, and for the support of the army in further amphibious operations in the Western Mediterranean, and in the seaward defense of that coast and its ports.
The assault force was to consist of the 39th and 168th Regimental Combat Teams, the British 11th and 36th Brigade Groups, and the 1st and 6th Commandoes, composed of both British and American troops.
BLADE FORCE had by this time lost a total of 40 tanks, and was withdrawn on the evening of the 2nd, leaving the defense of the forward areas to the 11th Brigade, and to the armored infantry of Combat Command "B", which had now to be ordered forward in a defensive role.
AlliedForcesHeadquarters was the headquarters that controlled all Allied operational forces in the Mediterranean Theatre of World War II from late 1942 to the end of the war.
By the end of 1942, there was a need to unify the Alliedforces, since those from the west landed during Operation Torch, and those from the east that had won the Second Battle of El Alamein were now close enough together to need coordination.
Therefore, in February 1943, AlliedForceHeadquarters assumed control of the British Eighth Army advancing from the east as well.
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