Operation Roundup (1942)

Operation Roundup was the code name for a 1942 plan for an invasion of northern France by Allied forces during World War II.

History

The plan, for an invasion in the Spring of 1943, and drawn up by then-Brigadier General Dwight Eisenhower, reflected American enthusiasm for an early entry into Europe.^[1] The British were reluctant to commit themselves to the invasion plan; mindful of the painful losses during the Battle of the Somme, they preferred to avoid a direct assault on a powerful enemy. Winston Churchill preferred a strategy of attacking German forces in the Mediterranean instead (which he referred to as the "soft underbelly"), while other British military leaders hoped to defer an invasion until the Germans had been worn down by fighting on the Russian front.^[2] Churchill's plan would allow relatively inexperienced American forces to gain experience in a less risky theatre while gradually building up overwhelming force before engaging Germany head on.^[3][4]

Given shortages of merchant shipping, landing craft, and other resources, the Roundup plan was unrealistic; it called for a force consisting of 48 divisions and 5,800 aircraft, with a landing on broad beachheads between Boulogne and Le Havre.^[2] By comparison, the eventual Normandy landings well over a year later featured only 39 divisions.

After Churchill pressed for a landing in French North Africa in 1942, U.S. Army Chief of Staff General George Marshall suggested instead to President Roosevelt that the U.S. abandon the Germany-first strategy and take the offensive in the Pacific. Roosevelt "disapproved" the proposal saying it would do nothing to help Russia.^[5] Instead, with Roosevelt's support and Marshall unable to persuade the British to change their minds, at the Second Claridge Conference in late July 1942 the decision was made to carry out Operation Torch, the invasion of French North Africa.^[6] Most of the troops and supplies accumulated for Roundup were used to implement Torch and preparations for Roundup were given lower priority due to the uncertainties of Allied strategy.^[1] The British were as reluctant to fully abandon Roundup as they had been to support it but in November 1942 Eisenhower told Churchill that no major operation on the Continent could be carried out before 1944.^[2]

Briefings concerning this plan brought Eisenhower’s organizational and diplomatic skills to the attention of senior civil and military leaders in the United States and Europe, launching his meteoric rise to Supreme Allied Commander, Europe.

Operation Roundup included Operation Sledgehammer and the later variant Operation Roundhammer. Lieutenant-General Frederick E. Morgan incorporated aspects of the plan into the earliest version of the plan that became Operation Overlord.

Notes

1. Carlo d'Este, Decision in Normandy, Penguin, 2004, pp. 24-35.
2. Samuel Eliot Morison, The Invasion of France and Germany, ISBN 0-316-58311-1, pp 7-17
3. Husen, editor, David T. Zabecki ; assistant editors, Carl O. Schuster, Paul J. Rose, William H. Van (1999). World War II in Europe : an encyclopedia. Garland Pub. p. 1270. ISBN 9780824070298.
4. Mackenzie, S.P. (2014). The Second World War in Europe: Second Edition. Routledge. p. 54-55. ISBN 1317864719.
5. Ward, Geoffrey C.; Burns, Ken (2014). "The Common Cause: 1939-1944". The Roosevelts: An Intimate History. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN 0385353065.
6. Routledge Handbook of US Military and Diplomatic History. Hoboken: Taylor and Francis. 2013. p. 135. ISBN 9781135071028.