I'm always curious as to the reasons for starting the US forces in North Africa instead of attacking from someplace like Denmark. Why land in Africa first? Was Eisenhower trying to prevent the Nazis from getting into the Arabian oil fields? I f that were the case why not start fighting off the Arabian Peninsula?
It's because North Africa was already a war zone and it enabled the "green" US army to gain experience whilst working with it's battle hardened ally Great Britain.
Invading "Festung Europa", as referenced in post number two, was militarily and logistically impossible in early 1942. North Africa was really the only jumping off point for American forces in that Theater and time period. Even though there was some stinging early defeats (e.g., Battle of Kasserine Pass), the result was to drive the Axis Powers out of North Africa followed by an invasion of, to quote Winston Churchill, "the soft underbelly of the axis"—Italy.
