Major General Lloyd Fredendall's Center Task Force landed on either side of Oran, Algeria. From three beaches they planned to converge on the city and capture the port. They remained unsure of whether the French would resist their advance or not, since the task force included no British troops. The French held a significant grudge against the British after they sank a number of French ships and killed 1,247 French sailors at Mers-el-Kebir in 1940.

Nevertheless, the American 18th Regimental Combat Team advanced from Z Beach toward St. Cloud. In 1942, the farm town of St. Cloud boasted a population of 3,500 housed in sturdy stone buildings that lay astride the main road east of Oran. Any Allied force advancing from the east would pass through there. Knowing that, the French created numerous fire lanes and reinforced the defenders.

This first real test of arms for the Americans revealed their lack of experience. The hidden French ambushed Company C and roughly handled them as they approached the town, quickly driving them off. A bit later they showed some grit and returned with the rest of their battalion. Again, the French sent the Americans packing. Apparently these Frenchmen did not agree with the Allied pre-invasion scuttlebutt that the French would welcome the Americans as liberators rather than invaders.