--- title: America in WWII: See Message to 'Play Ball' in Casablanca description: This was the go-ahead Maj. Gen. Patton needed to launch Operation Torch, the first WWII engagement for American forces on foreign soil. canonical: https://time.com/5005274/wwii-casablanca-play-ball-message/ author: Lily Rothman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-11-08T15:30:02.000Z article:modified_time: 2024-01-24T11:43:50.000Z article:section: History og:title: See the Message That Launched American Soldiers Into World War II og:description: It was only two words long og:url: https://time.com/5005274/wwii-casablanca-play-ball-message/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf904b515e5e66baf/6988e3bd4ee2629cdd30f922/play-ball-scan.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Play Ball Scan og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: See the Message That Launched American Soldiers Into World War II twitter:description: It was only two words long twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf904b515e5e66baf/6988e3bd4ee2629cdd30f922/play-ball-scan.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'Play Ball': See the Message That Launched American Soldiers Into World War II  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Updated: Jan 24, 2024 11:43 AM UTCPublished: Nov 8, 2017 3:30 PM UTC  President Eisenhower's message launching the U.S. into combat in Casablanca President Eisenhower's message launching the U.S. into combat in CasablancaCourtesy of The International Museum of World War II  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Updated: Jan 24, 2024 11:43 AM UTCPublished: Nov 8, 2017 3:30 PM UTC When the message was decoded, it was only two words long, and it could have referred to almost anything: _PLAY BALL._ In the context, however, the meaning was clear — and more complex than its brevity would suggest. The recipient, after all, was Maj. Gen. George Patton, who was on a ship off the coast of Casablanca, waiting for word from Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, the future president and Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force. This message, from Eisenhower, was the go-ahead he needed to launch the invasion known as Operation Torch, which he did 75 years ago, on Nov. 8, 1942\. With that, American forces were officially engaged in their first World War II combat in the war’s Europe and North Africa theater. The decision to help the Allies concentrate on Germany first was not a foregone conclusion for the U.S., given the attack on [Pearl Harbor](http://time.com/4577616/remembering-pearl-harbor-history/), but it quickly paid dividends in North Africa. “The occupation of French North Africa had been accomplished with Blitzkrieg briefness, utilizing expert coordination of planes, ships, tanks, trucks, guns and courageous men. In spots it was easy. In others resistance was bitter, though brief,” TIME [summarized](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,773924,00.html) in the aftermath: --- > “” --- The copy of the decoded message seen above will be on display starting Wednesday as part of the exhibition [_The Real and Reel Casablanca; American Troops Enter World War II, Landing in North Africa_](https://museumofworldwarii.org/special-exhibitions/upcoming-exhibitions/#2598) at the International Museum of World War II in Natick, Mass. It ended up in the collection, explains museum director Kenneth W. Rendell, via an aide to Patton. “Patton read it and handed it back to him, and said, ‘Save this, it’s an important souvenir,’” Rendell says. He did, and the the museum later acquired the message from his family. This invasion was, Rendell says, “really the beginning of the Patton legend.” It was also the beginning of awareness, for many Americans, of where Casablanca was and what was going on in North Africa. That’s part of the reason why [the movie _Casablanca_](http://entertainment.time.com/2012/11/23/the-best-movie-of-all-time-turns-70-heres-looking-at-you-casablanca/) is also part of the story, as it was rushed to theaters within weeks of the invasion and helped inform American audiences at home, Rendell says, “showing people [where their husbands and sons were fighting](http://time.com/4542747/casablanca-allied-wwii-photos/) and what it was like there.” **Correction:** The original version of this article incorrectly described the first overseas World War II combat by American troops. Americans first fought in the Pacific, not in North Africa. 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