Peters drives HMS Walney into Oran harbor

Operation Reservist used HMS Walney and HMS Hartland, two lightly armed former United States Coast Guard cutters, to carry 393 troops directly into Oran harbor. Walney had one 5-inch gun, one 3-inch gun, and two 6-pounders against fixed batteries and the warships inside the port. Planners accepted the extreme imbalance against roughly 4,000 soldiers, shore batteries, and 31 warships because seizing the port intact offered an important operational prize. Once inside the boom, the ships met sustained point-blank fire and Allied casualties exceeded ninety percent. Peters remained on Walney's exposed bridge after its protection was blown away, brought the burning ship alongside, and personally helped secure forward and after mooring lines so troops could disembark. The defenders surrendered two days later only after the harbor facilities had been destroyed, so the raid failed in its operational objective. Peters's leadership while blinded in one eye and almost alone among the bridge team nevertheless earned the Victoria Cross and an American Distinguished Service Cross.