In the summer of 1942, Axis forces controlled almost the entire
southern shore of the Mediterranean. Less than a year later, they
had been swept from the African continent-thanks in no small part
to efforts of the fledgling U.S. Army Air Force. Indeed, USAAF in
North Africa emerged as a senior partner in the Alliance, supplying
aircraft and crews at a rate the other partners were unable to
match.
Going beyond the spare analysis of North African air operations
in previous accounts, Christopher Rein shows how American fighter
planes and heavy bombers, employed in almost exclusively tactical
and operational roles, played a pivotal role in the Alliance's
successful ground campaigns. This aerial armada also had a
significant negative impact on enemy logistics through its bombing
raids on Axis ports, shipping, and airfields. In the process, USAAF
helped foster and develop a pattern of inter-service cooperation
that remains at the foundation of American close-air-support
doctrine today.
Rein chronicles the emergence of USAAF in the late interwar and
early WWII periods as a more heterogeneous and creative fighting
force than earlier works have led us to believe. He then analyzes
little-known aspects of the war, including early air operations in
the eastern Mediterranean and in the TORCH landings. He explores
some of the key issues confronting Eisenhower, such as how to
establish USAAF priorities and how to deploy long-range bombers,
fighters, and attack forces. In describing the struggle for balance
in the employment of air assets between strategic bombing and
interdiction in a time fraught with inter-service rivalry, he shows
how, despite occasional mistakes such as the heavy losses involved
in the Ploesti raids, USAAF struck a suitable balance and even
invested more assets in interdiction than traditional accounts of
strategic bombardment would suggest.
A virtual operational-level history of the USAAF during the
formative period of American airpower, Rein's account pulls
together material from diverse sources to demonstrate that today's
Air Force emphasis on mobility, intelligence, reconnaissance, and
close support for ground forces have deep roots. By showing that
the Army Air Force in World War II did not neglect support for
ground and naval forces in order to concentrate exclusively on
strategic bombing, it suggests lessons for military and civilian
leaders in the employment of air forces in current and future
conflicts.
General
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