The first of a trilogy of books following the exploits of the
American army in the European theatre of operations during the
Second World War, An Army At Dawn covers the years 1942 and 1943,
beginning with the Operation Torch landings in North Africa. The
landings began well and the US leaders, Patton (replaced later by
Bradley) and Eisenhower showed the resolve necessary to overcome
defeats such as Kesserine Pass - where Rommel taught them a bloody
lesson - and to grow painfully into a cohesive, well-led army. It
would take until May 1943 before the Germans and their Italian
allies were finally wrestled from the hills of Tunisia. The
two-pronged invasion, from Britain and all the way across the
Atlantic, was executed well and even astonished the Axis, who did
not believe that such a feat was feasible. Valuable lessons were
learnt in the beach landings in North Africa, and the Allies
realized they had to build quickly the required number of landing
craft, trucks and armour if a European invasion was to succeed.
Intelligence gathering also needed to be vastly improved. In the
meantime Stalin continued to destroy the Nazi war machine, while
the sideshow that was North Africa (and later the invasion of
Sicily and Italy) became the coming of age for the American forces.
Atkinson's account is thorough, detailed and readable. Some readers
may feel he exaggerates the impact of the American forces,
particularly in comparison with the carnage on the Eastern front,
which had much more effect on the war's progress than events in
North Africa, but this is still an excellent overview of the US
involvement in the conflict. Atkinson's next volume, dealing with
the D-Day landings, will be eagerly awaited. (Kirkus UK)
The liberation of Europe and the destruction of the Third Reich is
a story of courage and enduring triumph, of calamity and
miscalculation. In this first volume of the Liberation Trilogy,
Rick Atkinson shows why no modern reader can understand the
ultimate victory of the Allied powers without a grasp of the great
drama that unfolded in North Africa in 1942 and 1943. Beginning
with the daring amphibious invasion in November 1942, An Army at
Dawn follows the British and American armies as they fight the
French in Morocco and Algeria, and then take on the Germans and
Italians in Tunisia. Battle by battle, an inexperienced and
sometimes poorly led army gradually becomes a superb fighting
force. Central to the tale are the extraordinary but fallible
commanders who come to dominate the battlefield: Eisenhower,
Patton, Bradley, Montgomery and Rommel.
General
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