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Northwest Africa: Seizing the Initiative in the West
Operation Torch, the Anglo-American invasion of French North Africa, began on 8th November 1942.
It was the debut of the mass involvement of US troops in the European-North African Theater of World War Two.
The invasion stretched American resources to the limit.
Simultaneously the country was trying to maintain a line of communications to Australia, to conduct a campaign at Guadalcanal, to support China in the war against Japan, to arm and supply Russia’s hard-pressed armies on the Eastern Front, to overcome the U-boat menace in the Atlantic, to fulfill lend-lease commitments, and to accumulate the means to penetrate the heart of the German and Japanese homelands.
Yet, despite the difficulties, the invasion of North America was a monumental success that allowed the Allies a foothold with which to attack the soft underbelly of their enemies.
Operation Torch was shortly followed by a longer Allied effort to destroy all of the Axis forces in North America.
Extending across a front of more than three hundred and seventy-five miles conflicts flared in numerous small engagements before the final push to eradicate the two German and Italian armies located around Bizerte and Tunis.
George F. Howe’s comprehensive history of the engagements that took place in North Africa during the Second World War is a fascinating study of this often-forgotten front.
His book uncovers not only the campaigns and battles that occurred but also the regiments that fought in them and the leaders that led the Allied forces to victory.
George F. Howe was an American historian, author and teacher. He conducted historical research for the Army, became a historian for the Department of the Interior and from 1954 until his retirement in 1971 was senior historian at the National Security Agency. His other works include General History of the United States Since 1865 and The Battle History of the First Armored Division. Northwest Africa: Seizing the Initiative in the West was first published in 1957 and Howe passed away in 1988.
It was the debut of the mass involvement of US troops in the European-North African Theater of World War Two.
The invasion stretched American resources to the limit.
Simultaneously the country was trying to maintain a line of communications to Australia, to conduct a campaign at Guadalcanal, to support China in the war against Japan, to arm and supply Russia’s hard-pressed armies on the Eastern Front, to overcome the U-boat menace in the Atlantic, to fulfill lend-lease commitments, and to accumulate the means to penetrate the heart of the German and Japanese homelands.
Yet, despite the difficulties, the invasion of North America was a monumental success that allowed the Allies a foothold with which to attack the soft underbelly of their enemies.
Operation Torch was shortly followed by a longer Allied effort to destroy all of the Axis forces in North America.
Extending across a front of more than three hundred and seventy-five miles conflicts flared in numerous small engagements before the final push to eradicate the two German and Italian armies located around Bizerte and Tunis.
George F. Howe’s comprehensive history of the engagements that took place in North Africa during the Second World War is a fascinating study of this often-forgotten front.
His book uncovers not only the campaigns and battles that occurred but also the regiments that fought in them and the leaders that led the Allied forces to victory.
George F. Howe was an American historian, author and teacher. He conducted historical research for the Army, became a historian for the Department of the Interior and from 1954 until his retirement in 1971 was senior historian at the National Security Agency. His other works include General History of the United States Since 1865 and The Battle History of the First Armored Division. Northwest Africa: Seizing the Initiative in the West was first published in 1957 and Howe passed away in 1988.
924 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 1985
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About the author
George F. Howe
13 booksLibrarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 24, 2021
This book is part of the Green Book Series, a multi volume history of World War II published mainly shortly after the end of the war as an official history of the participation of the United States Army in the conflict. What makes this series valuable is that they were written by academic historians usually assigned to Army units during World War II who used official reports of units and was able to interview participants when memories were fresh.
These books are purely military histories with plenty of accounts of units and commanders and not much mention of enlisted men or experiences of civilians. By realizing the limitations one can really enjoy the Green Book Series and this work describing Operation Torch and the campaign in Africa from an American perspective. I have read many of the books in this series and I recommend them to individuals interested in the military history of World War II. The Kindle edition did not have the quantity of maps that the paper edition has which handicaps the reader to fully appreciate the campaign.
These books are purely military histories with plenty of accounts of units and commanders and not much mention of enlisted men or experiences of civilians. By realizing the limitations one can really enjoy the Green Book Series and this work describing Operation Torch and the campaign in Africa from an American perspective. I have read many of the books in this series and I recommend them to individuals interested in the military history of World War II. The Kindle edition did not have the quantity of maps that the paper edition has which handicaps the reader to fully appreciate the campaign.
October 28, 2018
Informative
More information than I expected. I didn't think I would ever get to the end. I learned a great deal that previously unknown to me.
More information than I expected. I didn't think I would ever get to the end. I learned a great deal that previously unknown to me.
November 15, 2018
An account of US Army Operations in North Africa. More valuable to student of the war but general readers will find it interesting.t
April 3, 2019
Very detailed history. My interest stems from father’s participation in the campaign.
May 23, 2011
Authoritative official US Army history of the campaign in French Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia from November 1942 to May 1943.
February 9, 2016
a very good book on the finial North African fighting from the Torch landings to the end in Tusina from a mostly US. prespective
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews