An Army at Dawn : The War in North Africa, 1942–1943 PDF
Preview An Army at Dawn : The War in North Africa, 1942–1943
S 0 z Newene. NAV LV . o XIV NV - VOLUME ONE OF THE LIBERATION TRILOGY RICK ATKINSON kor THE LONG GRAY. LINE $30.00 $44.95/Canada In the first volume of a remarkable trilogy, Pulitzer Prize winner Rick Atkinson provides the definitive history of the war in North Africa. he liberation of Europe and the destruction of the Third Reich is an epic story of courage and calamity, of miscalculation and enduring triumph. Now, sixty years after America joined this titanic struggle, Rick Atkinson shows why no mod- ern reader can understand the ultimate vic- tory of the Allied powers without a grasp of the great drama that unfolded in North Africa in 1942 and 1943. Atkinson’s narrative begins on the eve of Operation TORCH, the daring amphibious invasion of Morocco and Algeria. After three days of hard fighting against the French, American and British troops push deeper into North Africa. But the confidence gained after several early victories soon wanes; once Allied forces engage the Germans, it becomes apparent that they have more than met their match. Casualties mount rapidly, battle plans prove ineffectual, and hope for a quick and decisive victory evaporates. The Allies— particularly the Americans—discover that they are woefully unprepared to fight and win this war, in part due to lack of experi- ence, in part due to an unwillingness to pay the necessary price in blood. North Africa then becomes a proving ground: it is here that American officers learn how to lead, here that soldiers learn how to hate, here that an entire army learns what it will take to van- quish a formidable enemy. Most of the West's great battle captains emerged in North Africa, including men whose names remain familiar generations later— Eisenhower, Patton, Bradley, and Montgomery. Atkinson brings these commanders and others vividly to life, along with enemy generals such as Rommel and Kesselring. He also takes us right to the front lines of every major battle— (continued on back flap) 1002 (continued from front flap) from Oran to Kasserine to Tunis—and his gripping accounts of soldiers fighting and dying make the war horrifyingly real. Gradu- ally, we come to understand the profound accomplishments of this bloody campaign. In North Africa, the Allied coalition came into its own, the enemy forever lost the initiative, and the United States—for the first time—began to act like a great power. Even as he weaves a compelling narra- tive of a heroic victory, Atkinson casts a clear eye on the dark tragedies that haunt every war. The first volume of the Liberation Tril- ogy, An Army at Dawn is history of the high- est order—brilliantly researched, rich with new material and surprising insights, the deeply human story of a monumental battle for the future of civilization. THE LIBERATION TRILOGY An Army at Dawn is the first installment of a three-volume history of the Allied liberation of Europe in World War II. The second volume, a history of the war in Italy, will be published in fall 2005. The third volume, a history of the war in Western Europe, will be published in fall 2008. RICK ATKINSON is a former staff writer and assistant managing editor at The Washington Post, and the bestselling author of The Long Gray Line and Crusade. His many awards include the Pulitzer Prize. He lives in Washington, D.C. © Sicxio Esraapn JACKET PHOTOGRAPH CouRTESY U.S, ARMY SIGNAL CORPS ARCHIVES JACKET DESIGN BY RAQUEL JARAMILLO www.henryholt.com www.anarmyatdawn.com wwwiiberationtrilogy.com Henry Holt and Company 115 West 18th Street New York, New York 10011 Distributed in Canada by H. B. Fenn and Company Ltd. Printed in USA. MEDITERRANEAN AND EuROPEAN THEATERS an Wort War IL Atlantic Qeean i oe MOROCCO Ava by isk Akan An Army at Dawn Th Len Gray bi onde An Army at Dawn THE WAR IN NORTI AFRICA, 1942-1943 Rick Atkinson Henry Holt tal Cosngiany New Vouk ‘omy matter ond father 4 eat ce arc dashed st oe eae pi ‘hee lama wi shi ingther, pe ser pd pike ‘ith the poyoting tenga gb me a bmp Aun sir rourd skiskls pel, Pgs welded ae ‘nd the sound as s4yge zee el wocked the wet Poste took CONTENTS LIST OF MAPS MAP LEGEND . . ALLIED CHAIN OF COMMAND PROLOGUE. PART ONE 1. PASSAGE A Meeting with the Dutchman . Gathering the Ships. Rendezvous at Cherchel On the Knees of the Gods. A Man Must Believe in His Luck 2.LANDING. “In the Night, All Cats Are Grey” In Barbary : VILLAIN To the Last Man : “Glory Enough for Us All” 3. BEACHHEAD A Sword in Algiers . A Blue Flag over Oran “An Orgy of Disorder” Battle for the Kasbah “Tt’s All Over for Now” 21 pail 33 42 49 57 69 69 78 87 91 103 116 116 124 130 141 148 Contes vit PARI TWO Posrens Last "We Line Tragie Hames A Cold Country with a Tt Sur Meaiveel Baby at Caeser Pod “Go lar he Sieg ths Bithe He "The Del Solute the sls? Jerry bs Cea nctsticking! A Coryray or Dariies Tangy “Trey Shot tre Lite sor of hh" his the Hand 6 Gi” PART TIRE The ec Speedy Vale The Fouca uf tse Werke Le Suse! Corre si Fou A Bors asp Pisces Wan {Gets Set Oat tp Farea pe” hg Cart Hepes to Us ye Marval Dangers That Bese Ls? 4.Gond Night fora Mess Md. Kassenise A Hosile Denwachment Nore Returned Senretimes That Ts Not Good Enon Ths lace Is Ts0 Het” “Older, aster orden and Disord” Tay Roughly o: Lae Tanks PART FOUR io. Tee WORLD We KSew Ie 4 Love Tisy Deas vigil in Rev Oak, “WW Knawe Theil Be Troubles of Lsery Save ne Nerds Laken Wa Se Nissi ig Come Down 1. Oves due Tor ‘Give I Search Your Saul” N'gar Closes Dowsn Rag a Plan... Seve 1a. Foe Tysna Rene Tall sccorver Hamner’ ag Heine the Cork "Count Your Chiles Ne dol” Tacisgeee we 4 508 46 41 on mt 461 MAPS Opetatian “ORC, Invasion of North Aireu, Nowstaber ie Seizure of Oran, Newer 1, 1942 Lance in lj, Nuvembe $1942 anings a Pedals, Novstnber 8,4 “The Cape af Casablanca, Nawember 6-119 tack un Melia 998 Poet Tyaurey, November #0. 1942 rat Allied Auennpt to Reals Tunis, Noweraber 15-39, 154 Tobourba Engagement, Decercber 1.1412 5 Geiman Attack pe Blediez-el-Bab, Decemner 79,182 Beatle for Loapatoys iL, Decesaber 2-96, 942 ‘he Winter Line ie Tunisia, Pearaay 124 sat cof Sidi bom ic, February 14-15 945 Builleso Rasserine Pass, Fehr 19-33. 194s Bute of Barell, Mosse 28,943 Iams of 1 Gustiar ard Wiaknssy Poss, Move 26 35,2043 (Continuing Fight near El austen, sare 28-apel 11549 Battle toe Foacouk Pass, Aprils, 1945 Final Visoryin Tersia, Aprils May ns, °945 Bade fe HL Soy, on ay May 2 Gaudi Ye we Sa 555) unno sues Bune xncome HB rnance ESR cenwnne Th wwe a
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