An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943, Volume One of the Liberation Trilogy (The Liberation Trilogy, 1)

I read the author's last book in his WWII trilogy first (2013). I found it such compelling reading I quickly ordered and read his first book An Army At Dawn: The War in North Africa (1998) and winner of the Pulitzer Prize in History in 2000. I couldn't put it down. I experienced the same thing when I read the second book in his trilogy The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy (2005). Atkinson said it took him 15 years to write all three books. The style and quality of each book is fluid and polished and remarkably consistent. I do not have one book I prefer over the other two. All three are excellent and a must read.Atkinson logically divides his books into the 3 large strategic phases of the United State's commitment of men and machine in full support of Europe and Russia against Hitler's and Germany's attempt to conquer the world and establish the Third Reich. The Germans come chilling close to succeeding. The African campaign is the focus of the first book. Here Atkinson establishes his narrative style of extraordinary tactical detail along with all the strategic, political and personal aspects of the war in Africa. Here we are introduced to many of the generals such as Eisenhower, Patton and Bradley who are in-theatre for the entire American effort which means we follow them in books two and three as well. The author makes it apparent that these men and the men they command are raw and untested and have much to learn about combat as well as military politics among allies and between U. S. generals. But learn they do. As the title of the first book implies the African campaign is the dawn of the birth of the colossus that would become known as the U.S. military-Army, Navy and Army Air Corp (eventually the Air Force). The U.S. Marines are much more involved in the war in the Pacific against the Japanese.The battle on the African continent against the Germans, Italians and Vichy French in 1942 - 1943 is the American military's combat baptism after a period of demobilization following WWI circa 1919.. In 1935 the U.S. Army is 35,000 men (99.9% male) strong. By comparison by the Battle of the Bulge in Central Europe in late 1944 and early 1945 the military has swollen to over 6 million men and women and our economy has gone from a sleepy, isolated consumer economy to a military-industrial colossus with every American making a contribution whether in battle or at home living coping with the rationing of food, fuel and fiber. In Africa we are introduced to the enormously egotistical and difficult British general Bernard Montgomery. Monty as he is commonly know is dueling it out in Egypt with the famous general of the German Panzer (tank) army Erwin Rommel.The book begins in 1940 with the background leading up to the first joint allied combat effort of the war--Africa. There is enough detail here to give the reader an idea of the efforts by the British in particular and specifically Winston Churchill to get the Americans to declare war against the Germans which we are reluctant to do until December 7,1941 when the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor and declare war on the United States. The Germans declare war the next day and our Congress was happy to oblige both countries. In short order Atkins gets into the planning for the African campaign. In short order the reader is on board with the troops the Navy is transporting to Algeria in March of 1942. The voyage lasts 10 weeks from the time the flotilla sails from Hampton Yards VA. It takes more than a year (longer than anyone planned) and many casualties to reach the climatic battle in the port city of in Lybia. Even before the African campaign is over the Americans have given into Churchill's desire to open a new front in Italy while the Americans are already arguing for an offensive on the Normandy Coast in France in 1943 (it happens a year later in June 1944).My biggest complaint with military/battle books is took much tactical detail (day-to-day fighting). I can only think of one other writer other than Atkins (I'm sure there are more) who is as able to write with great detail and still keep the pace of the story moving along to the point that the battle and all it's surroundings read like a mystery thriller. Barbara Tuchman is that other author and in my opinion the best I've ever read. Her Guns of August (1962) about the fateful summer months of 1914 leading up to the beginning of WWI in August of that year has no equal. Rick Atkinson, however, is second to none. The amount of detail he incorporates into all three of his books is remarkable. His books read like thrillers. I couldn't put them down. When I became too tired to read any further I would take a short rest and return to the book for two or three readings each day. Unfortunately I completed this book in two days. Something that makes this book and his other two so enjoyable is the author's development of the personalities of the main American generals as well as the lines and lines of text he devotes to the every day infantryman. By the time I got done reading An Army at Dawn I was painfully aware of why war is considered hell as well as the foibles of mere mortals and the step learning curve the U. S. military experienced (especially the commanders) during the African campaign. Without the opportunity to make numerous mistakes in North Africa and still carry the day the course of the war could have been quite different.

Really easy to read and engaging book on the WW2 North African campaign

This book will be the definitive work, from the American point of view, on the war in North Africa, covering the period when the United States got involved (November 1942) up until the German surrender in Tunisia (May 1943). Mr. Atkinson effectively sets the stage by showing the sorry state the U.S. military had fallen into prior to the decision to invade North Africa. He points out that in September 1939, when Germany invaded Poland, the U.S. Army had ranked seventeenth in the world in size and combat power, just behind Romania. When 136 German divisions conquered Western Europe in the Spring of 1940, our War Department reported that we could only field five divisions! Mr. Atkinson writes, "Equipment and weaponry were pathetic. Soldiers trained with drainpipes for antitank guns, stovepipes for mortar tubes, and brooms for rifles...Only six medium tanks had been built in 1939.....This in part reflected an enduring loyalty to the horse...The Army's cavalry chief assured Congress in 1941 that four well-spaced horsemen could charge half a mile across an open field to destroy an enemy machine-gun nest without sustaining a scratch." This sort of information helps you to appreciate what had to be overcome in order for us to play our part in the expulsion of the Axis forces from North Africa! Mr. Atkinson doesn't fail to show us what other problems had to be overcome...Eisenhower having to learn "on the job" how to be Supreme Commander; having to build and then hold together the Allied coalition...this was very difficult, as many top men in the British military had nothing but disdain for Eisenhower's abilities and also for the abilities of the American troops (and many of the top American brass, such as Eisenower, Bradley and Patton were Anglophobic, so it worked both ways!); the administrative and logistical nightmares....the actual amphibious landings, getting supplies to the troops, coordinating the actions of the British and American forces, etc.; plus the number one problem of building an effective fighting force, made up of officers who hadn't been in battle since WWI (and that was a type of battle that had little relevance in the current situation!) and green troops that had never experienced combat. So, as Mr. Atkinson states, North Africa was the place where U.S. forces (and their superiors) learned to integrate and coordinate their actions both with themselves and with their Allies; and on a more basic level, where we learned how to hate and kill the enemy. North Africa prepared us for what we had to do later on in Italy and, of course, after June 6th, 1944. Mr. Atkinson is very evenhanded in his account. He doesn't hesitate to point out the mistakes made by both the British and the Americans. Eisenhower, Patton, Montgomery, Alexander, etc. all come in for their share of criticism as well as being praised, when praise it due. One thing that really surprised me was the sheer level of backbiting that went on...the nasty comments made by the British about the Americans, and vice-versa. The author is also very good at pointing out the numerous strategic and tactical errors made on the various battlefields. Mistakes were made by not only the top brass, but also by people in charge at lower levels. Very basic errors were made....such as not sending out reconnaisance units, initiating tank attacks without proper artillery or air support, etc. Many brave men were sent to their deaths in useless and ill-conceived actions. Sometimes just the sheer confusion of the battlefield was responsible, or just plain error....planes bombing their own men or artillery falling short, etc. Another area where Mr. Atkinson excels is in the "thumbnail" sketch of the numerous personalities that are integral to the story. The writing is sharp, witty and, quite often, eloquent. Here are just a few sentences concerning General Patton: "More than a quarter-century had gone by since his first intoxicating taste of battle and fame, during the Punitive Expedition to Mexico in 1916, when he had briefly become a national hero for killing three banditos and strapping their bodies to his automobile running boards like game trophies.....At the age of fifty, upon reading J.F.C. Fuller's classic 'Generalship: It's Diseases and Their Cures,' Patton had wept bitterly because eighty-nine of the one hundred great commanders profiled were younger than he. Now, when he was fifty-six, his hour had come round." Mr. Atkinson is also very good at describing the nuts and bolts of the various battles. The descriptions are clear, vivid and exciting. Some readers with a strong interest in the military aspects may be a bit disappointed in the maps. They are few and, barely, adequate. But this is a minor quibble. A more serious criticism might be that there is very little here concerning the view from the German and Italian side. But I don't think such criticism would be fair, because Mr. Atkinson's intent was never to show the war in North Africa from all points of view. He wanted to show the difficulties involved in the U.S. becoming an effective fighting force, the animosity that had to be overcome so that the Americans and British could start to form an effective alliance and, lastly, to set the stage for volume II of his "Liberation Trilogy"- the Allied invasion of Italy in 1943. He has accomplished what he set out to do, and he has done so brilliantly.

I found this a very readable and thorough account of the allied campaign in North Africa and Tunisia during 1942/43.Although written by an American and so from the American perspective I felt the author was fair and balanced in his approach. He is equally fair in his criticisms and goodness knows there was plenty of scope for it.The accounts of the early attempts to seize ports by surprise were revealed as complete fiascos resulting in the deaths of many brave men. It's as though the Dieppe debacle had never happened.The author gives an insight into the lot of the men doing the fighting as well as the political wrangling and a neat critique of the commander's both senior and junior as the story progresses.Well worth reading in my view and difficult to put down once started!

Excellent first book in a trilogy about the US Army when it joined in WW2Shows how bad they were in the beginning and how they failed to learn from the British due to arrogance and ignorance.Interesting in how they gradually improved as the war went on and they weeded out some of the poorer commanders.Fairly honest in its judgement and without the bias against the British that so many armchair American historians indulge in - especially regarding Montgomery.

I have long wished to follow the exploits of my father from north Africa to Italy and thence to Europe with the 8th army - I have read many books on the second world war but Rick Atkinson has put together one of the most comprehensive accounts of these events, accenting the American involvement but giving all the allies due respect, British, Canadian, Polish, French, Nepalese, Indian, African - and all other allies - not mentioned here but of all of equal importance. One of the most important and fascinating aspects of these accounts is the interaction - or lack of - between the few essential commanders who attempted to do the bidding of the planners and the overall commander Eisenhower whose worth seems to have been misunderstood by his self obsessed generals - a genius in keeping a team together and focussed on the goal.

Got this for my husband who is a WWII afficianado. He's reading it now and loves it. He's bowled over by the amout of detail. Also, the book is MASSIVE so if you're one who likes to get absorbed into a good book for a nice long time this is for you. Will definitely be getting him the others in the series.

Fantastic book. Amazing detail and insight, easy to read. Made a not particularly glamorous part of the war fascinating. Tony never had the makings of a varsity athlete.