An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa (1942-1943)


Unabridged Audiobook

Ratings
Book
60
Narrator
6
Release Date
April 2013
Duration
13 hours 16 minutes
Summary
Beginning the trilogy that continues with The Day of Battle, An Army at Dawn opens 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; casualties mount rapidly, battle plans prove ineffectual, and hope for a quick and decisive victory evaporates. The Allies discover that they are woefully unprepared to fight and win this war. North Africa 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 vanquish a formidable enemy. 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.
Browse By Category
Reviews
Profile Avatar
Dio F.

Wow, truly a great presentation !

Profile Avatar
Matt L

Detailed and always interesting, Atkinson continues to his tradition of writing excellence. The entire trilogy is outstanding.

Profile Avatar
Albert

This narrative begins with Operation Torch, so much of the war in North Africa has already taken place when the story begins. I did not know there was so much hard fighting in the course of this part of WWII. Nor did I understand before the extent to which the U.S. war machine needed to harden and improve. U.S. failure to properly train the troops before deployment is a consistent theme. I found much to like in this recorded book and I heartily recommend it to others who may be interested in learning more about this important part of our history.

Profile Avatar
David Goodrich

I truly enjoyed this book, having see part of the story on War Stories, which included the author. It is well written though a little hard to follow without a map in hand. Victory costs lives as do mistakes and the author shows the need to obtain Victory

Profile Avatar
Michael Manning

One of the best books on Operation Torch and subseqent operations. I highly recommend it.

Profile Avatar
Peter Maugle

I thoroughly enjoyed this account of an often overlooked theater of WWII. I thought the author used a good combination of narrative mixed in with some personal stories from the soldiers. Just FYI, this book does not cover the entire North Africa campaign, but specifically the American involvement from late 1942 and after.

Profile Avatar
Anonymous

I was unaware of how ill-prepared we were as an army and did not know much if anything of the French fighting with the Germans in North Africa. Helps to place Casablanca in context . Enjoyable read.

Profile Avatar
Daniel Wainwright

A very interesting historical look at the Allied invasion of North Africa in '42-'43. Not as many personal stories of individuas as Stephen Ambroise. This is much more of a historical look at the decisions and the decision makers as opposed to the ground soldiers. I enjoyed it.

Profile Avatar
Michael Hayes

Excellent read. Can't wait to get to the other two books in the Trilogy.

1 book added to cart
Subtotal
$39.95
View Cart