The first massive commitments of American forces in World War II were made in Northwest Africa, which became a testing ground of tactics, weapons, and training evolved through the years of peace following World War I. The conquest of North Africa strained American resources to the limit. Simultaneously the United States was trying to maintain a line of communication with Australia to conduct a campaign in Guadalcanal, to support China in the war against Japan, to arm and supply Russia's hard-pressed armies in the Eastern Front, to overcome the U-boat menace in the Atlantic, to fulfill lend-lease commitments, and to accumulate the forces, equipment, and supplies necessary to penetrate the heart of Germany and the Japanese homelands. Only by making sacrifices all along the line was the Anglo- American coalition able to carry out the occupation of Northwest Africa. -- From the foreword.

Prelude to Operation Torch -- Target: French Northwest Africa -- The Allied Expeditionary force -- The great naval armadas -- The capture of Oran -- The assault on Algiers -- The landings in Morocco -- The winter campaign -- The Tunisian spring campaign -- Summary -- Epilogue -- Appendices. Basic military map symbols -- Glossary of abbreviations and code names -- Northwest African air forces, organizational chart, 20 May 1943.