This work 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 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 vanquish a formidable enemy. -- From the publisher.

U.S. Army Chief of Staff's Professional reading list, 2017. "An Owl book." The U.S. Army Chief of Staff's Professional Reading List 2017 "A Holt paperback." Originally published: New York : Henry Holt & Co., 2002. Includes excerpt (28 p.) of v. 2 of his Liberation trilogy, The day of battle, at end. Includes maps of: Mediterranean and European Theaters in World War II; Operation Torch - Invasion of North Africa, November 1942; Seizure of Oran, November 8-10, 1942; Landings in Algiers, November 8, 1942; Landings at Fedala, November 8, 1942; Capture of Casablanca, November 8-11, 1942; Attack on Mehdia and Port Lyautey, November 8-10, 1942; First Allied Attempt to Reach Tunis, November 15-30, 1942; Tebourba Engagement, December 1-3, 1942; German Attack on Medjez-el-Bab, December 6-10, 1942; Battle for Longstop Hill, December 22-26, 1942; Winter Line in Tunisia, February 1943; Battle of Sidi bou Zid, February 14-15, 1943; Battles of Kasserine Pass, February 19-22, 1943; Battle of Mareth, March 16-28, 1943; Battles of El Guettar and Maknassy Pass, March 16-25, 1943; Continuing Fight near El Guettar, March 28-April 1, 1943; Battle for Fondouk Pass, April 8-9, 1943; Final Victory in Tunisia, April 22-May 13, 1943; Battle for Hill 609, April 27-May 1, 1943.

Allied chain of command. Prologue -- pt. 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 -- Landing. "In the night, all cats are grey" ; In Barbary ; Villain ; To the last man ; "Glory enough for us all" -- Beachhead. A sword in Algiers ; A blue flag over Oran ; "An orgy of disorder" ; Battle for the Kasbah ; "It's all over for now" -- pt. 2. Pushing East. "We live in tragic hours" ; A cold country with a hot sun ; Medjez-el-Bab ; Fat geese on a pond -- Primus in Carthago. "Go for the swine with a blithe heart" ; "The dead salute the gods" ; "Jerry is counterattacking!" -- A country of defiles. Longstop ; "They shot the little son of a bitch" ; "This is the hand of God" -- pt. 3. Casablanca. The ice-cream front ; Speedy Valley ; "The touch of the world" ; The Sinners' Concourse -- A bits and pieces war. "Goats set out to lure a tiger" ; "This can't happen to us" ; "The mortal dangers that beset us" ; "A good night for a mass murder" -- Kasserine. A hostile debouchment ; None returned ; "Sometimes that is not good enough" ; "This place is too hot" ; "Order, counter-order, and disorder" ; "Lay roughly on the tanks" -- pt. 4. The world we knew is a long time dead. Vigil in Red Oak ; "We know there'll be troubles of every sort" ; "One needs luck in war" ; "The devil is come down" -- Over the top. "Give them some steel!" ; "Search your soul" ; Night closes down ; "I had a plan: now I have none" -- The inner keep. Hell's corner ; Hammering home the cork ; "Count your children now, Adolf!" ; Tunisgrad ; Epilogue.