When the US got involved in WWII, it had to battle on two fronts. As the country
had never fought a modern war against a well equipped and well trained enemy, it
was not surprising that there would be a learning curve. While the Japanese were
nothing to sneeze at, technologically the more potent enemy was Germany. The
British had been fighting against them and the Italians in North Africa for the
better part of a year before the US got involved with the invasion of northwest
Africa during operation Torch. While these landings were against the Vichy
French, it soon became clear that the French were not all that keen on fighting
the Allies. This allowed Allied forces, including the American air force to set
up for the more involved conflict further east in Tunisia.
Tunisia was initially very much of a learning situation. In
the first US battle against the Germans, the US Army did not do well and was
defeated by a more experienced foe. This was also true of the Army Air Forces,
which had to learn by doing and doing initially did not go as planned. However,
as with anything new, one learns from defeat and eventually the USAAF learned
how to best use their equipment when fighting against a determined Luftwaffe.
In this book, the author covers the time period from
basically the start of the war in the West up through the invasion of Sicily.
While not a day by day record, it is fairly close and covers all the major
actions of the period. In line with the author's other books, there are lots of
pilot stories. These are interwoven with the historical background, adding a lot
of color to events which could be dry in the telling. I have thoroughly enjoyed
every one of Tom Cleaver's books as he is a masterful story-teller. I know you
will enjoy the book as much as did I. Most highly recommended.
January 2025
Review book courtesy Tom Cleaver and Osprey Publishing.
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