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

The Liberation Trilogy, Volume 1

By: Rick Atkinson

Narrated by: George Guidall

Pulitzer Prize, History, 2003

The liberation of Europe and the destruction of the Third Reich is a story of courage and enduring triumph, of calamity and miscalculation. In this first volume of the Liberation Trilogy, Rick Atkinson shows why no modern learner can understand the ultimate victory of the Allied powers without a grasp of the great drama that unfolded in North Africa in 1942 and 1943. That first year of the Allied war was a pivotal point in American history, the moment when the United States began to act like a great power.

Beginning with the daring amphibious invasion in November 1942, An Army at Dawn follows the American and British armies as they fight the French in Morocco and Algeria, and then take on the Germans and Italians in Tunisia. Battle by battle, an inexperienced and sometimes poorly led army gradually becomes a superb fighting force. Central to the tale are the extraordinary but fallible commanders who come to dominate the battlefield: Eisenhower, Patton, Bradley, Montgomery, and Rommel.

Brilliantly researched, rich with new material and vivid insights, Atkinson's narrative provides the definitive history of the war in North Africa.

An Army at Dawn is the winner of the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for History.

©2002 Rick Atkinson; 2013 Simon and Schuster

An important chapter in WWII well narrated

What comes to mind is that so many blunders of WWI were repeated in WWII. The African campaigns were no exception. American was ill prepared for war and the British seemed not to have learned much from fighting in WWI. But also, as this book unfolds, we learn that only the Germans had learned their lessons and developed new strategies nd tactics, i.e. the blitzkrieg and mechanized warfare. What this theater did was toughen up the Americans, and the allies, physically and mentally, for the long, grueling battles to come.
The author personalizes the battles with snippets from soldiers' diaries (both sides). It proves welcome respite from recalling all the maneuvers and the places they occurred at.
What I wished the book paid more attention to was the installation of Darlan as head of the French forces. There was a mighty bit of political intrigue going on in France, Britain, and American when dealing with what was thought as the least of an unattractive situation. I wished this aspect was explored more in depth.
What the book posits is that this early campaign, won with great difficulty by the allies and lost after horrific fighting by the axis, showed the way to the ultimate destruction of the axis. It gave the allies confidence, sometimes false, and the axis doubts which they were able to overcome to fight on to great tactical victories but ultimate defeat.
I have always doubted the Montgomery's generalship and this book shows how his weaknesses were manifested in his victories but also how they would appear in later battles (his tendency to "tidy" up his lines before making his next assault while the enemy was right in front of him ready to be exploited) to extend the war, e.g. Market Garden.
I highly recommend this book if you wish to examine WWII in a broad context.
As for the narration: it is nothing short of amazing how Guidall can get into the mind of the author and make the story come alive with an inflection here and there. He is a true master of the art o narration.

Worth the time

I can manage history fairly well on recorded books. One thing that helps is a good narrator. I found this book by looking for books with George Guidall as narrator and I was pleased. I followed this book with the second undertaking from Mr. Atkinson focused on Italy and Sicily; not a happy outcome. Different narrator maybe or because I had a less understanding about the Italian effort. I'm taking a break and will pick up the third volume sometime early next year. One issue is that I couldn't keep track of the terrain and disposition. I may need to read these books in text format with illustrations that could help in finding my place.

It doesn't get any better than this.

Any additional comments?

If you like WWII history, you will not regret getting this book. Both the writing and the performance come together to emerse the reader in the entire conflict in North Africa, from the the day to day perspective of soldiers fighting the battles, to the personalities and trials of the high command as the Allies made the first large scale effort to defeat the Axis.

Details, details, details- US in Africa, WWII

What did you love best about An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa (1942-1943)?

The book delves deep into operation Torch and the campaign for Tunisia, the African "Stalingrad" for the Axis in Europe. Sometimes too deep... do I need squad level tactics in an engagement of 4 armies, 5 nations and hundreds of thousands of men?

Maybe I do. The letters to home, newspaper articles and diary articles make this a first person account. A couple of characters emerge, Patton, Eisenhower, but the picture of the US soldier is most clear. "Learning to hate", learning to fight, learning to be an army,

What was one of the most memorable moments of An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa (1942-1943)?

When Patton orders his division commander to personally lead a hill assault leading to a needless and serious wound, I wondered what causes someone to be a hero to history versus a villain.

Have you listened to any of George Guidall’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When the British and US finally started to roll, overcoming Kaserien Pass, I decided the next book would be first on my list of books to listen to next.

Any additional comments?

Beautifully written with abundant use of primary sources. The author ties the beginning and end to the story of the 34th Division from Iowa, whose members could be from any Midwestern state.

Love this book

I first read the book and then got the audible version for long commutes. Atkinson blended with the narrators voice paint an amazing picture. Get it, you won’t be disappointed.

Why did I wait?

This is a fantastic narrative of the North African campaign. I have looked at this trilogy for awhile. I am glad I pulled the trigger.

I can’t recommend this enough.

Excellent narrator and the story is riveting.

An in depth look at WWII North Africa

Provided an indepth look at previously unknown to me information and aids in better understanding past events shaping current ones.

A worthy read

perfect narration. detailed and interesting account of US involvement in Africa campaign during WW2.

Thanks

Excellently researched and superbly written. Thank you for demonstrating the tremendous growth of the American army in WWII.

Informative and well presented.

Excellent background to the unfolding War. I’m impressed how well the author bound together both facts and persons. And George Guidell is a master presenter. Moving on now to books Two and Three.