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.