Military historian O'Hara describes the Anglo-American Operation Torch, a risky amphibious invasion of neutral French territory in North Africa in order to get a toe-hold and open another front against the Nazis that would take pressure off the Russians. It did not in fact help Russia, and did not bring Americans into contact with Germans, he says, and it took five months longer than planned to conquer French North Africa. But it did force the Anglo-American allies to function as true partners on the strategic, operational, and tactical levels, and to hone their system for the most difficult of military operations--the amphibious invasion. He contends that it was the amphibious invasion and coalition warfare by which the Allies won World War II in Europe. Annotation ©2015 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)