The Rising Tide

I’m about halfway into the first of three books that Jeff Shaara has written about WWII. I got hooked on his Civil War novels and this one doesn’t disappoint.

Obviously, The Rising Tide begins with the conquest of North Africa and the subjugation of the idiot French and Italians, not to mention the Germans. It might have turned out completely different if British Liberators hadn’t sent every fuel ship leaving Italy to the bottom of the Mediterranean. By the time the combined American and British assault force came ashore, Rommel was running from Montgomery with 15,000 men and a few dozen tanks. He’d been relieved of overall command by Hitler and was nearly incapacitated with liver disease.

Eisenhower coordinated the assault from Gibraltar and later moved his HQ to Algiers, made safe by General Patton. On the way over, Eisenhower’s B-17 lost two engines. Again, catastrophe was barely averted. To this point Patton’s force had barely fired a weapon. Rather than being allowed to chase the Germans in Tunisia, Patton received his third star and was given six months to plan the invasion of Sicily. He was not a happy camper.

The invasion of North Africa was a hastily arranged affair in late 1942, as rain began falling in January 1943, with the consequent mud grinding both armored efforts to a stop. Unfortunately, the Luftwaffe enjoyed gravel and asphalt strips to the East and spent the rainy season continually harassing British and American forces.

The ships which brought American tanks across the Atlantic and down from Scotland had flat bottoms. The lack of a keel made them extremely unstable and by the time they approached Gibraltar, the tank crews were very anxious to offload.

11-24-09 13:00: I’m almost finished with the book. The short version is the rain stopped, Montgomery pursued Rommel into Tunisia from the East and Allied Forces approached from the West. Rommel broke out at the Kasserine Pass, but his generals failed to press their advantage and were driven back. Rommel visited Hitler to again make his case for reinforces, was relieved and entered hospital. The few Tigers delivered to Tunisia failed to defend the Allied pincer movement and 250K German and Italian prisoners were taken.

Patton relieved Fredenland and got in a few licks before the end, but left to begin the invasion of Sicily as the North African campaign was mopped up.

The invasion of Southern Sicily from Tunisia began with 3,400 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne being scattered over sixty miles. Somehow, groups managed to find each other and made an effective defense while infantry and armor came ashore.

Monty kept to the east and fought north toward Mt. Etna and Messina. Patton and Omar Bradley fought on his west flank and freed Palermo, opening up an important seaport for resupply. Again, Allied forces approached Messina in the classic pincer movement.

Meanwhile, Kesselring retreated to the mainland of Italy to prepare for its invasion and Mussolini was deposed. Rommel returned and designed a defense of Greece which would never be required.