Cover art for Lighting the Torch
Published
Helion & Company, August 2025
ISBN
9781804516652
Format
Hardcover, 208 pages
Dimensions
24.8cm × 17.1cm

Lighting the Torch The Tunisian Campaign and Forging an Allied Way of War 1942-43

Not yet released
Due August 1, 2025.
Fast $7.95 flat-rate shipping!
Only pay $7.95 per order within Australia, including end-to-end parcel tracking.
100% encrypted and secure
We adhere to industry best practice and never store credit card details.
Talk to real people
Contact us seven days a week – our staff are here to help.

Fought between November 1942 and May 1943, the Second World War's Tunisian Campaign has often been described as where the Allies 'learned to fight'. The vital culmination of the conflict fought across the breadth of North Africa, as well as an important stepping-stone to the opening of a second front in Europe, Tunisia saw American, British, and French forces on air, land, and sea, combine to drive Axis forces from the African continent for good.

Yet despite Tunisia's importance to the grand narrative of the Second World War, it has remained chronically neglected by scholars, particularly in regard to the lessons the Allies derived from their experiences during the campaign. This monograph examines the much-understudied Tunisian Campaign through the lens of military learning, shedding light on an oft-ignored aspect of the North African Campaign whilst providing a major contribution to our understanding of how Allied forces learned and evolved prior to their return to Europe in 1943/44. Lighting the Torch demonstrates that it was in North Africa where the Allies were able to develop the organisations, doctrines, and processes necessary to prosecute an effective multinational campaign on air, sea, and land, as well as develop the command talent, combat experience, and technologies to fight and win battles successfully. These lessons would prove crucial when the Allies finally returned to the European continent, underpinning the successful invasions of Sicily, Italy, and Normandy and allowing the Allies to fight their way across the continent towards ultimate Axis surrender. AUTHOR: Samuel Wallace holds a PhD in History from the University of Leeds and currently works in the Defence Sector. Along with how militaries learn as corporate organisations, Sam is keenly interested in the evolution of military technologies, and the development of doctrine, particularly in the early 20th century. 12 b/w photos, 10 colour maps

Related books