North African Campaign WWII, 1940-43


The U.S. participation in WWII can best be seen through the lens of participation of the eventual Supreme Allied Commander, Dwight D. Eisenhower.  Ike's many portraits often bring remarks of his

presidency from '53-61', but, very similar to George Washington, Eisenhower (like Washington also lacking non-military formal education -- although a West Point grad) was first and foremost a long-term military man, beginning his stint as an Allied Commander in what is called The North African

Campaign in 1941. As Washington's various talents had been observed by John Adams in particular preceding Bunker Hill – where Washington would be chosen to be Commander of the Continental Army – Ike too had been raised through the ranks and observed by famous Army personnel such as Fox Connor, Pershing, and Macarthur, before being hand chosen by Chief of Staff Marshall for the leadership position in North Africa.  Unlike Washington, however, Eisenenhower had never been a combat soldier and had never commanded an army on the ground (only war games and training a tank division).  In essence, Ike missed his battle-time in WWI by a day.  For a general in the waiting, this lack of a war led to a long series of assignments including a station in Panama, one in the Philippines, and a short stint in Paris, where he worked as a French WWI battle-scene investigator which would come in extremely handy years later when the Allies re-entered France, liberated Paris, then moved northeast to chase the

Germans back into their homeland.  Despite his lack of combat experience, from tank-training, to learning under the most gifted military strategists in America, writing military history, and being a staff member in the War Department, all culminated to suit Ike well in handling the international scene

in North Africa, an episode of the war very often forgotten about against a memorable palate including Pearl Harbor, the German invasion of Russia, Normandy, the Battle of the Bulge and the Pacific fronts.