In the United States there has been a wide divergence of views on the role of France's Navy in World War II. We have tended to remain trapped by wartime half-truths. This book attempts to set the record straight. Koburger's study discusses the history of U.S. dealings with Vichy France, especially in the French Antilles and St. Pierre et Miquelon. It describes and examines TORCH--U.S. landings in French North Africa--and its impact on us; the subsequent establishment of U.S. bases there and elsewhere on French soil; the rebuilding by the U.S. of the French Navy; and the results of our efforts. Koburger concludes that the United States did not do enough with the French, but considering the era and the circumstances, we did the best we could hope to do.

CHARLES W. KOBURGER, JR., is a Captain, U.S. Coast Guard Reserve, who retired in 1978 after 20 years of active duty. He has published many times on both sides of the Atlantic. His eighth book, Naval Warfare in the Eastern Mediterranean, 1940-1945, was published by Praeger in 1993.