Originally published in 1944, "[t]he events with which this volume deals form an episode with a certain organic unity and completeness. They include the almost indescribable battle of Stalingrad and the Russian recoil; but they also take in the events in North Africa. They describe, therefore, the ebb and flow of the tide which threatened the liberties of Western civilization; and for the first time they suggest that unity of design which victory postulates in every successful campaign."
