Run for Tunis

Last updated
The Run for Tunis
Part of the Tunisia Campaign of the Second World War
Tunisia25Novto10Dec1942.jpg
Date10 November – 25 December 1942
(1 month, 2 weeks and 1 day)
Location
Tunisia
34°N09°E / 34°N 9°E / 34; 9
Result Axis victory
Belligerents
Commanders and leaders
 Flag of Germany (1935-1945).svg Walther Nehring
Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svg Vittorio Sogno

The Run for Tunis was part of the Tunisia Campaign which took place during November and December 1942 during the Second World War. Once French opposition to the Allied Operation Torch landings had ceased in mid-November, the Allies made a rapid advance by a division-sized force east from Algeria, to capture Tunis and forestall an Axis build up in Tunisia and narrowly failed. [1] Some Allied troops were fewer than 20 miles (32 km) short of Tunis by late November but the defenders counter-attacked and pushed them back nearly 20 miles (32 km), to positions which had stabilised by the end of the year.

Contents

Background

Allies

The planners of Operation Torch had assumed that Vichy would oppose the landings and the invasion convoys had a preponderance of infantry to meet ground opposition. At Algiers the disembarkation of mobile forces for an advance did not commence until 12 November, making an advance eastwards possible only by 15 November. [2] The Allies had only two infantry brigade groups from the British 78th Infantry Division (Major-General Vyvyan Evelegh), an armoured regimental group from the British 6th Armoured Division (Blade Force) and some additional artillery for an advance. An attempt to reach Bizerta and Tunis overland before the Axis could establish themselves, was a gamble which depended on the ability of the navy and air force to delay an Axis build-up. [3] [lower-alpha 1]

Axis

Although the Allies planned for determined Vichy opposition to the Torch landings they underestimated the speed with which the Axis could reinforce Tunisia. [5] Despite intelligence reports regarding the Axis reaction, the Allies were slow to respond and it was not until nearly two weeks after the landings that air and naval plans were made to interdict Axis sea transport to Tunis. [6] At the end of November, naval Force K was reformed in Malta, with three cruisers and four destroyers and Force Q was formed in Bône with three cruisers and two destroyers. No Axis ships sailing to Tunis were sunk in November but the Allied navies sank seven Axis transports in early December. The success was too late because the tanks of the 10th Panzer Division had arrived. Axis convoys began to sail in daylight when they could be protected by aircraft. Night convoys resumed on completion of the extension of Axis minefields which severely restricted Force K and Force Q. [7]

Vichy

Tunisian officials were undecided about whom to support and airfields were left open to both sides; on 9 November, reconnaissance flights reported that forty German aircraft had landed at Tunis and next day British photographic reconnaissance showed around 100 German aircraft there. [8] That day the Regia Aeronautica (Italian Air Force) sent 28 fighters to Tunis and two days later an airlift began which eventually carried 15,000 men and 581 short tons (527  t ) of supplies; ships brought 176 tanks, 131 guns, 1,152 vehicles and 13,000 short tons (12,000 t) of supplies. By the end of the month, three German divisions, including the 10th Panzer Division (Major-General Wolfgang Fischer), and two Italian infantry divisions had arrived. On 12 November, Walther Nehring was appointed to the new XC Corps and arrived on 17 November. The French commander in Tunisia, General Barré, moved the Vichy troops into the mountains and formed a defensive line from Tebersouk through Majaz al Bab (also referred to as Medjez el Bab), with orders to resist an attempt to cross. [9]

Prelude

Vichy Armistice

By 10 November, French opposition to the Torch landings had ceased, creating a military vacuum in Tunisia. [10] On 9 November, Lieutenant-General Kenneth Anderson took command of the Eastern Task Force in Algiers, which was renamed the British First Army. [11] Anderson ordered troops eastward to seize the ports of Bougie, Philippeville and Bône and the airfield at Djedjelli, preliminary to advancing into Tunisia. Allied planners had ruled out an assault landing in Tunisia, because of a lack of troops and the threat from the air; the Allies needed to advance before the Axis could reinforce Tunis. [10] On 11 November, the British 36th Infantry Brigade had landed unopposed at Bougie but supply difficulties meant Djedjelli was only reached by road on 13 November. [10] Bône airfield was occupied following a parachute drop by 3rd Parachute Battalion and this was followed up on 12 November by No. 6 Commando seizing the port. [12]

Advanced guards of 36th Brigade reached Tabarka on 15 November and Djebel Abiod on 18 November where they made first contact with opposition forces. [13] Further south, on 15 November, U.S. Army paratroopers of the 509th Parachute Infantry Battalion made an unopposed drop on Youks-les-Bains, captured the airfield and took the airfield at Gafsa on 17 November. [13] On 19 November, General Nehring demanded passage for his forces across the bridge at Medjez and was refused by Barré. The Germans attacked twice and were repulsed but the French defence was costly and lacking armour and artillery, the French withdrew. [9] [13] Despite some Vichy French forces siding with the Allies, the position of most Vichy forces was uncertain. On 22 November, the North African Agreement placed Vichy French North Africa on the Allied side and Allied garrison troops were released for the front; the Axis had been reinforced to a corps and outnumbered the Allies. [14]

Plan

There were two roads eastwards into Tunisia from Algeria. The Allied plan was to advance along the two roads and take Bizerte and Tunis. Once Bizerte was taken Torch would come to an end. Attacking in the north toward Bizerte would be the 36th Infantry Brigade of the 78th Infantry Division, supported by "Hart Force", a small mobile detachment from the British 11th Infantry Brigade and to the south the rest of the 11th Infantry Brigade. [11] On their left was Blade Force (Colonel Richard Hull), an armoured regimental group which included the tanks of the 17th/21st Lancers, a U.S. light tank battalion plus motorised infantry, paratroops, artillery, anti-tank and anti-aircraft guns and engineers. [15] [16]

Battle

Allied attack

Sketch map of Tunisia during the 1942-1943 campaign Tunisia1942-1943.svg
Sketch map of Tunisia during the 1942–1943 campaign

The two Allied columns advanced towards Djebel Abiod and Beja, under attack from the Luftwaffe , which had local air superiority, because Allied aircraft had to fly from distant bases in Algeria. [17] On the northern road, the leading elements of the 36th Brigade made rapid progress until 17 November, when they met a mixed force of 17 tanks, 400 paratroops and self-propelled guns at Djebel Abiod. The British knocked out eleven tanks but having no tank support, were held up for nine days. [18] [19] The Allied columns concentrated at Djebel Abiod and Beja, preparing for an assault on 24 November. The 36th Brigade (Brigadier A.L. Kent-Lemon) was to advance from Djebel Abiod towards Mateur and 11th Infantry Brigade was to move down the valley of the river Merjerda, to take Majaz al Bab (also known as Medjez el Bab or Medjez) and thence to Tebourba, Djedeida and Tunis. [20]

Blade Force was to strike across country on minor roads, in the gap between the two infantry brigades, towards Sidi Nsir and make flanking attacks on Terbourba and Djedeida. [20] The northern attack was cancelled because of torrential rain and in the south, the 11th Infantry Brigade was stopped by the defenders of Medjez. Blade Force passed through Sidi Nsir, to reach the Chouigui Pass north of Terbourba, then Company C, 1st Battalion, 1st Armored Regiment, U.S. 1st Armored Division (Major Rudolph Barlow) with 17 M3 Stuart light tanks, supported by armoured cars of the Derbyshire Yeomanry, infiltrated behind Axis lines to an airbase at Djedeida in the afternoon. The Allied tanks destroyed more than twenty Axis aeroplanes (including an entire group belonging to Sturzkampfgeschwader 3), shot up buildings, supply dumps and caused several casualties; lacking infantry support, the raiders withdrew to Chouigui. [21]

The surprise achieved by Blade Force alerted Nehring to the vulnerability of garrison at Medjez to a flanking move and the defenders were withdrawn to Djedeida, only 30 km (19 mi) from Tunis. [22] The 36th Infantry Brigade attack began on 26 November but Nehring used the delay at Djebel Abiod, to lay an ambush at Jefna on the road from Sedjenane and Mateur. The Germans occupied high ground on either side of the road, which after heavy rain was very muddy and the ground on either side impassable for vehicles; the leading British battalion had 149 casualties. [23] Kent-Lemon sent units into the hills to outflank the Germans but the determined defence of the paratroopers in well-laid out defences could not be overcome. A landing by No. 1 Commando 14 mi (23 km) west of Bizerta on 30 November to outflank the Jefna position failed; the commandos rejoined 36th Brigade by 3 December and the position remained in German hands, until the last days of the fighting in Tunisia in 1943. [13] [24]

German retirement

Early on 26 November, the 11th Infantry Brigade entered Medjez unopposed, reached Tebourba unopposed, ready to advance on Djedeida. Next day, the Germans attacked, inflicted 137 casualties and took 286 prisoners. The brigade attacked again on 28 November towards Djedeida airfield and Combat Command "B", 1st US Armored Division, lost 19 tanks to anti-tank guns in the town. [25] On 29 November, fresh units of the 1st Guards Brigade (78th Infantry Division), which had arrived at Algiers on 22 November, began to relieve the 11th Infantry Brigade. [26] On 29 November, Combat Command "B" had assembled to attack with Blade Force on 2 December. The 2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment (Lieutenant-Colonel John Frost) was to be dropped on the same day near Axis airfields around Depienne 30 mi (48 km) south of Tunis, to destroy Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive bombers at Oudna airfield and to threaten Tunis from the south. [27] The main attack was forestalled by an Axis counter-attack on 1 December and the attack by Blade Force did not take place; the 2nd Battalion retreated 50 miles (80 km) to Allied lines under frequent attack and lost 23 killed and wounded and 266 missing. [28] [29]

The Axis counter-attack was conducted by the 10th Panzer Division, which had just arrived in Tunisia, from the north toward Tebourba. [30] Blade Force suffered considerable casualties and by the evening of 2 December, had been withdrawn, leaving the 11th Infantry Brigade and Combat Command "B" to resist the Axis attack, which nearly cut off the brigade and broke through. [29] Desperate fighting by 2nd Battalion, Hampshire Regiment (1st Guards Brigade) and the 1st Battalion, East Surrey Regiment for four days delayed the Axis advance and with the fight of Combat Command "B" against armoured and infantry attacks from the south-east, enabled a slow retirement to high ground on each side of the river west of Terbourba. The Hampshires suffered 75 percent casualties and the Surreys nearly 60 percent casualties. [31] [32]

As more Allied troops arrived, the V Corps (Lieutenant-General Charles Walter Allfrey) of the First Army took all forces in the Tebourba sector, which included the 6th Armoured Division, 78th Infantry Division, Combat Command B from US 1st Armored Division, 1st Parachute Brigade, 1 and 6 Commandos. [33] Allfrey considered the depleted units facing Tebourba were vulnerable and ordered a retirement of about 6 mi (9.7 km) to the high ground of Longstop Hill (djebel el Ahmera) 900 ft (270 m) high and Bou Aoukaz on either side of the river. On 10 December, Axis tanks attacked Combat Command "B" on Bou Aoukaz, bogged in the mud and then U.S. tanks counter-attacked and also mired and were picked off, losing 18 tanks. [34]

Subsequent operations

Another Allied attack was ready by late December 1942, when the Allied force comprised 54,000 British, 73,800 American and 7,000 French troops. A hasty intelligence review showed about 125,000 combat and 70,000 service troops, mostly Italian, in front of them. On the night of 16/17 December, a company of the 1st US Infantry Division raided Maknassy, 155 mi (249 km) south of Tunis and took 21 German prisoners. The main attack began the afternoon of 22 December, despite rain and insufficient air cover; elements of the 18th Regimental Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division (18th RCT) and the 2nd Battalion, Coldstream Guards of the 1st Guards Brigade made progress up the lower ridges of Longstop Hill that dominated the river corridor from Medjez to Tebourba and thence to Tunis. By the morning of 23 December, the Coldstreams had driven back units of the 10th Panzer Division on the summit, been relieved by the 18th RCT and withdrawn to Mejdez. The Germans regained the hill in a counter-attack, the Guards were ordered back and next day regained the peak and dug-in with the 18th RCT. By 25 December, with ammunition running low and Axis forces holding adjacent high ground, the Longstop position became untenable and the Allies were forced to withdraw to Medjez. [35]

See also


Notes

  1. ↑ After the event, Anderson and Cunningham, the naval commander, expressed the view that without landings east of Algiers, the race for Tunis was lost before it started. [4]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Taylor, Alan. "World War II: The North African Campaign". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2017-05-25.
  2. ↑ Hinsley, pp. 472–473, 497.
  3. ↑ Playfair, p. 239.
  4. ↑ Hinsley, p. 492.
  5. ↑ Hinsley, p. 487.
  6. ↑ Hinsley, p. 493.
  7. ↑ Hinsley, pp. 495–496.
  8. ↑ Playfair, p. 152.
  9. 1 2 Watson (2007), p. 60.
  10. 1 2 3 Anderson (1946), p. 2 "No. 37779". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 November 1946. p. 5450.
  11. 1 2 Playfair, p. 153.
  12. ↑ Anderson (1946), p. 4 "No. 37779". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 November 1946. p. 5452.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Anderson (1946), p. 5 "No. 37779". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 November 1946. p. 5453.
  14. ↑ Playfair, 1966, pp. 162–163, 170–173.
  15. ↑ Ford (1999), p. 15.
  16. ↑ Watson (2007), p. 61.
  17. ↑ Ford (1999), p. 17.
  18. ↑ Hinsley, pp. 497–498.
  19. ↑ Ford (1999), pp. 19–22.
  20. 1 2 Ford (1999), p. 23.
  21. ↑ Ford (1999), pp. 23–25.
  22. ↑ Ford (1999), p. 25.
  23. ↑ Ford (1999), p. 28.
  24. ↑ Ford (1999), p. 40.
  25. ↑ Ford (1999), pp. 37–38.
  26. ↑ Ford (1999), p. 39.
  27. ↑ Cherry, Niall (2011). Tunisian Tales. Solihull, England: Helion. pp. 120–121. ISBN   978-1-907677-22-9.
  28. ↑ Playfair, 1966, p. 177.
  29. 1 2 Anderson (1946), p. 6 "No. 37779". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 November 1946. p. 5454.
  30. ↑ Watson (2007), pp. 62–63.
  31. ↑ Ford (1999), pp. 50, 47.
  32. ↑ Watson (2007), p. 63.
  33. ↑ Playfair, p. 183.
  34. ↑ Ford (1999), p. 51.
  35. ↑ Ford (1999), pp. 53–54.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second Battle of El Alamein</span> Battle in the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War

The Second Battle of El Alamein was a battle of the Second World War that took place near the Egyptian railway halt of El Alamein. The First Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Alam el Halfa had prevented the Axis from advancing further into Egypt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Kasserine Pass</span> Part of the Tunisia Campaign of World War II

The Battle of Kasserine Pass took place from 18-24 February 1943 at Kasserine Pass, a 2-mile-wide (3.2 km) gap in the Grand Dorsal chain of the Atlas Mountains in west central Tunisia. It was a part of the Tunisian campaign of World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North African campaign</span> Campaign of WWII fought in North Africa

The North African campaign of World War II took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts, in Morocco and Algeria, and in Tunisia. The campaign was fought between the Allies and the Axis Powers. The Allied war effort was dominated by the British Commonwealth and exiles from German-occupied Europe. The United States officially entered the war in December 1941 and began direct military assistance in North Africa on 11 May 1942.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tunisian campaign</span> Series of battles in Tunisia during the Second World War

The Tunisian campaign was a series of battles that took place in Tunisia during the North African campaign of the Second World War, between Axis and Allied forces from 17 November 1942 to 13 May 1943. The Allies consisted of British Imperial Forces, including a Greek contingent, with American and French corps. The battle opened with initial success by the German and Italian forces but the massive supply interdiction efforts led to the decisive defeat of the Axis. Over 260,000 German and Italian troops were taken as prisoners of war, including most of the Afrika Korps.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Gazala</span> 1942 battle during the Western Desert Campaign of World War II

The Battle of Gazala was fought during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War, west of the port of Tobruk in Libya, from 26 May to 21 June 1942. Axis troops of the Panzerarmee Afrika consisting of German and Italian units fought the British Eighth Army composed mainly of British Commonwealth, Indian and Free French troops.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">6th Infantry Regiment (United States)</span> Military unit

The 6th Infantry Regiment ("Regulars") was formed 11 January 1812. Zachary Taylor, later the twelfth President of the United States, was a commander of the unit. The motto, "Regulars, By God!" derives from the Battle of Chippawa, in which British Major General Phineas Riall noticed that the approaching regiment had on the uniforms of militia, which the British had defeated at Queenston Heights. Instead, the Americans pressed the attack. Riall is believed to have said, "Those are Regulars, By God!", though the only source of this was opposing U.S. General Winfield Scott.

This is a timeline of the North African campaign.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mareth Line</span> System of fortifications defending Tunisia during WW2

The Mareth Line was a system of fortifications built by France in southern Tunisia in the late 1930s. The line was intended to protect Tunisia against an Italian invasion from its colony in Libya. The line occupied a point where the routes into Tunisia from the south converged, leading toward Mareth, with the Mediterranean Sea to the east and mountains and a sand sea to the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of the Mareth Line</span> Battle of World War II fought in Tunisia

The Battle of the Mareth Line or the Battle of Mareth was an attack in the Second World War by the British Eighth Army in Tunisia, against the Mareth Line held by the Italo-German 1st Army. It was the first big operation by the Eighth Army since the Second Battle of El Alamein 4+1⁄2 months previously. On 19 March 1943, Operation Pugilist, the first British attack, established a bridgehead but a break-out attempt was defeated by Axis counter-attacks. Pugilist established an alternative route of attack and Operation Supercharge II, an outflanking manoeuvre via the Tebaga Gap was planned. Montgomery reinforced the flanking attack, which from 26 to 31 March, forced the 1st Army to retreat to Wadi Akarit, another 40 mi (64 km) back in Tunisia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Medenine</span> 1943 Allied offensive within the Tunisia campaign of WWII

The Battle of Medenine was an Axis spoiling attack at Medenine in Tunisia on 6 March 1943. The operation was intended to delay an attack by the British Eighth Army on the Mareth Line. The British had been forewarned by Ultra decrypts of German wireless communications and rushed reinforcements from Tripoli and Benghazi before the Axis attack, which was a costly failure. General Erwin Rommel, the commander of Army Group Africa (Heeresgruppe Afrika), could not afford to lose forces needed for the defence of the Mareth Line and the effort was abandoned at dusk that day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">78th Infantry Division (United Kingdom)</span> WW2 British Army formation

The 78th Infantry Division, also known as the Battleaxe Division, was an infantry division of the British Army, raised during the Second World War that fought, with great distinction, in Tunisia, Sicily and Italy from late 1942–1945.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operations Vulcan and Strike</span> 1943 final battles of Tunisian campaign

Operation Vulcan and Operation Strike were the final ground attacks by the Allied forces against the Italian and German forces in Tunis, Cape Bon, and Bizerte, the last Axis toeholds in North Africa, during the Tunisian campaign of the Second World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Sidi Bou Zid</span> 1943 battle of the Tunisia Campaign in World War II

The Battle of Sidi Bou Zid(Unternehmen Frühlingswind/Operation Spring Breeze) took place during the Tunisia Campaign from 14–17 February 1943, in World War II. The battle was fought around Sidi Bou Zid, where a large number of US Army units were mauled by German and Italian forces. It resulted in the Axis forces recapturing the strategically important town of Sbeitla in central Tunisia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of El Agheila</span> Brief engagement of the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War

The Battle of El Agheila was a brief engagement of the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. It took place in December 1942 between Allied forces of the Eighth Army and the Axis forces of the German-Italian Panzer Army, during the long Axis withdrawal from El Alamein to Tunis. The Eighth Army planned to outflank and trap the Axis forces as they withdrew to Tunis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British airborne operations in North Africa</span> British operations part of the Tunisian Campaign of World War II

The British airborne operations in North Africa were conducted by British paratroopers of the 1st Parachute Brigade, commanded by Brigadier Edwin Flavell, as part of the Tunisian campaign of World War II, over the period between November 1942 and April 1943.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Wadi Akarit</span>

The Battle of Wadi Akarit was an Allied attack from 6 to 7 April 1943, to dislodge Axis forces from positions along the Wadi Akarit in Tunisia during the Tunisia Campaign of the Second World War. The Gabès Gap, north of the towns of Gabès and El Hamma, is a passage between the sea and impassable salt marshes. The 51st (Highland) Infantry Division breached the defences and held a bridgehead, allowing the passage of their main force to roll up the Axis defences. After several determined counter-attacks, the Axis forces withdrew and the Eighth Army, under General Bernard Montgomery, pursued toward Tunis, until reaching Axis defensive positions at Enfidaville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Longstop Hill</span>

The 2nd Battle of Longstop Hill or the Capture of Longstop Hill took place in Tunisia during the Tunisia Campaign of World War II from 21 to 23 April 1943. The battle was fought for control over the heights of Djebel el Ahmera and Djebel Rhar, together known as Longstop Hill and vicinity, between the British forces of the First Army and German units of the 5th Panzer Army. The infantry of the 78th Battleaxe Division and Churchill tanks of the North Irish Horse captured Longstop Hill after bitter fighting, in which the tanks created a measure of tactical surprise by driving up the hill, a manoeuvre that only Churchill tanks could achieve. The attackers broke through the German defences, which were the last great natural barrier on the road to Tunis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1st Armoured Division (United Kingdom)</span> British Army unit in the Second World War

The 1st Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army. It was formed as the Mobile Division on 24 November 1937, after several years of debate on the creation of such a formation. It was then renamed, in April 1939, the 1st Armoured Division. Following the start of the Second World War, in September 1939, subordinate units and formations were withdrawn from the division to reinforce others. Then, in May 1940, the division was deployed to France and then fought in the Battle of France. After several engagements and heavy tank losses, it was forced to withdraw to the UK, in June, during Operation Aerial. In late 1941, the division was sent to North Africa where it took part in the Western Desert campaign, notably fighting at the Battle of Gazala, and the First and the Second Battles of El Alamein.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Ochsenkopf</span>

Unternehmen Ochsenkopf also known as the Battle of Sidi Nsir and the Battle of Hunts Gap was an Axis offensive operation in Tunisia from 26 February to 4 March 1943, during the Tunisia Campaign of the Second World War. The offensive and a subsidiary operation Unternehmen Ausladung was intended to gain control of Medjez el Bab, Béja, El Aroussa, Djebel Abiod and a position known as Hunt's Gap, between the British First Army and the Axis Army Group Africa. The offensive gained some ground, but none of the more ambitious objectives were achieved before the operation was called off due to increasing losses of infantry and tanks, particularly the heavy Tigers. Unternehmen Ochsenkopf was the last big Axis offensive by the 5th Panzer Army before the surrender of the Afrika Korps in May 1943.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2nd Battalion, Tower Hamlets Rifles</span> Military unit

The 2nd Battalion, Tower Hamlets Rifles, was a Territorial Army unit of the British Army during World War II. It fought as a motor battalion in the Tunisian campaign, including the Run for Tunis and Battle of Kasserine Pass, and in the Italian Campaign from Monte Cassino to the Apennines, including the seizure of the Muraglione Pass.

References

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.