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PART IV The Drive to Tunis and the German Surrender. CDT Walters CDT McCary CDT Rogers CDT McElrath CDT Porter. Battle of Mareth (March 16-28). Battle Line Up Allied 5 to 1 tank advantage (743-142) Allied 2 to 1 man power advantage Allied Commander: Montgomery (8 th Army)
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PART IV The Drive to Tunis and the German Surrender CDT Walters CDT McCary CDT Rogers CDT McElrath CDT Porter
Battle of Mareth(March 16-28) • Battle Line Up • Allied 5 to 1 tank advantage (743-142) • Allied 2 to 1 man power advantage • Allied Commander: Montgomery (8th Army) • Axis Commander: Messe (1st Italian Army)
Battle of Mareth • Situation: Axis want to hold out in heavily fortified Mareth Line of defenses. Gives the allies the chance to ‘wrap up’ an Axis army. • Concept of the Operation: XXX Corps conducts a frontal attack while X Corps and the New Zealand Corps Envelope the Axis through the Tebaga Gap • Results: Montgomery encounters much stiffer resistance against the main line of axis defenses than expected and the envelopment force becomes the main effort. • Final Outcome: Allied victory, however not the decisive victory that Montgomery had hoped for. “Three German divisions, with the help of Italian cannon fodder, had thwarted three british corps for a fortnight.”
El Guettar(March 16-25) • Patton’s II Corps vs. von Arnim’s Panzer Armee Afrika • Two-pronged offensive to the east led by Patton • Orlando Ward’s tanks (1st Armored Division) and infantry forces • Move 20 miles to Maknassy • Destroy Luftwaffe airfield at Mezzouna • Terry Allen’s forces • Move to seize Gafsa (Gen. Terry Allen’s 1st Infantry Division) • 1st Ranger Battalion (20-21 March) = surprise attack to clear Djebel Orbata and observe “Gumtree Road”
El Guettar • 23 March • Tanks of the 10th Panzer Division, Panzergrenadiers and Italians from the Centauro Division, attacked the positions of the 1st ID • Minefield + Artillery = retreat • Orders to Patton: Increase pressure along the Gafsa-Gabes axis • Slow Allied advance • Official end of El Guettar: 6 April; capture of Wadi Akarit • Take aways: • Excellent defensive capability of the U.S. forces • Poor offensive operations of the U.S.
Battle of Fondouk Pass(April 8-9) • Capture Fondouk Pass, allow British 6th Armoured to intercept Messe before reaching Kairouan and linking with Fifth Panzer • Commanders: • British: Crocker, IX Corps • American: Ryder, 34th Inf. • German: convicts
Battle of Fondouk Pass • Combat • 34th attacks southern pass; pinned down for 2 days; British Lancers break through on April 10th • Outcome: Allies capture the Pass • TOO LATE to catch Messe • Aftermath: British planning, American fortitude questioned • “Bad plan executed badly.” • Increased American / British animosity • Ike unable to censure press • BUT it is still another tactical victory
Final Push into Tunisia • Montgomery initiated with a poor frontal assault but a successful flanking on the Axis right side. • Patton’s II Corps pressured from the West while the Axis powers fell back to the North.
Allied Powers Won • Air superiority, naval superiority, and good intelligence. • Axis powers lack of supplies, fuel, and evacuation. • Germans and Italians trapped with a hopeless cause.