THE MARCH OF WAR IN NORTH AFRICA

HEN the Allies invaded French North retreat on the part of the French defenders. Africa. in November 1942, they were This phase of the battle lasted until January W not quick enough to frustrate Axis 24 and netted the Axis troops a booty of countermeasures. Slowed down by a lack 21 tanks, 70 guus, 200 trucks, and plenty of of supplies on the one hand, and by in­ other material captured, as well as some efficiency and indecision on the other, the 4,000 prisoners. British First Army, under General Anderson, While this was happening in Tunisia, which had moved eaatwa.rd along the Mediter­ Marshal Rommel continued to withdraw his' ranean coast, was stopped by German and army weatward, ev~ding all outflanking Italian formations. These latter had been maneuvers of the British Eighth Army under transported to Tunisia by air, and while General Montgomery. He evacuated Trip­ consolidating their position in a narrow olis, which was o,-,cupied by the British on circle in the northeastern part of the country, January 23, and finally took up positions in they had taken up strong defense positions the Mareth Line. This system of fortifica­ whence they were able to repulse the at­ tions is roughly fifty miles long. It is tackers. situated between the Gulf of Gabes and the Simultaneous with these operations, Axis Shott el Jerid and was constructed by the forces had pushed southward from Tunis French. While Marshal Rommel's rear and northward from Tripolitania, thus secur­ guards were fighting a delaying action south ing the entire coastal strip of eastern Tunisia, of this line, his main body of troops strength­ with its strategic ports and communication ened the fortifications already in existence. lines, against the attempts of French dis­ At that time Allied estimates figured the sident troops advancing towards Kairouan strength of the Axis forces in Tunisia at and American detachments operating from T"t-a wWlIonle ceulallol IIoml l5uuLlleCll TUlli· aia. During the following weeks both sides Wl!re bUSy organ.tzIng theIr communications. A stream of reinforcements went acr088 the straits between sout~em Italy and Tunisia to bolster the fighting strength of the Axis. Both the opposing air forces were active, bombin~ 8upply bases and contesting for air superiority, which so far seems to have rcwa.iucd witll the Axill. ARNIM AND ROMMEL Gradually the area. held by the Gennan forces in the north was expanded. better positions being gained, notably by the capture of Tebourba and the advance on Medjez el Bab. Strengthened by armored detachments, the Axis forces in Tunisia were placed under· the command of General von Arnim who, on January 18, captured Pont du Fahs and pursued the French in that sector in a southwesterly direction along the Kebir River, at the same time preB8ing towards some of the passes north of Bou Arada. Further south, fighting flared up between Kairouan and Pichon, leading to a THE XXtIJ CENTURY

around 160,000 to ISO,OOO men, ll! against {i the Axis force lallnched a . urprise 200.000 Anglo-Amcrican t roors cx Imling RUnck again. t this area of deployment thc French dissident detachments. which "icldcd valuable information on tho Brit ish' plans. By the middle of Marclt. THE AXIS Pl"'HE' WE.'T t he real ·tl'llggle on this front had not yet Another pha c of the battle began at the (·ommenced. but there were sign.'! that the end of Janus.ry, when an important pass British wcr prcparing for a major attack. ea~t of Sidi bou Zid, on the road between The withdmwal of Marshal RommeJ'R •'fax and Sbeitla, was captured by Axis army from Lib)ll coupled with the Axis forcl' . u,' weU as the cit\" of •'cned on the offensives in cent.ral and southern Tllni"ill 'fax G fsa railway, C-ontinued pre urc of have permitted aU Axis troops on African the Axis then led to the capture of Sidi bou . oil to join hands in that French colony Zid Gnfsa, Kll8serine and Metlaoui, (Feb­ and to concentrate their entire strength in ruary Ii). Exploit.ing their llueee8.'*lS, the n country with excellent natural possibilities -Germans advane d along the northwestern for defen. e or attack and with II highly shore of the 'hott el Jerid beyond Tozeur dt'vcloped system of railway and ronds. to Nefta, and also from Ka.North Africa, General Eieenhower, support the Allied front on the central and to how his qualities in more than just an southern sectors, when t he Germans stopped occupation ~ practically undefended areas. their aJ\'ancc on February 25. In this Neither he nor his American have (!rive, the Axis forces took 4,015 prisoners troops stood the test well. The Britisb, who an I apt.ured or destroyed 235 tanks, 169 too had 80 often been t-old by people from the armored cars, 160 guns and gun carriages, other side of the Atlantic how the war ought one ammunition depot, 15 planes, and m&Dy to be conducted, were even a little malicious trucks and other war booty. After tbat, in tbeir comments. The English journalist the Germans withdrew again from Feriana, Cummings in the Ne'U'8 Chronicle cttlled the K888Crine, Sbeitla, Gafsa, and aU districts ~t~th~~~,to~~up~~~ns American troops "greenllOrns" and suggested that the American officcnl were chiefly to particularly favorable for defense. blame for the Jack of good training methods Hardly had these operations in central and sufficient techn.ical knowledge. Genera.l und western Tuni1!ia been complE'ted, when Catroux, .French di8.'lident leader, regarded the Axis st.aged l~ successful thrust in the the setback sutTered by the Americans &8 a north rn part of the country. After having "major defeat"; and Reuter's spe<:ial cor· gained b'Tound near Mcdjez el Bab anu Beja, respondent with the British First Army, the Axis forces reachcd COli beUat, north of Hllig Nicholson, revealed that, according t,o Bou Arildll, at the end of Fl~bruary. On letters found in the battle area, German Mar 'h 7, a spearhead adnlllcing along the soldiers consider service on the Tunisian c-oa t captured Cnpc ·em~t. Sedj nane, front agai.nst the Anglo.American fo~ as south of Cape Serrat, had been evacuated by a "picnic" compared to the fighting in the British shortly before. RUAsiu.. The Americans themselves did not agree SITUATIOS [X THE 0 TH on the reasons. The US Secretan' of War Meanwhile the first mobile units of the Stimson said at a press conference' that tbis British Eightb Army had crossed the frontier defeat was not unexpected, inasmuch as the betwecn Li bya and Tuni1!ia on February 7. Am rican positions in cent ral Tuni ia had Geneml Montgomery's outflanking man livers been weak. ContrarY to this declaration, were invariably foiled. but by February 20 the Yew YorIo Herald~ Tribllne was unable to the British were establitlhed in the area understand why Gent'ral Eisenhower, in between Medenin and Foum-Tataollin, spite of his RI~perior forces in men and when e they cautiously maul' rcconnoitering material. had failed to pre\'(~nt the German . 0rti<'8 against the ~tareth Lint', On March SIl('('('SS('S. .' nator John H. Bankhead. THE MARCH OF WA.R IN NORTH A.FRICA 301

Democrat from Alabama, blamed inadequate f'ifth Army under General Carr, with French and ineffective equipment for the setback; dissident troops interspersed in this sector; but General Sommerwell, {;S Chief of Army and in the south by the British Eighth Army Supplies who had just returned from an under General Montgomery. To the north. inspection tour in North Africa, denied this west of the great BaIt lakes, French forces ('harge, without, however, coming forward under the de Gaullist General Le Clerc, who wit'h llny other reasons. marched with his men through the Sahara from Lake Chad, apparently form the link THE GEXERALS between the British Eighth Army and the American Fifth Army. ~earest to reality, perhaps, came the "'ew York Timu, which commented that During the fighting of the past few months .. he first reason was t,o be found in • political a number of l''rench soldiers in the Allied l:1