Changes

==Wadi Akarit==

==Wadi Akarit==

On 6 April, the Italian 3rd ''Tobruk'' Battalion from the ''San Marcos'' Marine  Regiment, well dug in at Wadi Akarit and plentifully supplied with automatic weapons and grenades, is practically destroyed in hand-to-hand combat fighting alongside the 39th Bersaglieri Regiment, with the attacking British suffering crippling losses in the form of 126 killed from the 6th ''Green Howards''.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20071011162155/http://www.greenhowards.org.uk/bill-cheall/cheall11.htm Bill Cheall's Story]</ref><ref>"The ...69th Brigade of the 50th Division was having a difficult time. The 7th Green Howards, on the right, managed to take an enemy outpost on Point 85 but in tandem with 5th East Yorkshires failed to reach an anti-tank ditch below the hog's back. Hit by concentrated artillery, mortar and small-arms fire from the Italian Tobruk and 39th Bersaglieri Regiments which wounded both COs, they dug in amidst mounting casualties. Private E. Anderson, a stretcher-bearer of the East Yorkshires, completely disregarding his own safety, carried back three wounded men and was killed attempting to bring in a fourth. He was awarded a posthumous VC." The Bloody Road to Tunis, David Rolf, Frontline Books, 2015</ref>  

On April 6, the Italian 3rd ''Tobruk'' Battalion from the ''San Marcos'' Marine  Regiment, well dug in at Wadi Akarit and plentifully supplied with automatic weapons and grenades, is practically destroyed in fierce hand-to-hand combat fighting alongside the 39th Bersaglieri Regiment, with the attacking British suffering crippling losses in the form of 126 killed from the 6th ''Green Howards''.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20071011162155/http://www.greenhowards.org.uk/bill-cheall/cheall11.htm Bill Cheall's Story]</ref><ref>"The ...69th Brigade of the 50th Division was having a difficult time. The 7th Green Howards, on the right, managed to take an enemy outpost on Point 85 but in tandem with 5th East Yorkshires failed to reach an anti-tank ditch below the hog's back. Hit by concentrated artillery, mortar and small-arms fire from the Italian Tobruk and 39th Bersaglieri Regiments which wounded both COs, they dug in amidst mounting casualties. Private E. Anderson, a stretcher-bearer of the East Yorkshires, completely disregarding his own safety, carried back three wounded men and was killed attempting to bring in a fourth. He was awarded a posthumous VC." The Bloody Road to Tunis, David Rolf, Frontline Books, 2015</ref>  

   

   

That next day, the 1st/2nd Gurkhas, 1st/9th Gurkhas and 1st Battalion from the ''Royal Sussex'' Regiment secured the mountain pass at the foot of Djebel Fatnassa, with the Gurkhas reportedly losing fifty killed but defeating two Italian divisions and German reserves entrusted with its defence.<ref>"The battle was over and, considering the task given to the 1/2nd, the loss of some fifty all ranks was gratifyingly small." Britain's Brigade of Gurkhas, E.D Smith, Pen and Sword,  1983</ref> During the desperate fighting, the 200th Panzer Grenadier Regiment counterattacked the Gurkhas while the 361st Panzer Grenadier Regiment and supporting Italian infantry from the ''Pistoia'' Division attempted to capture Djebel Zouai.<ref>"Messe ordered the 200th Panzer Grenadier Regiment to recapture the hill and  361st Panzer Grenadier Regiment accompanied by a battalion from the Pistoia Division to retake Djebel Zouai." The Bloody Road to Tunis, David Rolf, Frontline Books, 2015</ref>  

That next day, the 1st/2nd Gurkhas, 1st/9th Gurkhas and 1st Battalion from the ''Royal Sussex'' Regiment secured the mountain pass at the foot of Djebel Fatnassa, with the Gurkhas reportedly losing fifty killed but defeating two Italian divisions and German reserves entrusted with its defence.<ref>"The battle was over and, considering the task given to the 1/2nd, the loss of some fifty all ranks was gratifyingly small." Britain's Brigade of Gurkhas, E.D Smith, Pen and Sword,  1983</ref> During the desperate fighting, the 200th Panzer Grenadier Regiment counterattacked the Gurkhas while the 361st Panzer Grenadier Regiment and supporting Italian infantry from the ''Pistoia'' Division attempted to capture Djebel Zouai.<ref>"Messe ordered the 200th Panzer Grenadier Regiment to recapture the hill and  361st Panzer Grenadier Regiment accompanied by a battalion from the Pistoia Division to retake Djebel Zouai." The Bloody Road to Tunis, David Rolf, Frontline Books, 2015</ref>