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Tunisian Campaign (view source)
Revision as of 00:06, September 18, 2016
, 00:06, September 18, 2016→Kasserine Pass
==Kasserine Pass==
==Kasserine Pass==
On 14 February, four German battle groups from the 10th and 21st Panzer Divisions (under the overall command of General Heinz Ziegler), attacked through Faïd Pass and Maizila Pass toward Sidi Bouzid under the cover of a sand storm. The German attack had overcome the American defenders along the way and reached the Djebel Lessouda hill. While half the German force reached Djebel Lessouda, the other half marched for Djebel Ksaira and Bir el Hafey. By the end of the day, most of the American fighting vehicles had been driven west or destroyed, leaving isolated pockets of US infantrymen in the hills of Djebel Lessouda, Djebel Ksaira, and Djebel Garet Hadid with no support.
On February 19th, Rommel attacked the US 2nd Army Corps defending Kassarine Pass. The plan was for the German-Italian ''Panzer Armee'' to get to Tebessa and Thala. Rommel sent the 5th Bersaglieri Regiment Battalion into the pass to fight Colonel Anderson Moore's 19th Combat Engineer Regiment defending the pass. The Germans were not able to advance through the Sbiba Pass but did manage to exploit Italian success through Kassarine Pass. German battlegroups tried to press on to Thala and Tebessa but were stopped in fierce fighting. Rommel was satisfied that he had managed to cause a significant amount of damage and casualties to the Allied forces, so he decided to withdraw his troops back to their startlines, covered by Bersaglieri. The damage done to the Allies was disastrous, but this was not a complete Axis victory for the Germans were unable to reach Thala and Tebessa.
After the battle, Genral Dwight Eisenhower would send Fredendall back to the United States for a training command. His replacement, General George Patton, would confirm that there was nothing wrong with combat morale in the U.S. 2nd Army Corps that good leadership couldn't fix.
After the battle, Genral Dwight Eisenhower would send Fredendall back to the United States for a training command. His replacement, General George Patton, would confirm that there was nothing wrong with combat morale in the U.S. 2nd Army Corps that good leadership couldn't fix.