Battle of the Kasserin Pass
Map of the battle
| date | 19th bis 22. February 1943 |
|---|---|
| place | Kasserin Pass, Tunisia |
| output | Axis victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
| Troop strength | |
| 22,000 | 30,000 |
| losses | |
|
2,000 men |
10,000 men (including 6,500 Americans) |
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The Battle of the Kasserin Pass was a battle between German-Italian and Allied troops as part of the Tunisian campaign and the first major clash between German and American units during the Second World War . Despite high Allied losses, the advance of the Axis powers aimed at the US supply depot in Tebessa in eastern Algeria was rejected.
prehistory
After the defeat of the Panzer Army Africa under Erwin Rommel in the second battle of El Alamein and the British-American landings in Morocco and Algeria ( Operation Torch ) in November 1942, the Italian and German troops found themselves in a two-front war. After the fall of Tripoli (late January 1943), Rommel's retreating army occupied the Mareth Line in southern Tunisia to defend it against Montgomery's attacks. In order to stop the Allied advance of the British 1st Army in the west, the 5th Panzer Army had previously been set up in Tunisia under Hans-Jürgen von Arnim .
The II. US Corps of the British 1st Army had succeeded in early 1943, the foothills of the Tell Atlas to occupy in western Tunisia, from where it supply lines Rommel threatened. On January 30th, troops of the 5th Panzer Army under the leadership of Lieutenant General Heinz Ziegler began an attack on the Faïd Pass, which was defended by French troops and which they were able to capture despite the intervention of parts of the 1st US Armored Division . On February 14th, the German troops began the "Spring Wind" operation with an attack by the 10th and 21st Panzer Divisions on Sidi Bouzid , about 15 km west of the Faid Pass. In the fighting from February 14 to 17, the 1st US Armored Division lost over 100 tanks and had to withdraw. The allies warned by this hastily moved more troops into the threatened area and withdrew their troops from Gafsa .
On February 17th the 21st Panzer Division reached Sbeitla . In this situation, Rommel personally assumed command of the operation, the two tank divisions were directly subordinate to him. Associated with this was the order of the Italian Comando Supremo not to advance to Tebessa, the main base of the 2nd US Corps, but to El Kef , in the rear of the British V Corps. The Sbiba gap and the path through the Kasserinpass and via Thala came into question for this. The strong division battle group Deutsches Afrikakorps (DAK) as well as the armored division Centauro and the 7th Bersaglieri regiment had already been deployed from Gafsa to reinforce Rommel's attack group. Reconnaissance units of the DAK combat group reached Kasserine on February 18.
course
On February 19, the combat group DAK initially carried out test attacks on the entrance to the Kasserin Pass, during which it got stuck in a minefield. The 21st Panzer Division, where Rommel was on that day, met the British 1st Guards Brigade and parts of the 34th US Infantry Division at Sbiba and was stopped in their advance. Rommel then decided to seek success on the Kasserin Pass and to use the 10th Panzer Division, which had been ordered by the 5th Panzer Army in the Kairouan area .
In the night of the 20th to the 21st, the German units broke through the defense line held by Task Force Stark on the Kasserin Pass. The US troops, poorly led by General Lloyd Fredendall , were crushed, 3,000 of their soldiers fell or were wounded, 4,000 were captured, and most of the US troops fled in a panic. In their escape, US forces left behind large quantities of weapons, vehicles and equipment. The 10th Panzer Division captured during the fighting on the Kasserinpass u. a. 95 M3 half-tracks .
The 10th Panzer Division then turned to Thala, where they met the 26th British Panzer Brigade, which defended their position with strong artillery and air support. The combat group DAK advanced in a north-westerly direction in Bahiret Foussana , with the still fresh Combat Command B of the 1st US Armored Division and parts of the 1st US Infantry Division opposed.
After unsuccessful attacks on the American positions on the 22nd and after consultation with Mayor South Kesselring , Rommel decided to break off the attacks and withdraw the combat group DAK and the 10th Panzer Division to the Kasserinpass while mining the retreat path. After being appointed commander in chief of the new Army Group Africa on February 23, he received the order of the Comando Supremo to stop the offensive and to prepare his mobile units for a later action against the heads of the 8th Army on the Mareth Line.
consequences
As a result of his unconvincing leadership during the battle, Lloyd Fredendall was replaced in early March as commanding general of the II. US Corps by George S. Patton , to whom Omar N. Bradley was assigned as deputy.
The defeat of the US troops and their flight contributed to heightened disregard among British soldiers for the combat effectiveness of their allies.
literature
- George F. Howe: Northwest Africa: Seizing the Initiative In the West , Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army, Washington DC 1957.
- Martin Blumenson : Kasserine Pass. Rommel's bloody, climactic battle for Tunisia . Cooper Square Press, New York 2000, ISBN 0-8154-1099-9 .
- Vincent M. Carr: The Battle of Kasserine Pass: An Examination of Allied Operational Failings . Air Command and Staff College - Air University, Maxwell 2003 ( online , accessed May 10, 2018).
Web links
- Kasserine Pass Battles: Staff Ride Background Materials on history.army.mil (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Brian John Murphy: Facing the Fox on americainwwii.com .
- ↑ Barney Sneiderman: Warriors seven. Seven American commanders, seven wars, and the irony of battle . Savas Beatie, New York 2006, ISBN 1-932714-28-6 , p. 249.
- ↑ Alexander Lüdeke: Typenkompass - Beutepanzer der Wehrmacht , Motorbuch-Verlag, p. 113.
- ^ Julian Thompson: Desert victory. Forgotten voices . Ebury Press, London 2012, ISBN 978-0-09-193857-4 , p. 270.
Coordinates: 35 ° 15 ′ 34.5 " N , 8 ° 44 ′ 32.7" E