Battle for the Mareth Line

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Mareth Line Location and Operations March 1943

The Battle of the Mareth Line was an attack by the British 8th Army during the Tunisian campaign in World War II . The attack under General Bernard Montgomery took place against the Mareth Line , which was defended by the Italian 1st Army under General Giovanni Messe . The attack was the British 8th Army's first major operation since the Second Battle of El Alamein 4 1⁄2 months earlier.

Associations involved

British 8th Army

(General Sir Bernard Montgomery)

A British 25 pound field cannon in action at night during the attack on the Mareth Line

XXX Corps (Lieutenant General Oliver Leese )

New Zealand Corps (Lieut.-General Bernard Freyberg )

  • 2nd New Zealand Division
  • 8th Armored Brigade
  • 1st King's Dragoon Guards
  • 64th Medium Regiment, Royal Artillery
  • 57th Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery
  • A battery of the 53rd Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, Royal Artillery
  • Leclerc Force (with a Greek squadron)

X Corps (Lieut.-General Brian Horrocks )

Italian 1st Army

(General Giovanni Mass)

Italian XX. Corps (General Berardi)

Italian XXI. Corps (General Orlando)

In reserve

The 19th anti-aircraft division , with sixteen 88 mm batteries and several 20 mm anti-aircraft batteries, was on the coast, the 1st Air Force Brigade , little stronger than a battalion , was behind the Giovani Fascisti division and the Panzergrenadier regiment Africa along the Gabès road -Mareth positioned. These and the German 164th Light Africa Division were the only available mobile infantry groups.

course

On March 16, units of the British 8th Army attempted a breakthrough on the Mareth Line at Wadi Zig-Zaou. Although 620 British tanks were used against only 91 Italian tanks, the attack by British XXX failed. Corps at the tough Italian resistance.

Operation Pugilist

On March 19, 1943, a new offensive (code name: Operation Pugilist) began with the aim of building a bridgehead on the other side of the Mareth line. While the Indian 4th Division (General Tuker ) attacked the enemy flank from the Matmata Mountains, the infantry of the X. Corps and the 1st Panzer Division (General R. Briggs ) of the New Zealand 2nd Division (General LM Inglis ) follow. The 50th Infantry Division (Major General John S. Nichols ) managed to penetrate the Italian line near Zarat. While the New Zealand Corps was being brought into battle on March 21, the German 21st Armored Division began counter-thrusts westward to support the Italians in the El Hamma Gap, the 164th Light Division pulled through the hills northwest of Toudjane and Matmata back. The New Zealand Corps attacked the German Africa Corps on March 21 in the Tebaga Gap, but the progress made over the next four days against the 164th Light Division (General von Liebenstein ) and the 21st Panzer Division (Major General Hildebrandt ) was too slow, but access to the gap was secured. That made XXX on the Mareth Line. Corps meanwhile made some progress, but there was no breakthrough. The area there prevented the large-scale use of tanks and anti-tank guns, which kept the infantry isolated. Only on March 23, the Allies were able to secure a bridgehead on the left bank. The breakout from this bridgehead was initially unsuccessful due to counterattacks by the Axis powers. In order to deceive the enemy about further attack intentions, the 7th Panzer Division (General GW Erskine ) was also pulled forward.

Operation Supercharge II

Thereupon General Montgomery planned another flank maneuver (code name: Operation Supercharge II) for his XXX Corps over the gap in the front at Tebaga .

At 4 p.m. on March 26, the troops under General Horrocks attacked with strong support from air forces. 22 squadrons of Spitfire, Hurricane and "Kitty" fighter-bombers were used. In front of the mobile German units, the Italians had organized themselves on a new line of defense. On the night of March 29, a British tank group from the south threatened to cut off the German combat group from Liebenstein after it had been pushed in to protect the flank of the 15th Panzer Division (Major General Borowietz ) and thus access to the area east of Djebel Halouga maintained. The German 15th and 21st Panzer Divisions and part of the 90th Light Division advanced as army reserves in the area west and southwest of Cekhira, the 10th Panzer Division (Major General von Broich ) rolled to El Guettar as reinforcement. On March 29th, the New Zealand corps captured Gabès , which forced the Italians to withdraw from the Mareth position. The British breakthrough between the heights of Djebel Tebascha and the Matmata Mountains went according to plan, but the encirclement planned for Le Hamma came too late to achieve the encirclement of the Italians. The bilateral threat to the flanks of the Italian 1st Army led to the timely retreat of the Italians to Wadi Akarit in Tunisia by March 31st .

literature

  • Anderson, Charles R. (1990). Tunisia November 17, 1942 to May 13, 1943. The US Army Campaigns of WWII. Washington, DC: United States Army Center of Military History. OCLC 835850360. CMH Pub 72-12.
  • Anderson, Lt. General Kenneth (1946). "First Army". London: London Gazette. ISSN 0374-3721. published in "No. 37779". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 November 1946. pp. 5449-5464.
  • Battistelli, Pier Paolo (2013). Italian Soldier in North Africa 1941–43. Oxford: Osprey. ISBN 978-1-78096-855-1 .
  • Ford, Ken (2012). The Mareth Line 1943: The End in Africa. Oxford: Osprey. ISBN 978-1-78200-299-4 .
  • Lewin, Ronald (2004). Rommel as Military Commander. Barnsley: Pen & Sword. ISBN 978-1-84415-040-3 .
  • Mugnone, Giuseppe (1962). I ragazzi di Bir el Gobi [The Lads at Bir el Gobi] (in Italian) (4th ed.). Padova: Editrice La Lucciola. OCLC 81301705.

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