Battle of the Kasserine Pass

The Battle of the Kasserine Pass was a WW2 military engagement fought between the US Army II Corps, under the command of Major General Lloyd Fredendall, and the Afrika Korps, commanded by Erwin Rommel. It took place in the Kasserine Pass, Tunisia, North Africa, from February 19 to February 23, 1943. The outcome of this battle was a German/Italian victory. This humiliating defeat, showed the American commanders how ill-prepared they were to face the powerful German armored units and how weak the M3 Lee and M4 Sherman tanks were as they were easily obliterated by the Wehrmacht 88mm and the 75mm anti-tank guns.

Antecedents

By November 5, 1942, the British 8th Army, led by Bernard Montgomery had defeated the Afrika Korps, commanded by Rommel. Three days later, the Allies had launched Operation Torch, on November 8, 1942, landing at several points along the coast of French Morocco and Algeria. These military events had placed the German and Italian troops in Tunisia and Libya in a dangerous position. In an effort to prevent Rommel’s Axis forces from being cut off, German units had been sent from Sicily to Tunisia to reinforce the remainders of the Afrika Korps. Meanwhile the Allied continued to build up their military strength after Torch and an attempt was made to cut off Tunis in November and December 1942 to prevent the Germans from landing in greater number and strength. However, because of the poor road and rail communications, the Allies failed drive the German back into the Sea as the excellent defensive terrain allowed the small numbers of German and Italian troops landed there to hold them off.

On January 23, 1943, Montgomery’s 8th Army captured Tripoli, cutting off Rommel’s main supply base. Rommel had planned for this eventuality, intending to block the southern approach to Tunisia from Tripoli by occupying an extensive set of defensive works known as the Mareth Line, which the French had constructed in order to fend off an Italian attack from Libya. With their lines steadied by the Atlas Mountains on the west and Gulf of Sidra on the east, even small numbers of German/Italian troops would be able to hold off the Allied forces.

The American and British units, which had landed during Operation Torch, had advanced through the Atlas Mountains. It was the hope of the German commanders that the Allies could be held in the mountains and prevented from reaching the coast and severing Rommel’s supply lines. This plan was disrupted by the Allied capture of Faïd east of the mountains. In an effort to push the Allies back into the mountains, the 21st Panzer Division of General Hans-Jürgen von Arnim’s Fifth Panzer Army struck the town’s French defenders on January 30. Then, von Arnim’s panzers conducted a classic blitzkrieg campaign against elements of the US 1st Armored Division. Forced to retreat, Major General Lloyd Fredendall’s US II Corps was beaten back for three days until it was able to make a stand in the foothills. Having driven the Allies back into the mountains, von Arnim backed off and he and Rommel decided their next move. Rommel launched an assault on Sidi Bou Zid on February 14 and took the town after a day-long fight. After defeating an Allied counterattack on the 15th, Rommel pushed on to Sbeitla. With no strong defensive positions in his immediate rear, Fredendall fell back to the more easily defended Kasserine Pass.

Summary

The Battle of the Kasserine Pass began on February 19, 1943, when Erwin Rommel attacked the American positions in the Kasserine Pass. The attack was spearheaded by Kampfgruppe von Broich, which was a battlegroup from the 10th Panzer Division. Meanwhile, the 21st Panzer Division, also detached from the Fifth Panzer Army, continued attacking northward through the Sbiba gap. Within minutes, the Germans tore out holes in the US lines. Their light guns and tanks had no chance against the heavier German equipment, and they had little or no experience in armored warfare. The German Panzer IVs and Tiger tanks fended off all attacks with ease; the M3 Lee and M3 Stuart tanks they faced were inferior in firepower and their crews far less experienced.

Having pushed into the pass, the German forces divided into two groups, each advancing up one of the two roads leading out of the pass to the northwest. As the battle intensified, morale among the inexperienced US troops started to fall rapidly as many units pulled back, leaving their equipment on the field. The pass was completely open, and it appeared the supply dump at Tebessa was within reach. Desperate resistance by isolated US elements left behind in the action slowed the German advance; nevertheless, German mopping up operations were still underway while the armored spearhead advanced up the roads. Overextended and undersupplied, Rommel decided to end the offensive. Fearing that the approaching British Eighth Army would be able to break through the Mareth Line unless it was reinforced, he disengaged and started to withdraw east.

Below, a map showing the location of the Kasserine Pass and the positions of the opposing forces

Below, two M4 Shermans that were knocked out by German tanks