19.2.1943 - Battle of Kasserín Pass

The Battle of Casserine Pass was a clash between Axis forces and US and British troops that took place in February 1943 in the Atlas Mountains during the Tunisian Campaign.

The situation on the African battlefield was not favourable for German-Italian troops in late 1942. After losing the Second Battle of Al Alamein, Axis troops went on the defensive and Allied forces launched Operation Torch, landing in Algeria and Morocco. The Axis armies were thus caught between two advancing armies and threatened with crushing.

Rommel tried to counter this situation and moved part of his army to Tunis to slow the Allied advance. He decided to make an unexpected attack at the Kasserine Pass. He deployed two panzer divisions (10 and 21), the Italian Centauro Division and Kampfgruppe DAK.

The Allied defense consisted of the 19th Engineer Regiment, one battalion from the 26th Infantry Regiment, supported by tanks, tank fighters, and artillery. The first German attempt at a surprise advance failed, managing to break through only in the afternoon, when an impatient Rommel ordered a frontal assault by all available forces. This opened the way to Tebessa for the combined Axis forces.

On 21 February Rommel devoted himself to reorganizing his forces and preparing his next advance. The problem was that he was offered two possible targets. He could have gone towards Tebessa, which was his preferred target, but the Italian command wanted to attack towards Thala.

Rommel eventually chose the charlatan solution, splitting his army and attacking both targets. Kampfgruppe DAK and Centauro went to Tebessa, 10 Panzer Division to Thal. As a result, the German troops were too weak on both directions to overcome the growing Allied resistance.

After several hours of fighting, Kampgruppe DAK began to pull back to the Kasserine Pass, making territorial gains in its attack, but its General Bulowius, the commander, recognized that he had no chance of any significant success against the material superiority of the Allies.

Von Broich's 10th Panzer Division fought its way to the town of Thal, where it was stopped by the British 26th Armored Brigade and the American 9th Infantry Division. He was hampered in further attempts to attack by heavy Allied artillery superiority and constant air attacks.

After assessing the situation, Rommel decided that there was no chance of further advance and ordered German and Italian troops to retreat back through the Kasserine Pass on 23 February.

The Allies captured the pass on 25 February.

Rommel gained a little extra time with this attack and managed to slow the Allied advance. However, it also became apparent that, although his veteran troops performed better in combat than the Allied inexperienced units, he had no chance of victory against Allied material and air superiority.

Jindrich Krejci, PilotK - Pilot Detectors