The tension was overwhelming in February of 1943.
The American troops were finally going to face the relentless and mighty Wehrmacht,
considered by many the most powerful military force on the planet.
For the Germans, it was time to prove that the Americans were no
match for their experience, tactics, and determination.
At the same time, Britain was eager to assess the combat capabilities of its new war ally,
and the Americans wanted to show that they could stand up against tyranny and overwhelming odds.
Thus far, the American forces in North Africa had
only fought against poorly supplied and motivated Vichy French troops.
The setting for the anticipated encounter was a two-mile chasm in the Grand Dorsal chain of the
Atlas Mountains in west-central Tunisia, a place known as Kasserine Pass. There,
30,000 entrenched Americans patiently awaited a German attack.
A force of 22,000 German troops then advanced toward the American position,
led by the legendary Desert Fox himself, General Field Marshal Erwin Rommel.
As the sun rose on February 14,
Rommel ordered his troops to attack the heavily defended Allied position.
Inexperienced and anxious young American recruits finally saw
German tanks surging over the dusty horizon, and over the next four days,
they would experience the wrath of the Wehrmacht for the first time in their lives…
An Ambitious Plan
Although Adolf Hitler had the world’s single strongest military force at his service,
by 1943, his troops were spread thinly across too many fronts, and the war was not going his way.
The situation in Stalingrad was abysmal, strategic resources were running low,
and American troops had just landed in North Africa, convincing the French forces to join them.
Meanwhile, Rommel’s initially formidable victories had been overturned as the increasingly
depleted Desert Fox struggled to supply his offensives over vast desolate distances.
German supplies coming from the Mediterranean Sea had also been drastically reduced by the
Royal Air Force’s efforts which managed to sink thousands of tons of Italian and German resources.
Rommel had been pushed back from Egypt by the British 8th Army,
French and American forces were advancing from the west after Operation Torch,
and now the Afrika Korps were at serious risk of being surrounded and destroyed.
Rommel and other high-ranking officers advised Hitler that holding North Africa
was now impossible, as there was no way to keep sustainable supply
lines while the Allies could do it from Egypt, Morocco, and Algeria.
For Rommel, it was time to withdraw while they still held ports in Libya that they could use.
However, Hitler would not have it and ordered the redirection of troops and air support that
were desperately needed for the incoming Stalingrad counteroffensive into North
Africa in a reckless attempt to capture Tunisia before the Allies choked off the Afrika Korps.
Capturing Tunisia
Hitler’s decision gave Rommel a boost in air-delivered supplies and troops.
Still, it left the 6th Army in Stalingrad besieged and starving.
Consequently, Rommel advanced across Tunisia in his fast and aggressive
style to keep the British 8th Army in the east and the Torch forces in the west.
At the same time, the US and French forces quickly pierced the Tunisian border,
hoping to establish a front before the Axis forces overtook the country.
Initial skirmishes went in Germany’s favor, with the Afrika Korps seizing most of the country.
The massive Atlas mountain range gave the Germans a significant defensive advantage as it extended
all the way to the western coast leaving just a tiny area in the north suitable for an invasion.
After securing that area, only a few passes through the mountains were left
for the Torch forces to invade Tunisia. One such opening was the Kasserine Pass.
Setting the Stage
The race for Tunisia had been decidedly won by Rommel; after some initial attempts by French and
American troops to hold the town of Sbeitla during the Battle of Sidi Bou Zid, they were driven back
towards the Atlas Mountains and forced to take a defensive position in the Kasserine Pass.
The Americans needed to hold Kasserine Pass at all costs as it was their only connection to
Algeria and their main supply line for future incursions into Tunisia. For Rommel, it was a
relatively comfortable position. The Torch forces had been pushed back, and it would be weeks
before the 8th Army would arrive at the Mareth Line to deliver an attack on eastern Tunisia.
The Italians considered that the best strategy was to wait and reinforce positions,
but Rommel wanted to obliterate the US forces at Kasserine Pass before dealing with two fronts.
At 1:30pm on February 19, Rommel received the Comando Supremo’s agreement to his plan,
and the Italian forces joined the Germans for the large-scale attack.
Upholding the pass was a force comprising the US 1st Battalion, 26th Regimental Combat Team,
the US 19th Combat Engineer Regiment, the 6th Field Artillery Battalion,
a tank destroyer battalion, and a battery of French artillery.
On the hills overseeing the pass were French General Welvert’s Task Force encompassing a US
Ranger and infantry battalion, three French infantry battalions, two US field artillery
battalions, four French artillery batteries, and engineer and anti-aircraft detachments.
Furthest west was Task Force Bowen, blocking the track from Feriana towards Tebessa.
In total, 30,000 troops were defending the strategic location,
with most American troops taking shelter in foxholes and trenches along the pass’s walls.
Geographically, Kasserine Pass was an ideal defensive position; it was a narrow two-mile-wide
opening overlooked by the Djebel Chambi and Djebel Semmama hills, and the Hatab River
bisecting the pass provided additional obstacles to any force attempting to seize the access.
Beyond the pass, there was a large open area with two roads leading to Theresa and Thala,
two towns held by American forces and crucial to their war efforts in the region.
The bulk of the Allied troops was highly inexperienced;
most American soldiers had arrived in Africa months prior and had seen
little action beyond confrontations with Vichy French troops refusing to surrender.
The French support troops were also hardly prepared to face the German war machine,
having spent the last two years as a German puppet force with little
supplies and training due to Hitler always suspecting that they could betray him.
An Expert Strategy
Rommel initiated the attack by sending the 33rd Reconnaissance Unit and a battalion of Panzer
grenadiers into the pass in an attempt to surprise the defenders and send them into an early panic.
The idea was that the American forces would still be reeling from their
previous defeats and too disorganized to conduct an adequate defense of the pass.
Still, the Allied forces were expecting the assault and managed to repel it effectively.
Another German attack during the night also failed to gain ground,
making Rommel realize that the Americans were much more prepared than he anticipated and that
he would have to unleash the full strength of his force to capture the contended area.
The next day, Rommel decided to commit his units from the 10th Panzer to the
Kasserine Pass in a coordinated attack with the Afrika Korps assault group,
which was to be joined by elements of the Italian 131st Armored Division Centauro.
At first, the American troops continued to hold their ground,
only allowing slow and minuscule gains by the Germans.
But as Rommel committed more and more units, the American morale began to crumble.
As the German attack came into full force, the inexperience of the American troops became more
evident. The onslaught began with a thundering barrage of German artillery fire that shook the US
recruits to their core, with many not having seen such a spectacular show of force in their lives.
The German Nebelwerfer Multiple Rocket Launcher was especially upsetting to
the Americans as their overwhelming display of fire, light and deafening
sound made many soldiers believe they were countering an undefeatable force.
Rommel was well trained in psychological warfare; he knew how impressionable the American soldiers
were, so he deliberately unleashed a dreadful spectacle of destruction that,
although not very effective in actually hitting the US defenders,
sent many of the American and French troops into a panic.
Running Away
Shells continued bursting all around the defending troops as the pass was covered in smoke and fire.
Amid the chaos, the German Panzer divisions began to pierce through the battlefront taking
advantage of the Americans’ surprise to deliver an aggressive blow to the remaining forces.
The ruthless, aggressive nature of the German tank crews was also something the Americans had
not encountered before. The armored vehicles rolled through everything in their path, not
stopping even as their comrades were destroyed. This relentless strategy further cemented the
idea into the defenders’ minds that they were against a force of unmeasurable power and numbers.
The American forces began to rout exponentially,
abandoning their posts and persuading their comrades to flee from the onslaught.
Rommel’s forces then took advantage of the chaos and sent his Panzer division
to capture the valley of the pass in one determined move.
Some Allied anti-tank vehicles and a few tanks were expecting the Germans
in a desperate attempt to hold the line on the other side of the pass. Still,
they were no match for the seasoned Panzer crews who utterly destroyed the Allied armored vehicles.
After the Allied tank destroyers were neutralized, the German forces encircled the remaining US
forces still fighting in the Djebel Semmama hill, ultimately defeating everyone in Kasserine Pass.
Aftermath
While the main assault was over, the Germans decided to press their massive advantage.
As US and French troops fled to Tebessa and Thala,
Rommel regrouped his forces to strike the Allied positions.
Tebessa was an especially appealing target for Rommel as it was the region’s main Allied supply
depot; capturing it would be a monumental setback for the Allied efforts in Tunisia.
Although Rommel had orders to advance north towards Sbiba,
he ignored the command and seized the opportunity to take the two US-held towns.
For the next two days, the German forces would continue attacking the Allied troops
after they struggled to reorganize after the Battle of Kasserine Pass.
Startled by their unfortunate defeat, the Allied commanders in the region pleaded to
their British counterparts for help. Thus, the British forces assembled a makeshift
force to defend the town of Thala, while the remainder of the US forces protected Tebessa.
The German 10th Panzer division shredded through the British force by destroying
38 armored vehicles and inflicting heavy casualties as they were forced into the town.
Meanwhile, Rommel directed the rest of his troops in an aggressive assault on Tebessa.
Remarkably, the US troops began to show the attribute that would set
them apart during the war: formidable adaptability and eagerness to learn.
Turn of the Tide
At the cost of additional losses, the American defenses were able to hold every
attempt Rommel made to reach the town, and the 10th Panzer division could not capture Thala.
As the threat of the British 8th Army became more significant and Rommel was continuously
instructed to move north, the Desert Fox finally complied and left the Kasserine Pass region.
Although it was a harsh baptism of fire for the American troops,
their adaptability and willingness to learn made them mature exceptionally quickly.
Meanwhile, despite a tremendous German victory, Rommel was ultimately right,
and Germany would not be able to hold North Africa, eventually retreating in defeat.
The experiences endured by the American troops in North Africa would ultimately hone them to
face the Germans in France, where they were even more prepared and with larger numbers.
The temporary defeat in Kasserine Pass would eventually fuel America’s ability
to crush the Wehrmacht and emerge as the most powerful military force in the world.
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