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Battle Of El Guettar
The Battle of El Guettar took place during the Tunisia Campaign of World War II, fought between elements of the Army Group Africa under General Hans-Jürgen von Arnim, along with Italian First Army under General Giovanni Messe, and U.S. II Corps under Lieutenant General George Patton in south-central Tunisia. It was the first battle in which U.S. forces were able to defeat the experienced German tank units, but the followup to the battle was inconclusive.Haycock p. 42 Background The U.S. II Corps had been badly mauled in its first encounter with Axis forces in Tunisia during a series of battles that culminated in the disastrous Battle of Kasserine Pass in late February 1943. Erwin Rommel—poised on the threshold of a complete tactical victory—turned from the battle to return to his eastward-facing defenses at the Mareth Line when he heard of the approach of Bernard Montgomery′s British 8th Army. Thus the battle concluded with the U.S. forces still in the field, but ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tunisia Campaign
The Tunisian campaign (also known as the battle of Tunisia) was a series of battles that took place in Tunisia during the North African campaign of the Second World War, between Axis and Allied forces from 17 November 1942 to 13 May 1943. The Allies consisted of British Imperial Forces, including a Greek contingent, with American and French corps. Despite initial successes by the German and Italian forces brought from the mainland and which had withdrawn into and occupied Tunisia after their defeat in the Western Desert and the success of Operation Torch, massive supply interdiction efforts and Allied assaults from east and west led to the decisive defeat of the Axis. Over 260,000 German and Italian troops were taken as prisoners of war, including most of the Afrika Korps. Background Western Desert The first two years of the war in North Africa were characterized by chronic supply shortages and transport problems. The North African coast has few natural harbors and t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
First Army (Italy)
The 1st Army () was a Royal Italian Army field army, in World War I, facing Austro-Hungarian and German forces, and in World War II, fighting on the North African front. World War I During World War I, the 1st Army bore the responsibility of a long front from Stelvio Pass on the Swiss-Austrian Italian tri-border to the Asiago plateau. It successfully resisted the Austro-Hungarian Strafexpedition. Its sector was later reduced, limiting its role to the defense of the Trentino borders and the Verona area. Its commanders were: * Roberto Brusati (May 1915 - May 1916) * Guglielmo Pecori Giraldi (May 1916 - December 1919) Formation & Operations in 1915 The 1st Army originated with the Army of Milan which became, in October 1914, the 1st Army. In addition to various army corps (up to five), it had available to it large units not included in the army corps: infantry and cavalry divisions and groups of Alpine troops. Even the ''truppe altipiani'' command was subsequently placed wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Close Air Support
Close air support (CAS) is defined as aerial warfare actions—often air-to-ground actions such as strafes or airstrikes—by military aircraft against hostile targets in close proximity to friendly forces. A form of fire support, CAS requires detailed integration of each air mission with fire and movement of all forces involved. CAS may be conducted using aerial bombs, glide bombs, missiles, rockets, autocannons, machine guns, and even directed-energy weapons such as lasers.''Close Air Support''. United States Department of Defense, 2014. The requirement for detailed integration because of proximity, fires or movement is the determining factor. CAS may need to be conducted during shaping operations with special forces if the mission requires detailed integration with the fire and movement of those forces. A closely related subset of air interdiction, battlefield air interdiction, denotes interdiction against units with near-term effects on friendly units, but which does not ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lloyd Fredendall
Lieutenant General Lloyd Ralston Fredendall (December 28, 1883 – October 4, 1963) was a general officer of the United States Army who served during World War II. He is best known for his leadership failure during the Battle of Kasserine Pass, leading to one of America's worst defeats of World War II, for which he was relieved of his command. He was in command of the Central Task Force landings during Operation Torch in North Africa, and led II Corps during the early stages of the Tunisian Campaign. In February 1943, as a major general in command of the II Corps, his forces were defeated by German forces commanded by Field Marshal Erwin Rommel and General Hans-Jürgen von Arnim in the Battle of Kasserine Pass. After this debacle, Fredendall was relieved of command of II Corps by General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander in North Africa, and replaced by Major General George S. Patton. In spite of being relieved of command, Fredendall was promoted to lieu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ousseltia Valley
Oueslatia is a town and commune in the Kairouan Governorate, Tunisia. As of 2004 it had a population of 8,444. It is also the capital of a delegation with 36,195 inhabitants in the 2006 census. It is at the center of a plain between the mountainous alignments of Djebel Ousselat and belonging to the southern flank of the Tunisian ridge. In addition to the city, the villages of Maarouf, El Menzel, Djebel Serj, Zaghdoud, Djebel Ousselat, Djebel Erreihane, Ain Djeloula, Oum El Ksal and El Behaïer are attached to it. There are caves with cave paintings of which t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
14th Bersaglieri Battalion
The 5th Bersaglieri Regiment () is an inactive unit of the Italian Army last based in Albenga in Liguria. The regiment is part of the Italian Army's infantry corps' Bersaglieri speciality and was last operationally assigned to the Armored Division "Ariete". The regiment was formed in 1861 by the Royal Italian Army with preexisting battalions. During World War I the regiment served on the Italian front. During World War II the regiment was assigned to the 131st Armored Division "Centauro", with which it participated in the Greco-Italian War. In November 1942 the division was transferred to Libya for the Western Desert Campaign. After the Axis forces had retreated into Tunisia the division fought in thee Tunisian campaign, during which it was destroyed in May 1943. In 1977 the regiment's flag and traditions were assigned to the 14th Bersaglieri Battalion "Sernaglia", which was a recruits training unit of the Armored Division "Ariete". At the end of the Cold War the 14th B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eighth Army (United Kingdom)
The Eighth Army was a field army of the British Army during the Second World War. It was formed as the Western Army on 10 September 1941, in Egypt, before being renamed the Army of the Nile and then the Eighth Army on 26 September. It was created to better control the growing Allied force based in Egypt and to direct its efforts to lift the siege of Tobruk via Operation Crusader. It later directed Allied forces through the remaining engagements of the Western Desert campaign, oversaw part of the Allied effort during the Tunisian campaign and finally led troops throughout the Italian campaign. During 1943, it made up part of the 18th Army Group before being assigned to the 15th Army Group (later, the Allied Armies in Italy). Throughout its campaigns, it was a multi-national force and its units came from Australia, British India, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Cyprus, the Free French Forces, Greece, Newfoundland, New Zealand, Poland, Rhodesia, South Africa, Mauritius, as well a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bernard Montgomery
Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein (; 17 November 1887 – 24 March 1976), nicknamed "Monty", was a senior British Army officer who served in the First World War, the Irish War of Independence and the Second World War. Montgomery first saw action in the First World War as a junior officer of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment. At Méteren, near the Belgian border at Bailleul, he was shot through the right lung by a sniper, during the First Battle of Ypres. On returning to the Western Front as a general staff officer, he took part in the Battle of Arras in AprilMay 1917. He also took part in the Battle of Passchendaele in late 1917 before finishing the war as chief of staff of the 47th (2nd London) Division. In the inter-war years he commanded the 17th (Service) Battalion, Royal Fusiliers and, later, the 1st Battalion, Royal Warwickshire Regiment before becoming commander of the 9th Infantry Brigade and then general officer comm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mareth Line
The Mareth Line was a system of fortifications built by France in southern French protectorate of Tunisia, Tunisia in the late 1930s. The line was intended to protect Tunisia against an Kingdom of Italy#Fascist regime (1922–1943), Italian invasion from its colony in Libya. The line occupied a point where the routes into Tunisia from the south converged, leading toward Mareth, with the Mediterranean Sea to the east and mountains and a sand sea to the west. The line ran along the north side of Wadi Zigzaou for about south-westwards from the Gulf of Gabès to Cheguimi and the Djebel (mountain) Matmata on the Dahar plateau between the Grand Erg Oriental (Great Eastern Sand Sea) and the Matmata, Tunisia, Matmata hills. The Tebaga Gap, between the Mareth line and the Great Eastern Sand Sea, a potential route by which an invader could outflank the Mareth line, was not surveyed until 1938. After the French Armistice of 22 June 1940, the Mareth Line was demilitarised under the supervis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erwin Rommel
Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel (; 15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944), popularly known as The Desert Fox (, ), was a German '' Generalfeldmarschall'' (field marshal) during World War II. He served in the ''Wehrmacht'' (armed forces) of Nazi Germany, as well as in the ''Reichswehr'' of the Weimar Republic, and the army of Imperial Germany. Rommel was a highly decorated officer in World War I and was awarded the ''Pour le Mérite'' for his actions on the Italian Front. In 1937, he published his classic book on military tactics, '' Infantry Attacks'', drawing on his experiences in that war. In World War II, he commanded the 7th Panzer Division during the 1940 invasion of France. His leadership of German and Italian forces in the North African campaign established his reputation as one of the ablest tank commanders of the war, and earned him the nickname ''der Wüstenfuchs'', "the Desert Fox". Among his British adversaries he had a reputation for chivalry, and his phrase ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Kasserine Pass
The Battle of Kasserine Pass took place from 19-24 February 1943 at Kasserine Pass, a gap in the Grand Dorsal chain of the Atlas Mountains in west central Tunisia. It was a part of the Tunisian campaign of World War II. The Axis forces, led by ''Generalfeldmarschall'' Erwin Rommel, were primarily from the ''Afrika Korps'' Assault Group, the Italian ''131st Armored Division "Centauro", Centauro'' Armored Division and two Panzer divisions detached from the 5th Panzer Army, while the Allies of World War II, Allied forces were from the U.S. II Corps (United States), II Corps (Major general (United States), Major General Lloyd Fredendall), the British 6th Armoured Division (United Kingdom), 6th Armoured Division (Major-general (United Kingdom), Major-General Charles Keightley) and other parts of the First Army (United Kingdom), First Army (Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom), Lieutenant-General Kenneth Anderson (British Army officer), Kenneth Anderson). The battle was the first maj ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Axis Powers
The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, Kingdom of Italy and the Empire of Japan. The Axis were united in their far-right positions and general opposition to the Allies, but otherwise lacked comparable coordination and ideological cohesion. The Axis grew out of successive diplomatic efforts by Germany, Italy, and Japan to secure their own specific expansionist interests in the mid-1930s. The first step was the Italo-German protocol of 23 October 1936, protocol signed by Germany and Italy in October 1936, after which Italian leader Benito Mussolini declared that all other European countries would thereafter rotate on the Rome–Berlin axis, thus creating the term "Axis". The following November saw the ratification of the Anti-Comintern Pact, an anti-communis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
