Africa

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• The German (former Greek) cargo vessel Artemis Pitta is moored at Melos in the Aegean with a cargo of aviation fuel in drums, ammunition, and other supplies for the garrison on Crete. Three Martin Marauders of No 14 Squadron RAF (the first to operate the B-26) attack and torpedo the ship, sinking her.

 

Marauder of No 14 Squadron.

 

- 15 of the vessel's mostly Greek crew are killed. Items from the wreck will wash ashore and be collected by local islanders. A German patrol will arrest 25 of them. 14 of these will be shot for looting German Army supplies."

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• Axis forces retreat back through Kasserine pass, hesitantly followed by Allied forces. Both Allied and Axis aviation are extremely active over the area, the former bombing and strafing the roads east of the pass and near Fériana, the latter discouraging Allied pursuit of the retreating troops by bombing and machine gunning the roads near Thala and Djebel el Hamra. At one point one hundred and four Allied planes are counted over the Kasserine area in one period of fifteen minutes. The Axis retreat is made in good order.

 

- Meanwhile, Allied reinforcements are pouring into central Tunisia. Thirty-five M4 tanks and crews by rail and seventeen more M4 tanks by sea and rail are moving from Morocco to Tébessa; twenty-five British Churchill tanks are sent to Sbiba; 800 replacement troops per day and the bulk of the 9th Infantry Division are also sent eastward in accordance with plans scheduled before the attack, and later expedited. Additionally, two tank destroyer battalions, one tank battalion (separate), and a considerable amount of artillery and antiaircraft units are en route.

 

 

Shermans during a break in maneuvers.

 

- On the Axis side, significant reserves, fuel, and supplies have been collected at Sousse, Sfax, and Gabés.

 

• Aircraft carrier USS Ranger delivers 75 Army P-40Ls to Casablanca for further transfer to Tunisia. With her Torch aircraft delivery missions complete, she will train up her Naval air group over the next few months and then operate with the British Home Fleet out of Scapa Flow.

 

• U-443 is sunk with all hands near Algiers by depth charges from the British escort destroyers Bicester, Lamerton and Wheatland."

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• Battle of Hunt’s Gap: Kampfgruppe Lang (panzergrenadiers, paratroopers, and assault engineers with 77 tanks including 14 Tigers) attempts to drive west through Sidi Nsir valley with tanks in platoons of four interspersed on the narrow field with truck and halftrack mounted infantry, vehicles towing guns, and mobile AA vehicles. The thrust is defeated by the 128th (Hampshire) Infantry Brigade and two squadrons of tanks from the North Irish Horse with five batteries of field artillery, one battery of antitank guns, and excellent observation. Allied aircraft assist in halting the German armored column on the road, while the guns knock out tank after tank. The gunners of 153 and 154 Batteries take a remorseless revenge for their comrades of 155 who had died at Sidi Nsir yesterday. The German vehicles cannot turn around, cannot leave the road, and cannot back out. 

 

Destroyed Tiger at Hunt’s Gap, with a Churchill in the background.

 

- Several tanks and many other vehicles are abandoned in a panic, to be demolished by British engineers after dark.  Oberst Rudolf Lang will blame the failure on a flanking infantry battalion failing to come around behind the British in time, and on his Italian infantry reserve, which had been well in the rear and never ordered into the battle.

 

- Von Arnim's attack in the north by the Manteuffel Division and 10° Reggimento Bersaglieri initially makes good progress but are bogged down by determined resistance from two French battalions and elements of the British 139th Brigade.

 

• German attacks on Medjez are thwarted by elements of the British 78th Division but further south some tactical gains are made before the advance is halted.

 

- RAF and American aircraft provide tactical air support to V Corps while Wellingtons bomb the Bizerte docks.

 

A-20Bs over Tunisia February 1943

 

Vickers Wellingtons at an Algerian aerodrome"

[DD_Arthur]

6 hours ago, cardboard_killer said:

[80 years ago today] 

 The thrust is defeated by the 128th (Hampshire) Infantry Brigade and two squadrons of tanks from the North Irish Horse with five batteries of field artillery, one battery of antitank guns, and excellent observation.

 

My father's elder brother Gerald was in 2/4th. Hampshires at Hunts Gap.  He was seriously wounded by mortar fire on this day eighty years ago.  His life was saved by a Sgt. of Panzergrenadiers who organised the evacuation of British wounded during the German advance.  

The following day the German field hospital was overun by the counter attack of the North Irish Horse in their Churchills.  The German medical staff did not abandon their position and remained to tend the wounded they had been treating and were then assisted by British Army medics.  It is my understanding that the German medics remained with the British field hospitals and continued to treat the wounded until the campaign came to an end in March with the surrender of Von Arnim's forces in North Africa.

My uncle spent the remainder of 1943 in hospital in Egypt.  By the time he returned to his unit in 1944, they were in Northern Italy.

 

Uncle Gerry is bright and well and celebrated his ninety-ninth birthday last month in Perth, Western Oz where he lives happily with the family of his eldest grandson.

 

He is the last of the Tebourba tigers.    

 

 

Edited February 27, 2023 by DD_Arthur

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• Francis Spellman, Archbishop of New York and Military Vicar of the US Armed Forces, broadcasts from Algiers; describing American troops as "modern crusaders" who will be "the sacred instruments of our cause".

 

Spellman in 1944

 

- He has a close relationship with Pope Pius XII and will attempt later in the year to get the Germans to agree on Rome being an open city. Pius will appoint him a Cardinal after the war. He is a virulent anti-communist and will later say, "the first loyalty of every American is vigilantly to weed out and counteract Communism and convert American Communists to Americanism".

 

• HMS Sibyl torpedoes and sinks the Italian 1,600 ton Pegli off Cape Gallo, Sicily.

 

• Général Henri Giraud officially terminates the Imperial Council of provincial governors and assumes complete power over all civil and military authorities in French North and West Africa. All aspects of the right-wing Révolution Nationale and anti-semitic regulations established by Vichy are repealed. Political prisoners and refugees are to be released from detention at once. He also opens negotiations with De Gaulle in London for a merger with the Free French organization to unite French interests.

 

- Vichyites, already outraged by the Free French governor of Syria-Lebanon’s agreement to grant independence to those two colonies after the war, condemn these moves as a betrayal of France’s colonial empire.

 

• HMS Unbending torpedoes and sinks the Italian 2,200 ton Città di Bergamo and 1,500 ton Cosenza off Cape Spartivento, Italy.

 

• At a conference with Dönitz, Keitel, Kesselring, and Jodl, Hitler stresses the strategic importance of Tunisia for the Axis and points out that the Allies would free up four to five million tons of shipping space monthly if Tunis and Bizerte fall. Retention of Tunisia is a question of supply, not of the 40,000 tons delivered monthly at present, but rather of 150,000 to 200,000 tons. It is impossible to supply armies by air. The necessary supplies could only be brought in by sea.

 

- In an attempt to improve logistics efficiency, the parallel German supply effort in the Mediterranean will be placed under Regiamarina direction. Previously unwilling to place units under Italian command, the Germans finally agree to apportion command by seniority. These and other methods will increase the flow of supplies to Tunisia, but too little, too late."

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• HMS Sahib torpedoes and sinks the Italian 500 ton Tosca west of Cape Calava, Sicily.

 

• HMS Unison torpedoes and sinks the Italian 1,800 ton tanker Zeila off Cape Spartivento.

 

• On the Mareth Line, XXX Corps withdraws from the Italo-German counterattack at Wadi Zigzaou bridgehead under cover of artillery fire. The Indian 4th Division begins operations to clear the Médenine-Hallouf-Bir Soltane road. The 1st Armoured Division moves out to join the New Zealand Corps in preparation for the assault against the Axis western flank.

 

• At El Guettar, the 10. Panzer Division supported by halftrack mounted panzergrenadiers attacks American 1st Infantry Division positions. Outlying formations including the 32nd Field Artillery Battalion are overrun and the Germans expect to repeat the Kasserine Pass battle. Division commander Terry de la Mesa Allen is advised to fall back with his headquarters as German tanks come within sight. He replies, "I will like hell pull out, and I'll shoot the first bastard who does."

 

- The 601st Tank Destroyer Battalion arrives and initiates combat with 75mm M3 and 37mm M6 “Fargo” tank destroyers. As the Panzers react, the 899th Battalion launches a counterattack, initiating the combat debut of the M10 tank destroyer with its 76mm gun. The two battalions destroy 32 German tanks in the only action of the war which is fought according to US Tank Destroyer Command doctrine.

 

II Corps Commander George Patton watches the armor battle at El Guettar. He had invited Life Magazine photographer Eliot Elisophon to record the action

 

M10 at El Guettar

 

- The Germans fall back several miles and prepare a more thorough attack. The Americans rush ammunition and reserves into the line. Later in the day, Patton receives the following from the 18th RCT:

 

“Enemy attacked as scheduled, preceded by dive-bombers which did little damage. Troops started to appear from all directions, mostly from tanks. Hit Anti-Tank Company and 3rd Battalion. Our artillery crucified them with high explosive shells and they were falling like flies. Tanks seem to be moving to the rear; those that could move. 1st Ranger Battalion is moving to protect the flank of the 3rd Battalion, which was practically surrounded. The 3rd Battalion and the Rangers drove them off and the 1st Battalion crucified them.”

Panzer probably during the second attack

 

Panzer IV after El Guettar"

[Lusekofte]

Your posts are my favourites in this site. 
But I am usually out of reactions when scrolling here. 
I want you to know your effort is deeply appreciated 

On 2/27/2023 at 1:40 PM, cardboard_killer said:

[80 years ago today] "• Battle of Hunt’s Gap: Kampfgruppe Lang (panzergrenadiers, paratroopers, and assault engineers with 77 tanks including 14 Tigers) attempts to drive west through Sidi Nsir valley with tanks in platoons of four interspersed on the narrow field with truck and halftrack mounted infantry, vehicles towing guns, and mobile AA vehicles. The thrust is defeated by the 128th (Hampshire) Infantry Brigade and two squadrons of tanks from the North Irish Horse with five batteries of field artillery, one battery of antitank guns, and excellent observation. Allied aircraft assist in halting the German armored column on the road, while the guns knock out tank after tank. The gunners of 153 and 154 Batteries take a remorseless revenge for their comrades of 155 who had died at Sidi Nsir yesterday. The German vehicles cannot turn around, cannot leave the road, and cannot back out. 

 

Destroyed Tiger at Hunt’s Gap, with a Churchill in the background.

 

- Several tanks and many other vehicles are abandoned in a panic, to be demolished by British engineers after dark.  Oberst Rudolf Lang will blame the failure on a flanking infantry battalion failing to come around behind the British in time, and on his Italian infantry reserve, which had been well in the rear and never ordered into the battle.

 

- Von Arnim's attack in the north by the Manteuffel Division and 10° Reggimento Bersaglieri initially makes good progress but are bogged down by determined resistance from two French battalions and elements of the British 139th Brigade.

 

• German attacks on Medjez are thwarted by elements of the British 78th Division but further south some tactical gains are made before the advance is halted.

 

- RAF and American aircraft provide tactical air support to V Corps while Wellingtons bomb the Bizerte docks.

 

A-20Bs over Tunisia February 1943

 

Vickers Wellingtons at an Algerian aerodrome"

Why I love clod. Wellington over Africa. 

[BOO]

28 minutes ago, Lusekofte said:

Your posts are my favourites in this site. 
But I am usually out of reactions when scrolling here. 
I want you to know your effort is deeply appreciated 

Why I love clod. Wellington over Africa. 

I’m the same. I’ve lent you like from the both of us. 

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• Allied bombers make 322 sorties against the Mareth positions while Montgomery continues to prepare to attack. German and Italian infantry units are pulling out and heading north with mobile units holding until they are clear.

 

• Major General Patton blisters Major General Orlando Ward, commander of the 1st Armored Division, for not taking his objective the day before. Today, Ward personally leads the attack without preliminary artillery preparation and makes some gains, but they cannot be held. At El Guettar, an Italian attack with air support prompts the 18th RCT to retreat but takes heavy losses. First Army commander General Anderson informs Patton that he will be reinforced with the American 9th and 34th Infantry Divisions in order to drive on Gabès and hopefully cut off the Mareth defenders.

 

Henschel-129 attacking American armor in Tunisia

 

Macchi MC-202 of 3° Stormo 23° Gruppo in Tunisia."

[ZachariasX]

Out of reactions again.

On 3/24/2023 at 12:45 PM, Lusekofte said:

Your posts are my favourites in this site. 
But I am usually out of reactions when scrolling here. 

This!

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• US II Corps continues to make negligible progress towards Gabès and Fondouk against firm resistance.

 

• The 15. Panzer Division rapidly retreats through through Gabès. While the Eighth Army completes occupation of the Mareth Line the New Zealand Corps and 1st Armoured Division overrun the 16ª Divisione motorizzata «Pistoia» while the 15. Panzer withdraws and breaks contact. Most of the Axis defenders of the Mareth Line have escaped.

 

- The Axis air forces however, are suffering the same accelerated attrition that the French did in 1940 and the Soviets in 1941/42 where repairable but non-flyable aircraft are having to be wrecked or burned to prevent capture as they withdraw.

 

Wrecked Regia Aeronautica base in southern Tunisia

 

Wrecked Luftwaffe base in Tunisia"

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "

• With US II Corps consistently repelled by «Centauro» in central Tunisia, Patton orders II Corps to dig in and prepare to repel a counterattack. Unknown to the Americans, the Axis forces withdraw to the next defensive line as the out-of-ammunition «Centauro» cannot be relieved by 21. Panzer Division until tomorrow.

 

• The British Eighth Army is still preparing to assault the new positions in southern Tunisia. The Axis forces are preparing to withdraw from there as well.

 

Operation Flax

 

• The Axis air forces have been able to fly in about two hundred tons of supplies daily from Italy to Tunisia. The aircraft often return with wounded troops.

 

- Generalmajor Theo Osterkemp, one of the few men to be an ace in both the First and the Second World Wars, has been appointed Jagdfliegerführer Sizilien, tasked with challenging Allied airpower particularly over the waters between Tunisia and Sicily. He has a force of 148 German and Italian fighters (including Bf-110s) supported by a rudimentary shore based radar network. By mid-April his forces will be increased to 300 fighters.

 

- The Axis air convoys consist of two flights a day with a hundred or so transports escorted by about twenty fighters. The transports fly at 150 feet of altitude to avoid Allied radar.

 

- Planned by Major General James Doolittle on the orders of Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder, Operation Flax is to interdict this supply route. Since the flight time from Sicily is short, the only way aerial interception is possible is due to the thorough penetration of Luftwaffe enigma by the British, which provides the Allies with departure times and destinations of aerial formations.

 

- While bombers hit the staging fields in Sicily and receiving fields in Tunisia, flights of fighters (mostly fast long ranged P-38s) will attempt to intercept the aerial convoys over the Mediterranean. In the first attempt today, twenty-six P-38s catch a force of sixty Ju-52s, twenty Bf-109s, four Fw-190s, six Ju-87s, and one Fw-189. Thirteen transports are confirmed down plus three German fighters at the cost of four P-38s.

 

- At the same time B-17s and B-25s attack airfields in Sicily, claiming to have destroyed two dozen aircraft in the air and on the ground at the cost of two escorting Spitfires.

 

- Flax will continue for the next two weeks, inflicting devastating losses after which Göring will authorize supply flights to travel at night instead. The area between Sicily and Tunisia will be christened “Death Row” by Axis ship and air crews. 

 

Ju-52s over North Africa

 

Me-323 unloading a Renault UE gun tractor in Tunisia

 

P-38F in Tunisia"

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• A four day meeting between Hitler and Mussolini begins at Salzburg, Austria. They decide to hold on in North Africa.

 

• American B-17s with Spitfire escort bomb an Axis convoy off Bizerte, Tunisia, sinking German 6,000 ton ammunition ship San Diego and damaging Italian 6,800 ton transport Rovereto which is beached to prevent her sinking.

 

SS San Diego blowing up

 

• The American 1st and 9th Infantry Divisions push along the El Guettar-Gabès road in an attempt to cut the retreat route for the Axis forces at Wadi Akarit.

 

• The British Eighth Army assaults Italian positions of the «Trieste», «La Spezia», and «Pistoia» Divisiones at Wadi Akarit, though most of the defending army is already withdrawing northward. 450 guns bombard the defending lines as the attack is led by the 4th Indian Division flanked by the British 50th and Scottish 51st Divisions. The Indians get in among the Italian positions and knowing that they are being left behind, the Italians do not hesitate to throw down their arms. Within hours, more than 4,000 have been captured.

 

- Leclerc’s Free French Flying Column along with the Greek Sacred Band (mechanized cavalry company) and mobile elements of the 2nd New Zealand Division penetrate the Axis line and spread confusion into the rear.

 

- Five hundred British tanks of XXX Corps are waiting to exploit the breakthrough, but follow up attacks are badly coordinated. Generale Messe launches limited mobile counterattacks that slow the Allied forces further. By the end of the day the Axis withdrawal is general, but the Eighth Army will not pursue until the next day. The Germans once again blame the defeat on their Italian allies.

 

Hurricane IIDs Tunisia 06 April 1943"

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• Eighth Army occupies Tunisian port of Sfax which has been abandoned by the Axis. General Sir Harold Alexander’s plan for the final offensive in Tunisia, Operation VULCAN, is officially approved. British First Army is to make the main attack on Tunis. British Eighth Army is to exert pressure to the south and cut off Cap Bon from Tunis. US II Corps is to drive on Bizerte in conjunction with First Army’s assault on Tunis. French 19e Corps is to operate on southern flank of First Army under First Army command to ensure Cap Bon is cut off.

 

• Général de division Édouard Welvert, who had commanded French and American forces at Dernaïa and repelled several attacks in February, is killed when his command vehicle detonates a mine near Koudiat-el-Bahli.

 

• Operation FLAX is renewed as the urgent need for ground support missions lessens. Some seventy-five P-38s of the 1st Fighter Group in an extended sweep line intercept twenty Italian Savoia-Marchetti SM-82 escorted by a half dozen Macchi MC.200s. It is unknown how many P-38s sight and engage but ten transports and two Italian fighters are shot down for the loss of one P-38.

 

Macchi MC.200s at Trapani, Sicily

 

- A Spitfire patrol (unknown whether Commonwealth or American) later shoots down four Ju-52s. Later in the day twenty P-38s encounter thirty Ju-52s with no escort and shoot down five of them.

 

• During the night RAF Wellingtons bomb troops and transport on roads in the area surrounding Enfidaville. During the day, B-26 Marauders follow up with raids on roads and military concentrations near Enfidaville. Fighter-bombers also hit ground targets in the Enfidaville areas.

 

• HMS Safari intercepts an Italian convoy and sinks the Italian 1,400 ton Loredan, 2,700 ton Entella and the 3,400 ton tanker Isonzo near Cape Torre delle Stelle off Cagliari, Sardinia.

 

• Eighty-four B-24s raid La Maddalena, Sardinia. Italian heavy cruiser Trieste is sunk along with MAS-501 and MAS-503. Heavy cruiser Gorizia is damaged.

 

Trieste at La Maddalena surrounded by torpedo netting

 

Trieste bombed"

[cardboard_killer]

[80 Years ago today] "• American B-24s attack Naples, losing one bomber to Italian fighters.

 

• Allied bombers strike Trapani, Sicily, sinking Italian minesweeper RD-20, tug Teseo, naval auxiliary Narenta, and Motosilurante MS-13.

 

Sister vessel MS-15

 

• British First Army’s 6th Armoured Division occupies Kairouan unopposed and makes contact with Eighth Army units.

 

Operation FLAX

 

• P-38s intercept a German air convoy of twenty Ju-52s, four Ju-88s, four Bf-110s, and seven Bf-109s. They claim downing all twenty transports and seven of the other aircraft with no losses.

 

- Thirty-four Commonwealth Spitfires encounter twelve Ju-52s with “a few” Bf-109s. They down three transports for the loss of two Spitfires.

 

- Later in the day, twenty-seven P-38s of the 82nd Fighter Group are escorting eighteen B-25s of the 310th Bomb Group over Cape Bon when thirty Ju-52s were spotted with two Bf-110s, two Ju-87s and three Ju-88s with them. At first, eleven P-38s stay with the B-25s acting as escort, but then the bombers join in, flying past the transports and firing on them using their gunners.

 

- Approximately fifteen Bf-109s are scrambled to help the transports and they shoot down one P-38 and damage three more plus damage to several B-25s. The Germans lose ten Ju-52s, one Ju-88, one Bf-109 and one Bf-110.

 

B-25s attacking Ju-52s during FLAX"

 

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• Forty-seven American P-40s being escorted by eleven Spitfires (high cover) intercept an air convoy of sixty-five Ju-52s, sixteen Bf-109 and MC-202 fighters, and five Bf-110 or Me-210 heavy fighters. In the air battle that follows, six P-40s and a Spitfire are shot down. The Americans claim 146 victories, which is later reduced to twenty-four Ju-52s along with ten fighters. The Germans refer to the action as “Palmsonntag Massaker” (Palm Sunday Massacre).

 

• South African Kittyhawks shoot down sixteen Italian SM.82 transports as part of Operation Flax. The aircraft burn so quickly that the pilots report that they must have been carrying fuel drums.

 

Kittyhawks of No 4 Squadron SAAF under repair in Tunisia

 

Savoia Marchetti transports late 1942 or early 1943"

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• Thirty-six South African Kittyhawk fighters with top cover provided by British Spitfires intercept an air convoy downing twelve Ju-52s, two SM-79s, one Ju-88, one Re-2001, two Bf-109s, and one Ju-87 that is towing a glider. Three P-40s and five Spitfires are downed.

 

- Later in the same day, Australian, British, Polish, and South African fighters shoot down sixteen Me-323 transport aircraft (derived from the Me-321 glider) along with three German and two Italian fighters.

 

- With the heavy losses incurred on the Axis air transport fleets due to Operation FLAX, Hermann Göring orders all transport runs to Tunisia to cease. After Albert Kesselring complains about the lack of support, Göring allows them to resume but on a smaller scale and only at night.

 

• HMS Saracen torpedoes and sinks the Italian 5,400 ton Tagliamento south of Pianosa, Italy.

 

• British First Army begins the final phase of Tunisia Campaign. Initial gains are slow due to Axis minefields and emplaced guns."

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• American II Corps completes clearing Djebel Aïnchouna. British V Corps takes Heïdous while IX Corps continues tank battles in vicinity of Sebkret el Kourzia without appreciable success within its own zone. French 19e Corps makes substantial progress along the Bou Arada-Pont-du-Fahs road.

 

 

• The 99th Fighter Squadron with P-40s arrives at Casablanca, French Morocco from the US. The 99th is the first black USAAF unit to serve overseas. Having completed basic flight training in Tuskegee, Alabama, they are known as the Tuskegee Airmen.

 

1943"

[OG_NickNack68]

Thanks for these well written and researched posts! I read them thru to the end and anxiously await the next addition! 

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• German forces counter-attack the Corps Franc d’Afrique, which holds long enough for the US 9th Division to come to its support near Kef en Nsour.

 

II Corps units in late April, 1943

 

• In V Corps sector, the British 78th Division finishes clearing Djebel el Ahmera.

 

• On the main road to Tunis, IX Corps is now opposed on the Goubellat plain by one Italian and two German armored divisions that contain further efforts to advance. French 19e Corps continues to force the Axis northward toward Pont-du-Fahs, reaching Djebel Fkirine. The French will soon cut into the rear of the Italian forces holding the Eighth Army.

 

Inspecting Henschel Hs-129 at captured Luftwaffe airfield"

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• Italian aircraft bomb Allied shipping at Bône, Algeria, badly damaging American freighter Daniel Huger.

 

• RAF Wellingtons bomb airfields on Sardinia. B-17s and B-26s bomb Palermo, Sicily. In Tunisia, RAF Blenheims and American B-25s and A-20s bomb troops and vehicle concentrations. More than 300 P-40s fly escort and reconnaissance missions, strafing and bombing raids on landing grounds vessels, vehicles, bridges, and gun positions. HQ 313th Troop Carrier Group and its 47th and 49th Troop Carrier Squadrons arrive at Oujda, French Morocco from the US and begin training for the invasion of Sicily.

 

• HMS Unrivalled torpedoes and sinks the Italian 760 ton coaster Santa Mariana Salina off Lipari, Italy.

 

• American motor torpedo boat PT-206 sinks the Italian auxiliary minesweeper Vanna Galleano off the Tunisian coast.

 

• British PT boat MTB-61 is disabled by friendly fire from aircraft off off Kelibia, Tunisia. She is a total loss.

 

• The Somua S35 tank conducts its last combat mission in Africa where the 19e Corps is continuing to cut behind the German and Italian troops holding the British Eighth Army in the Enfidaville sector. Five Somuas of the 12e Régiment de Chasseurs d’Afrique support infantry attacking elements of the 21. Panzer Division. Although the Germans are pushed back, two of the S35s are destroyed. Crews count up to twelve 75mm hits on one of them.

 

Somua S35 at the Bovington Tank Museum.

 

- Most of the surviving tanks will be scrapped, though seventeen will be kept in the 1st squadron of the 7e Régiment de la Garde to show the flag in this part of the French Empire. Before leaving their tanks, the crews will pull away the embossed “SOMUA” plates and weld them on the new Shermans received from the USA.

 

• In the Bizerte area, General der Panzertruppe Gustav von Vaerst sends officers under a flag of truce to the US 1st Armored Division HQ to request an armistice while the surrender of all troops north of Tunis is being arranged. Major General Omar Bradley, when apprised of this development, transmits instructions in the formula decreed at Casablanca: “The terms of surrender are unconditional.” In the afternoon, the 5. Panzer Armee surrenders unconditionally to US II Corps.

 

- US 1st Armored Division makes contact with the British 7th Armoured Division pushing north from Tunis. British IX Corps is still meeting resistance with the 6th Armoured being held up at Hamman Lif.

 

 

• U-380 is on her way to Bizerte with a cargo of ammunition to support the German ground forces in Africa. After receiving news of the capitulation, the cargo is thrown overboard off Pantelleria.

 

• After General Eisenhower reports 50,000 Axis prisoners taken so far with more surrendering every hour, King George VI telegraphs him, “The debt of Dunkirk is repaid.”

German prisoners receiving water"

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago today] "• Having recently transited the Strait of Gibraltar from the Atlantic, U-616 is severely damaged by depth charges from an Allied vessel and forced to abort to La Spezia.

 

• American B-17s, B-25s, and B-26s hit targets around Cagliari, Sardinia. Italian submarine Mocenigo is sunk inport Cagliari. These raids are intended to reinforce the German perception that Sardinia is the next target.

 

• At 0700, the German 90. leichte Afrika Division, attached to the Italian 1ª Armata, abruptly surrenders as the British are forming up to assault its positions. Generalleutnant Theodor Graf von Sponeck tells British General Charles Keightley that although his casualties are light, the morale of his men is completely shattered.

 

Abandoned German vehicles on Cap Bon

 

German troops proceeding to POW camps in their own motor transport

 

• 1ª Armata is surrounded by Eighth Army to the south and to the north French 19e Corps and British IX Corps. The German collapse renders the rest of 1ª Armata’s position untenable. Late in the day Maresciallo d’Italia Giovanni Messe surrenders 1ª Armata to Major General Sir Bernard Freyberg of the 2nd New Zealand Division (acting commander of X Corps), thus ending the long and costly campaign in North Africa.

 

- In recognition of his skill and his loyalty to the King, later in the year Messe will be released by the Allies and appointed Chief of Staff of the Italian Co-Belligerent Army (Esercito Cobelligerante Italiano). Thousands of Italian POWs from North Africa will volunteer to join him.

 

Italian POWs playing cards"