Operation Pugilist
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Operation Pugilist was an Allied operation in Tunisia during World War II. In his General Plan, General Bernard Montgomery stated:
- The object of operation Pugilist is to destroy the enemy now opposing Eighth Army in the Mareth position, and to advance and capture Sfax.[1]
Pugilist itself was indecisive and failed to make a decisive breakthrough. It did, however, establish an alternative route of attack and thus laid the ground for Supercharge II, an outflanking manoevre via the Tebaga Gap.
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[edit] Background
After a failed attempt, at Medenine, to interfere with Allied preparations (Operation Capri), Axis forces had withdrawn to prepared defences at the Mareth Line. At the same time, Erwin Rommel returned permanently to Europe, command being assumed by Italian General Giovanni Messe, the first time that German units came under Italian command, albeit with a German "liaison" officer, Major-General Fritz Bayerlein. The command structure, however, was not unified. Italian orders were ignored and German units effectively set their own objectives, leaving Italian units to conform. [2]
There were also disagreements within the German command. Rommel doubted the efficacy of the Mareth Line and had long advocated a position at Gabès, between the sea and extensive, impassable salt marshes known as the Chotts. He had also argued that actions at Mareth and Gabès could only delay and Axis forces should concentrate much further north. Hitler disagreed until Rommel had returned to Germany and only accepted the arguments on March 10. Further disagreements from Kesselring and the Italian high command impeded and finally reversed the decision and reinstated the Mareth position.
[edit] Geography
The local geography greatly influenced the course of both Pugilist and Supercharge II; terrain suitable for military movement was limited. In southern Tunisia, the coastal plain is delimited by the Matmata Hills (or Monts des Ksour) which lie south to north. In the north, they terminate at the Tebaga Gap, a low pass which separates them from the Djebel Tebaga, another line of high ground running east-west: north and west of this are the Chotts. West of the Matmata Hills, the terrain is dry country, the Dahar, and then impassable sand of the Grand Erg Oriental. The town of Gabès lies on the coast where the coastal plain meets the route from the Tebaga Gap. North of Gabès, the road to Sfax passes between the sea and the Chotts and this was Montgomery's only route north.
The Axis defences of the Mareth Line took advantage of the terrain. Wadi Zigzaou is a natural anti-tank obstacle with steep banks rising up to 70 feet: the north-western side had been fortified by the French and subsequently reinforced. It crosses the coastal plain from Zarat to Toujane; in the Matmata Hills, the terrain alone was sufficient defence. In 1938, the French had determined that the Dahar was impassable to motorised transport and so had not extended the Mareth Line. The British and Germans both disagreed and sought to either exploit it or defend it.
[edit] The battle
On 19 March 1943 the British Eighth Army under General Bernard Montgomery assaulted the Mareth Line. The 50th Division, with difficulty, penetrated the Italian held line near Zarat. The terrain and heavy rain, however, prevented deployment of tanks and anti-tank guns and the 15th Panzer Division's counter-attack on 22 March recaptured much of the bridgehead.
Soon after, XXX Corps prepared a new attack towards Tallouf. The 4th Indian Division was detailed to make a night attack on 23 March.
[edit] Supercharge II
In early January, 1943 a Long Range Desert Group patrol, commanded by Captain N. P. Wilder, had found a usable pass into the Dahar - dubbed "Wilder's Gap". A later patrol, commanded by Lt R. A. Tinker, had penetrated to the Tebaga Gap, proved the route was practicable and demonstrated the weakness of the Axis defences. Tinker's incursion went further north to Gafsa and made contact with the British First Army on 2 February.
Although the XXX Corps attack had been repelled, Montgomery had strengthened the New Zealand 2nd Division, commanded by Bernard Freyberg, into the New Zealand Corps and sent it south through the Matmata Hills, via "Wilder's Gap", into the Dahar.
The attack was performed by the New Zealand Corps, commanded by Freyberg. It was necessary to provide adequate headquarters staff from X Corps, with Brian Horrocks and this caused some inter-personal difficulties between the generals.
Extensive efforts were made to co-ordinate air support by fighter and bomber aircraft. The "left hook" attack broke through the Tebaga Gap on 27 March and the Mareth Line was rendered untenable.
However, Messe's forces were able to escape encirclement when X Corps was held up at El Hamma. The Axis forces retreated to a line at Gabès, sixty kilometres to the north.
[edit] Order of Battle
[edit] British Eighth Army
XXX Corps
- 50th Division
- 51st Division
- 4th Indian Division
- 201 Guards Brigade
- 23 Armoured Brigade
- 2 New Zealand Division
- 8 Armoured Brigade
- King's Dragoon Guards
- One Med Regiment
- LeClerc's Force
X Corps
- 1 Armoured Division
- 7 Armoured Division (including 4 Light Armoured Brigade, less King's Dragoon Guards)
- Free French Flying Column
[edit] 1st Italian Army
In the line:
XX Corps
- Young Fascists
- Trieste
- 90 Light
XXI Corps
- Spezia
- Pistoia
- 164 Light
In reserve:
- 15 Panzer Division
Covering Tebaga:
- Saharan Group
Uncommitted:
- 21 Panzer Division
On the Gafsa front:
- 10 Panzer Division
- Centauro Group
The 19th Flak Division, with sixteen 88-millimetre batteries and several 20-millimetre anti-aircraft batteries, was all on the coast, the 1st Luftwaffe Brigade, little stronger than a battalion, was behind Young Fascists, and Africa Panzer Grenadier Regiment watched the main Gabes–Mareth road. These, together with 164 Light Division, comprised the only mobile infantry groups available.
