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Operations Vulcan and Strike

Coordinates: 34°N 09°E / 34°N 9°E / 34; 9
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Operations Vulcan and Strike
Part of the Tunisian campaign of the Second World War

Map showing Operations Vulcan and Strike between 20 April to 13 May 1943
DateVulcan: 22 April – 6 May 1943
Strike: 6–13 May 1943
Location
Tunis, Cap Bon, and Bizerte, Tunisia
34°N 09°E / 34°N 9°E / 34; 9
Result Allied victory
Belligerents
Commanders and leaders
Casualties and losses
240,000 captured

Operation Vulcan (22 April – 6 May 1943) and Operation Strike (6–13 May 1943) were the final ground attacks by the Allied forces against the Italian and German forces in Tunis, Cape Bon and Bizerte, the last Axis bridgeheads in North Africa, during the Tunisian campaign of the Second World War.[1]

Background

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Allied forces had landed in French North Africa in July 1942 and since November 1942 the British Eighth Army had pushed Axis forces westwards from Egypt and across Libya leaving only Tunisia under Axis control. Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel believed that the Axis position in Tunisia was untenable and he had recommended the evacuation of all German troops to Italy, where he believed they could be more useful. His advice was rejected by Adolf Hitler. In Operation Flax the Allied air forces cut off Axis supplies to North Africa and gained control of the air.

Preliminaries

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While the British were preparing for Vulcan, the Germans launched a spoiling attack on the night of 20/21 April 1943. Code named Unternehmen Fliederblüte (Operation Lilac Blossom) they were to strike at V Corps on Djebel Djaffa, also known as Banana Ridge to retake it.[2] The Germans attacked four points simultaneously, including a pass on the north side of Djebel Djaffa.[3] Elements of the 10th Panzer Division supported by Tiger Tanks and infantry from the 1st Hermann Göring Division broke through the surprised British positions on the ridge, but fell headlong into British artillery ready for Vulcan. In the ensuing bombardment, with the British firing sometimes over open sights, the Germans suffered heavy losses in men and tanks. British troops supported by Churchill tanks counter-attacked pushing the Germans back, and after heavy fighting retook Banana Ridge.[4]

Allied offensive

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Operation Vulcan

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The British V Corps began with a preliminary attack on 21 April, aimed at retaking the heights of Djebel el Ahmera and Djebel Rhar, known as 'Longstop Hill', which had been lost to the Germans four months earlier.[5] The hill was defended by the reinforced 756th Mountain Regiment of the 334th Division. Infantry of the 78th Battleaxe Division and Churchill MKIII tanks of the North Irish Horse assaulted the position. Djebel Ahmera was seized on 24 April and Djebel Rhar two days later when Churchill tanks driving up the hill, surprised the defenders and took the hill and 600 prisoners.[6]

The main V Corps attack was made by the 1st Infantry Division and the 4th Infantry Division, south of the Medjerda River. The fighting was costly against German units in well-prepared and dug-in defences. They were opposed by German Fallschirmjager (paratroops) of the elite Division 'Hermann Göring'. At Cactus Farm, the British infantry was faced by extensive defensive fire from well-concealed German paratroopers. Churchill tanks of the 12th Royal Tank Regiment (21st Tank Brigade), advanced without infantry support and the tanks were attacked with Molotov cocktails and sticky Teller anti-tank mines. Twelve tanks were destroyed and in some cases, their crews were rescued by the Germans. Eventually the Germans withdrew from the farm to a new defensive position.[7]

Captured German SdKfz 234-3 armoured car in Tunisia, 21 April 1943 manned by US troops

II U.S. Corps (Major General] Omar Bradley) needed to take Hill 609 (Djebel Tahent) flanked by two smaller hills 'Green' and 'Bald' Hill which were the keys to the German defensive line in front of them. The hill was the last commanding height and was one of the most difficult objectives in Tunisia due to its steep slopes. It could not be bypassed and had to be taken by frontal assault. On 29 April the 34th Infantry Division was ordered to take the hill backed by II US Corps artillery. After bitter resistance from the German defenders which included a German paratroop unit (Barenthin), the attack stalled on the first day with severe casualties. The following day backed by Sherman tanks the hill was seized and held against German counter-attacks.[8] The nearby 'Green' and 'Bald' Hills were also taken. 'Bald' hill was lost to a German counter-attack on 1 May but the seizure of Hill 609 forced the Germans to retreat to a defensive line near the Garaet Achkel salt lake only 20 km (12 mi) from Bizerte.[9]

The First Army had dented the line but had not broken through and had lost some 252 tanks, a considerable portion of its armour. Ultra decrypts revealed that the Axis forces were at breaking point. Although Vulcan had made less progress than hoped, it had, along with Operation Flax, played an important part in the weakening of the Axis position.[10]

Operation Strike

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RAF Kittyhawk IIIs of 112 Squadron taking off in Tunisia for a sortie during Operation Strike

On 30 April it was realised that a revision was necessary to achieve success. The revised final phase of the assault on Tunis was code named Strike and launched six days later. For the battle IX Corps was reinforced with veteran units of the Eighth Army, the 7th Armoured Division (Major-General George Erskine), 4th Indian Division (Francis Tuker) and the 201st Guards Brigade.

The 4th Infantry Division and the 4th Indian Division were to attack the Axis defences on a narrow front and the 6th Armoured Division and 7th Armoured Division were to "dash through" the gap opened and capture the high ground 6 mi (9.7 km) west of the city. In support of this V Corps was to capture Djebel Bou Aoukaz to protect the left flank, the II US Corps was to capture the high ground east and west of Chouigui, the river crossings at Tebourba and Djedeida, and finally Bizerta, and XIX Corps was to take Zaghouan.[11]

The operation began at 3:00 a.m. in the morning with troops moving up and artillery concentrations on enemy positions. Four hundred guns were available for the 3,000 yd (2,700 m) front. In two hours over 16,000 shells were fired in support of the 4th Infantry Division. At first light aerial support was available from the Northwest African Tactical Air Force with some medium bombers of the Northwest African Strategic Air Force. Between bombers, fighter bombers and fighters nearly 2,000 sorties were carried out in 24 hours.[12]

In the morning of 7 May, the 6th Armoured Division and 7th Armoured Division "met only scattered resistance". The 26th Armoured Brigade was in sight of Tunis by the afternoon. Patrols of the 1st Derbyshire Yeomanry and 11th Hussars reached the centre of Tunis around 4:00 p.m.. The 6th Armoured Division was then ordered to stop Axis defensive positions being formed before the Cape Bon peninsula.

On the same day Operation Retribution was launched. This was an air and naval blockade designed to prevent the seaborne evacuation of Axis forces from Tunisia to Sicily. Axis forces were now completely isolated in northern Tunisia.

The II US Corps entered Bizerte and cut off the remains of 5th Panzer Army. With the British–American link-up at Protville, General von Vaerst unconditionally surrendered him and his battered forces to US troops.[13] In the centre in the mountainous Zaghouan sector around 22,000 Germans also ceased fighting and surrendered with their equipment to the Free French.

The German commander, General Hans-Jürgen von Arnim, surrendered on 12 May to British forces.[14] Around Enfidaville, the remaining 80,000 troops of the Italian 1st Army was still holding the Allied forces.

On 13 May, RAF and artillery continued their bombardment against all remaining Axis forces in Tunisia, under the command of Marshal Giovanni Messe. Messe had, with Mussolini's approval, tried to negotiate an "honourable surrender" the previous day but this had been rejected. Earlier in the morning he was promoted to the rank of field marshal but the Allies would only accept unconditional surrender and threatened to resume their attacks, which had been halted the day before. At 12:20 hours Messe gave the orders. He and the remaining German commander, Kurt von Liebenstein, surrendered late in the day unconditionally to Lieutenant-General Sir Bernard Freyberg[15] Later that day the First and Eighth Armies met at Bou Ficha, completing the operation.

  • A beach near Porto Farina strewn with debris - a German SdKfz 11 half-track gun tractor lays in the water
    A beach near Porto Farina strewn with debris - a German SdKfz 11 half-track gun tractor lays in the water
  • Wrecked Axis aircraft at Castel Nenito Airdrome.
    Wrecked Axis aircraft at Castel Nenito Airdrome.
  • Italian Field Marshal Giovanni Messe surrenders to Lieutenant-General Sir Bernard Freyberg
    Italian Field Marshal Giovanni Messe surrenders to Lieutenant-General Sir Bernard Freyberg
  • Hans-Jürgen von Arnim in captivity leaving for England
    Hans-Jürgen von Arnim in captivity leaving for England

Aftermath

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By the close of the operation, nearly 240,000 German and Italian troops had been captured. General Alexander sent the message to Winston Churchill, "Sir it is my duty to report that the Tunisan Campaign is over. All enemy resistance has ceased. We are masters of the North African shore." Joseph Goebbels meanwhile wrote that it was on the same scale as the defeat in the Battle of Stalingrad; Tunisgrad was coined for the defeat.[16]

On 15 May the allied 18th Army Group was disbanded, and a Victory March was held in Tunis on May 20. Units of the First and Eighth Armies and representative detachments of British, American and French forces marched past, with bands playing and generals Eisenhower, Alexander and Giraud taking the salute.[17] With North Africa in Allied hands, plans quickly turned to the invasion of Sicily and Italy.

See also

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References

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Citations

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  1. ^ Chant 1986, pp. 266–267, 326; Williams 1999, p. 105.
  2. ^ "ORDER FOR THE OPERATION FLIEDERBLÜTE". www.lonesentry.com. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  3. ^ Howe, George F. (1993) [1957]. Northwest Africa - Seizing The Initiative In The West. Washington DC: Center for Military History. lccn 57–60021.
  4. ^ Rolf 2015, p. 234.
  5. ^ Messenger 1982, p. 105.
  6. ^ Forczyk 2023, pp. 288−289.
  7. ^ Messenger 1982, pp. 107.
  8. ^ Rolf 2015, pp. 249–250.
  9. ^ Messenger 1982, p. 112.
  10. ^ Forczyk 2023, p. 290.
  11. ^ Playfair 2004, p. 446.
  12. ^ Playfair 2004, pp. 449–451.
  13. ^ Rolf 2015, p. 274.
  14. ^ "I Was There! – How Von Arnim Surrendered at Last". The War Illustrated. Vol. 7, no. 156. 11 June 1943. p. 30. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 2017-07-30.
  15. ^ Rolf 2015, p. 279.
  16. ^ Atkinson 2004, p. 537.
  17. ^ Playfair 2004, p. 461.

Bibliography

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  • Atkinson, Rick (2004) [2002]. An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942–1943. Liberation Trilogy. Vol. I. London: Abacus. ISBN 0-349-11636-9.
  • Chant, Christopher (1986). The Encyclopaedia of Codenames of World War II. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. ISBN 978-0-71-020718-0.
  • Forczyk, Robert (2023). Desert Armour: Tank Warfare in North Africa: Gazala to Tunisia, 1942–43. London: Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1-47-285984-6.
  • Messenger, Charles (1982). The Tunisian Campaign. London: Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-71-101192-2.
  • Playfair, I. S. O.; Molony, C. J. C.; Flynn, F. C.; Gleave, T. P. (2004) [1966]. Butler, J. R. M. (ed.). The Mediterranean and Middle East: The Destruction of the Axis Forces in Africa. History of the Second World War United Kingdom Military Series. Vol. IV (pbk. repr. Naval & Military Press, Uckfield ed.). London: HMSO. ISBN 978-1-84574-068-9 – via Archive Foundation.
  • Rolf, David (2015). The Bloody Road to Tunis: Destruction of the Axis Forces in North Africa, November 1942 – May 1943. London: Frontline Books. ISBN 978-1-84-832783-2.
  • Williams, Mary. H (1999). Special Studies: Chronology 1941–1945 United States Army in World War II. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. ISBN 978-0-16-001876-3.
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