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{{Short description|1943 battle of World War II}}
{{other uses|El Guettar (disambiguation){{!}}El Guetter}}
{{more footnotes|date=April 2009}}
{{Infobox military conflict
|conflict = Battle of El Guettar
|partof = the [[Tunisian campaign]] of [[World War II]]
| image = American soldiers hands out cigarettes to captured Italians of the Bersaglieri Division near El Guettar, Tunisia. - NARA - 196343.jpg
| image_size = 300
|caption = An American soldier hands out cigarettes to captured [[Bersaglieri]] of the [[131st Armoured Division Centauro|131st Armored Division "Centauro"]] near El Guettar in March 1943.
|date = 23 March – 3 April 1943
|place = [[El Guettar, Tunisia|El Guettar]], [[Tunisia]]
|casus =
|territory =
|result = Indecisive<ref name="Hooker">Hooker Jr. p. 85</ref><ref name="Haycock">Haycock p. 42</ref>
|combatant1 = {{flag|United States|1912}}
|combatant2 = {{flagcountry|Nazi Germany}} {{flagcountry|Kingdom of Italy}}
|commander1 = {{flagicon|United States|1912}} [[George S. Patton]]
|commander2 = {{flagicon|Nazi Germany}} [[Hans-Jürgen von Arnim|Jürgen von Arnim]] {{flagicon|Kingdom of Italy}} [[Giovanni Messe]]
|units1= {{flagicon|United States|1912}} [[II Corps (United States)|II Corps]]
*[[1st Infantry Division (United States)|1st Infantry Division]]
*[[9th Infantry Division (United States)|9th Infantry Division]]
|units2= {{flagicon|Nazi Germany}} [[5th Panzer Army]]
*[[10th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)|10th Panzer Division]]
*[[21st Panzer Division]]
{{flagicon|Kingdom of Italy}} [[1st Army (Italy)|1st Army]]
*[[131st Armoured Division Centauro|131st Armored Division "Centauro"]]
|strength1 = 31 tanks<ref>{{cite book |last=Yeide |first=Harry |date=2010 |orig-date=2007 |title=The Tank Killers: A History of America's World War II Tank Destroyer Force |url= |location= |publisher=Casemate Publishers |page=63 |isbn=978-1-932033-80-9 |access-date=}}</ref>
|strength2 = 57 tanks<ref>{{cite book |last=Zaloga |first=Stephen J. |date=2005 |title=Kasserine Pass 1943: Rommel's Last Victory |url= |location= |publisher=Osprey Publishing |page=78 |isbn=1-84176-914-2 |access-date=}}</ref>
|casualties1 = 22 tanks lost 4 halftracks lost<ref name="Atankdestroyers">{{cite web|title=American Tank Destroyers at El Guettar|url=https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/2016/11/15/american-tank-destroyers-at-el-guettar/|publisher=Warfare History Net}}</ref> 4,000–5,000 killed or wounded
|casualties2 = 37 tanks lost<ref name="Atankdestroyers" /> 4,000–6,000 killed or wounded in 3 weeks
|campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Tunisia Campaign}}
{{Campaignbox North Africa}}
}}
The '''Battle of El Guettar''' took place from 23 March – 3 April 1943, in south-central [[Tunisia]] during the [[Tunisia Campaign]] of [[World War II]]. It was fought by elements of the [[Panzer Army Africa|Army Group Africa]] under General [[Hans-Jürgen von Arnim]], along with Italian [[First Army (Italy)|First Army]] under General [[Giovanni Messe]], against the [[II Corps (United States)|U.S. II Corps]] under [[Lieutenant general (United States)|Lieutenant General]] [[George S. Patton|George Patton]]. It was the first battle in which [[United States Army|U.S. forces]] were able to defeat the experienced [[German Army (Wehrmacht)|German]] tank units, but the followup to the battle was inconclusive.<ref name="Haycock">Haycock p. 42</ref>

==Background==
The U.S. II Corps had been badly mauled in its first encounter with [[Axis powers|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 [[Eighth Army (United Kingdom)|British 8th Army]]. Thus the battle concluded with the U.S. forces still in the field, but having lost ground and men, and with little confidence in some key commanders.

In the last week of January 1943, despite a massive artillery bombardment, the Italian [[14th Bersaglieri Battalion]] of the [[131st Armoured Division Centauro]] dug in near Djebel Rihana.<ref> ''Terrible Terry Allen: Combat General of World War II - The Life of an American Soldier'', Gerald Astor, p. 139, Random House, 2008</ref> Harold V. Boyle, an Irish war correspondent, wrote that a second attack was required using grenades and bayonets in order to evict the Italians:

<blockquote>Artillery and aircraft may harass but cannot dislodge him. Only bullets and bayonets of rival riflemen can do that. This was well illustrated in the [[Ousseltia Valley]] campaign in January when tanks and artillery laid down one of the finest barrages of the campaign but couldn't rout Italians dug in like moles in the hills bordering the road to Kairouan. The artillery was beautiful to see but they couldn't do the job alone. Finally American infantry swarmed up the hills at night and flushed the Italians out in droves with hand grenades and the pointed persuasion of their bayonets.<ref>[https://books.google.com.au/books?id=sH1HAAAAIBAJ&pg=PA7&dq=Only+bullets+and+bayonets+of+rival+riflemen+can+do+that&article_id=893,2791300&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwihp-iJj6OMAxXCr1YBHcoANewQ6AF6BAgHEAM#v=onepage&q=Only%20bullets%20and%20bayonets%20of%20rival%20riflemen%20can%20do%20that&f=false War In Africa Puting Infantry Back In Pedestal]</ref></blockquote>

The American command reacted to its reverses against German and Italian forces with a prompt and sweeping series of changes in command, discipline, and tactics. Also, large units were kept massed rather than being broken up into smaller, unsupported elements as had been done under U.S. II Corps Commander [[Lloyd Fredendall]]. [[Close air support]] was also improved.

On 6 March 1943, George Patton took command of the U.S. II Corps from Lloyd Fredendall, who had been in command before and during the Kasserine engagement. His first move was to organize his U.S. II Corps for an offensive back toward the Eastern Dorsal chain of the [[Atlas Mountains]]. If successful, this would threaten the right rear of the [[Axis Powers|Axis forces]] defending the Mareth Line facing Montgomery's 8th Army and ultimately make their position untenable. Patton's style of leadership was very different from his predecessor: he is reported to have issued an order in connection with an attack on a hill position ending "I expect to see such casualties among officers, particularly staff officers, as will convince me that a serious effort has been made to capture this objective".<ref>Hunt (1990), p. 169.</ref>

On 17 March, the [[1st Infantry Division (United States)|U.S. 1st Infantry Division]] moved forward into the almost abandoned plains, taking the town of [[Gafsa]] and preparing it as a forward supply base for further operations. On the 18th, the [[1st Ranger Battalion (United States)|1st Ranger Battalion]]—led by Colonel [[William O. Darby]]—pushed ahead, and occupied the oasis of [[El Guettar, Tunisia|El Guettar]], again meeting with little opposition. The Italian defenders instead retreated and took up positions in the hills overlooking the town, thereby blocking the mountain pass (of the same name) leading south out of the interior plains to the coastal plain. Another operation by the Rangers raided an Italian position and took 200 prisoners on the night of 20 March, scaling a sheer cliff and passing ammunition and equipment up hand-over-hand.

==Battle==
===Axis attacks===
[[File:Tunisia30Janto10Apr1943.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25]]
The Axis army commanders had become aware of the U.S. movements and decided that the [[10th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)|10th Panzer Division]] should stop them. Rommel had departed Tunisia for Germany on 9 March before the battle, leaving von Arnim in control of the newly named "Army Group Afrika". Von Arnim also held Rommel's opinion on the low quality of the American forces and felt that a spoiling attack would be enough to clear them from the Eastern Dorsals again.

At 06:00 on 23 March, 50 tanks of Broich's 10th Panzer emerged from the pass into the [[El Guettar, Tunisia|El Guettar]] valley at {{coord|34|20|12|N|8|56|53|E|type:landmark}}. German motorised units in [[Sd.Kfz. 251|halftracks]] and motorcycle [[sidecars]] broke off from formation and charged the infantry on the top of the hill. The halftracks would move up the hill as far as they could and then the infantry they carried would dismount while covered by fire from [[88mm flak gun|88mms]]. The Germans were maneuvering to hit American artillery anchored on the hill. They quickly overran front-line infantry and artillery positions. Major General [[Terry de la Mesa Allen Sr.]]—commanding the [[1st Infantry Division (United States)|U.S. 1st Infantry Division]]—was threatened when two tanks came near his headquarters, but he shrugged off suggestions of moving, "I will like hell pull out, and I'll shoot the first bastard who does."<ref>Atkinson, p. 440</ref>

The German attack lost momentum when it ran into a minefield. When the Germans slowed to reorganize, U.S. artillery and anti-tank guns engaged, including 31 [[M10 tank destroyer]]s which had recently arrived.{{citation needed|date=May 2025}} Over the next hour, 30 of the 10th Panzer's tanks were destroyed, and by 09:00 they retreated from the valley.

A second attempt was made at 16:45, after waiting for the infantry to form up. Once again the U.S. artillery was able to disrupt the attack, eventually breaking the charge and inflicting heavy losses. Realizing that further attacks were hopeless, the rest of the 10th Panzer Division dug in on hills to the east or retreated back to the German headquarters at [[Gabès]].

===Allied attacks===
On 19 March, the British 8th Army launched their [[Battle of the Mareth Line|attack on the Mareth Line]], at first with little success.

Over the next week, the U.S. forces slowly moved forward to take the rest of the interior plains and set up lines across the entire Eastern Dorsals. The German and Italian defenses and reserves were heavy, and the progress was both slow and costly. On 23 March, the 10th Panzer Division attacked Lieutenant-Colonel Robert H. York's 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, and the German tanks broke through the valley between the 3rd and 1st Battalions of the 1st Division, reaching a position about six miles to the rear of the 1st Battalion. In the action, the German tanks and self-propelled guns along with German troops and a battalion of the 7th Bersaglieri Regiment riding in carriers and trucks overran the 32nd Field Artillery Battalion and part of the 5th Field Artillery Battalion,<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-MTO-NWA/USA-MTO-NWA-28.html |title=Chapter XXVIII: Gafsa, Maknassy, and El Guettar (17-25 March)|series=United States Army in World War II |work=Mediterranean Theater of Operations: Northwest Africa: Seizing the Initiative In the West |last=George F. Howe |date=1957 }}</ref> and the [[Comando Supremo|Italian High Command]] reported that 40 tanks had been destroyed and 170 Allied troops had been captured in "central and southern Tunisia".<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1955&dat=19430324&id=M4ohAAAAIBAJ&sjid=dZgFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2523,3907893 "Yankee Units Within Hour's Drive of Sea; Blast 30 Nazi Tanks"] ''Reading Eagle'' March 24, 1943 p18</ref>

On 26 March, in ''Operation Supercharge II'', a British force sent via an outflanking inland route attacked the Tebaga Gap to the north of the Mareth line, and their breakthrough left the Mareth defenses untenable. The Axis forces retreated about 40 miles to a new line set up at Wadi Akarit, north of Gabès at {{coord|33|53|3|N|10|5|33|E}}. This made the U.S. position even more valuable, since the road through El Guettar led directly into Gabès.

On 28 March, the 2nd Battalion from the 39th Infantry Regiment, with two other battalions from the 47th Infantry Regiment waiting in reserve along Draa Saada el Hamra Ridge, attempted to conduct a surprise attack on the Axis main defence line under the cover of darkness. But the attacking U.S. Army truck-borne force were discovered by the alert Italian defenders on Hill 290 overlooking Gabès Road and the attackers dispersed with the battered survivors forced to make a grueling several miles-long trek back to their original startlines.<ref>[https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-MTO-NWA/USA-MTO-NWA-29.html II Corps Operations Beyond El Guettar]</ref>

By 30 March the U.S. forces were in position for an offensive south from El Guettar. In order to start a breakout, the two original Italian strongpoints on Hill 369 {{coord|34|14|29|N|9|7|16|E|type:mountain|name=Hill 369}} and Hill 772 {{coord|34|12|7|N|8|59|36|E|type:mountain|name=Hill 772}} had to be taken, one after the other. The U.S. plan involved the U.S. [[1st Infantry Division (United States)|1st]] and [[9th Infantry Division (United States)|9th Infantry Divisions]], and [[Combat Command]] 1/3 of the U.S. 1st Armored Division, collectively known as "[[Clarence Corinth Benson|Benson]] Force". This force attacked Hill 369 on the afternoon of 30 March but ran into mines and anti-tank fire, losing five tanks and a rifle company from the 2nd Battalion of Colonel Edwin H. Randle's 47th Infantry Regiment that was forced to surrender.<ref> ''The 9th Infantry Division: Old Reliables'', John Sperry, p.11, Turner Publishing Company, 2000</ref> The tanks were withdrawn, and the 1st and 9th attacked again the next day at 06:00, gaining some ground and taking several hundred prisoners. However, an Italian counter-attack drove them back from their newly gained positions, and by 12:45 they were back where they started with the loss of nine tanks and two tank destroyers. A further attempt the next day on 1 April also failed, after barely getting started. Private Emil J. Dedonato remembers that Patton drove up to the 47th Regiment's command post, unhappy that the initial attacks had failed:

<blockquote>Patton was in a huffy mood and stormed over to see Colonel Randle in his Jeep. It was obvious he wasn't pleased with the initial results of the night attack. I'll never forget Colonel Randle's instructions as they moved into El Guettar: "Where we're going you won't need a physic!"<ref>[http://www.ww2survivorstories.com/veterans-9th.html 9th Division Veterans] www.ww2survivorstories.com</ref></blockquote>

At this point Patton received orders to start the attempt on Hill 772, even though Hill 369 was still under Italian control. The 9th was moved to Hill 772, leaving the 1st on Hill 369. By 3 April, the 1st had finally cleared Hill 369, but the battle on Hill 772 continued. The Italian commander—General Messe—then called in support from the [[German 21st Panzer Division]], further slowing progress. The tempo of the operations slowed, and the lines remained largely static.

==Aftermath==
[[File:El Guettar foxhole.jpg|thumb|[[U.S. Army Africa]] staff visited El Guettar in 2010, where foxholes from 67 years ago remain.]]
On 6 April, the British 8th Army once again overran the Axis lines at the [[Battle of Wadi Akarit]], and a full retreat started. On the morning of 7 April, Benson Force moved through the positions held by the 1st and 9th divisions, and raced down the abandoned El Guettar-Gabès road, where it met the lead elements of the 8th Army at 17:00. With the last Axis line of defense in the south of Tunisia broken, the remaining forces made a run to join the other Axis forces in the north. Tunis fell to the Allies in early May.

==In film==
* The first part of the battle is portrayed in a lengthy scene in the 1970 biographical film ''[[Patton (film)|Patton]]''.

==See also==

* [[List of equipment of the United States Army during World War II]]
* [[List of German military equipment of World War II]]
* [[List of Italian Army equipment in World War II]]
* [[North African campaign timeline]]
* [[List of World War II battles]]

==Footnotes==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book|first=Rick|last=Atkinson|author-link=Rick Atkinson|title=[[An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942–1943]]| publisher=Henry Holt & Co.|location=New York|year=2002|isbn=0-8050-6288-2}}
* {{cite book |first=David |last=Hunt |title=A Don at War |url=https://archive.org/details/donatwar0000hunt |url-access=registration |location=Great Britain |publisher=Frank Cass |year=1990 |orig-year=1966 |edition=rev. |isbn=0-7146-3383-6}}
* {{cite book|first=Charles R.|last=Anderson|url=http://www.history.army.mil/brochures/tunisia/tunisia.htm|series=U.S. Army Campaigns of World War II|title=Tunisia 17 November 1942 to 13 May 1943|publisher=[[United States Army Center of Military History]]|year=1993|id=CMH Pub 72-12|isbn=0-16-038106-1|access-date=9 August 2010|archive-date=17 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170917183639/http://www.history.army.mil/brochures/tunisia/tunisia.htm|url-status=dead}}
* {{cite book|last1=Haycock|first1=D.J.|title=Eisenhower and the Art of Warfare: A Critical Appraisal|date=2004|publisher=McFarland|isbn=9780786418947}}
* {{cite book|last1=Hooker Jr|first1=Richard D|title=Wrath Of Achilles: Essays On Command In Battle|date=2014|publisher=Pickle Partners Publishing|isbn=9781782893905}}
* {{cite book|first=G. F.|last=Howe|title=Northwest Africa: Seizing the Initiative in the West| publisher=Department of the Army|location=Washington|year=1957}} Reprinted in 1991. {{ISBN|0160019117}} {{OCLC|23304011}}
* {{cite book|first=George F.|last=Howe|title=The Battle History of the 1st Armored Division, "Old Ironsides."| publisher=Combat Forces Press|location=Washington|year=1954|oclc=1262858}}
* {{cite book|first=Orr|last=Kelly|title=Meeting the Fox: The Allied Invasion of Africa, from Operation Torch to Kasserine Pass to Victory in Tunisia|publisher=Wiley & Sons|location=New York|year=2002|isbn=978-0-471-41429-2|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/meetingfoxallied0000kell}}
* {{cite book|first=Michael J.|last=King|title=Rangers: Selected Combat Operations in World War II| publisher=US Army Combat Studies Institute, Command and General Staff College|year=1985| lccn= 85015691|oclc=12263177}}
* {{cite book|first=Alan|last=Levine|title=The War Against Rommel's Supply Lines|publisher=Praeger Publishers|location=Westport, CT.|year=1999|isbn=978-0-275-96521-1}}
* {{cite journal|first=Drew|last=Middleton|title=US Force at Pass|date=20 March 1943|journal=[[The New York Times]]}}
* {{cite book|first=Alan|last=Moorhead|title=The March to Tunis: The North African War, 1940-1943| publisher=Dell Publishing|location=New York|year=1968|oclc=12298236}}
* {{cite book|first=F. G.|last=Wickware|title=The American Yearbook|publisher=Nelson|location=New York|year=1944}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070610013744/http://www-cgsc.army.mil/carl/download/csipubs/nightcom.pdf Combat Studies Institute: Night Combat Operations]

{{World War II}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of El Guettar}}
[[Category:Tunisian campaign|El Guettar]]
[[Category:Battles involving Italy|El Guettar, Battle of]]
[[Category:Tank battles of World War II]]
[[Category:Tank battles involving Germany]]
[[Category:Tank battles involving the United States]]
[[Category:March 1943 in Africa]]
[[Category:April 1943 in Africa]]
[[Category:1943 in Tunisia]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1943]]

Battle of El Guettar - Revision history

Red apple learning at 00:28, 6 February 2026