Operation Torch and The Capture Of Tunis

Posted on by Rupert Wieloch

I am looking forward to giving my talk on the Allied battles in French North Africa tomorrow in Winchester, especially as it was the 83rd anniversary of the capture of Tunis by Lieutenant General Horrock’s IX Corps on Thursday.

This is another forgotten campaign that was pivotal in the defeat of Nazi Germany. Although it lasted only six months (8 November 1942 to 13 May 1943), it is important historically because it was the first occasion in WWII when British and American formations fought together side by side. It also introduced key American military leaders such as Eisenhower, Clark, Patton and Bradley to armoured warfare. It turned France from foe to friend. And its result was as devastating to Hitler as Stalingrad, with 350,000 of his best soldiers killed, or taken prisoner and 3,000 aircraft lost.

After the successful landings on Operation Torch, the USA made many mistakes, such as their flirtation with Nazi sympathiser, Admiral Darlan (who fortunately was assassinated on Christmas Eve). When II (US) Corps failed in battle, tensions between the Allies were tested. Monty put it pithily in his memoir “It was the old story: lack of proper training allied to no experience of war, and linked with too high a standard of living. They were going through their early days, just as we had to go through ours…When the Americans had learnt their lesson, and had gained experience, they proved themselves to be first-class troops. It took time; but they did it more quickly than we did.”

In preparation for my talk, I have been reading Eisenhower’s memoir and two stories strike me as important in the development of US forces from a peacetime army to a mission-focused, well-oiled machine. The first was in Algiers when he found that his orders to support British First Army in the Race for Tunis “were not clearly understood nor vigorously executed” An American Brigade commander had asked for M3 Half Tracks to take his troops the 700 miles to the front line, but the American staff officer to whom he was appealing had refused permission “on the ground that the march would consume half the useful life of the vehicle!” This staff officer had not accepted that war is synonymous with waste and that “every positive action requires expenditure”. Within five minutes of this issue reaching Ike, the brigadier was on his way with the orders he sought.

The second story is how Eisenhower dealt with II Corps after it failed in the battles of Kasserine Pass and Fondouk. He had a long discussion with General Alexander and asked that II Corps should not be removed from the line of battle. but instead should be employed as a whole in the final assault (Op Strike). Partly, this was because he realised that the bulk of the ground forces required by the Allies to defeat Germany would have to come from America and the need for more battle training was self-evident. There was also an urgent need to provide a sense of accomplishment to the people back home and to generate an effective sense of partnership. II Corp’s subsequent successful capture of Bizerte on 7 May fully justified Ike’s decision.

Since the British Army is currently suffering from peacetime-itis, they would do well to study this campaign for its important lessons about success in war.

IX Corps In Tunis

ANZAC Day – My Tribute

Posted on by Rupert Wieloch

There is still much to be said about the wars in Ukraine and Middle East as well as Britain’s Strategic Defence Review, but today is ANZAC Day and so, I wish to honour the brave soldiers, sailors and air personnel who lost their lives fighting for a free world. My father was extremely proud to serve in the Australian Army for two years during the Korean War and he would be delighted that the Royal Family participated in the commemorations in London today.

Although the Aussies claim ownership of the Gallipoli Campaign, I believe their most important contribution in the two world wars was in North Africa in April 1941. This was the defence of Tobruk by Major General Leslie Morshead’s 6th Australian Division after the British 2nd Armoured Division capitulated in the desert battle with Erwin Rommel. The first hand-to-hand combat between Australia and Germany in World War II was a victory for the Southern Hemisphere and more importantly it showed the world that Hitler’s up-to-then invincible Blitzkrieg was beatable. But it came at a cost.

Rommel had ordered his armoured troops to attack the outer perimeter at 1700 hours on Easter Sunday. After a fierce artillery exchange, a breach in the line was exploited by the Afrika Korps. Sensing this critical moment, 22 year-old Lieutenant Austin Mackell of 2/17th Australian Infantry Battalion took out a fighting patrol and stumbled on a major enemy position with six machine guns, mortars and field guns. Mackell was involved with three enemy soldiers and called for help. A giant of a man from Wagga Wagga, Corporal John Hurst Edmondson, who was wounded in the neck and stomach, came across and rescued his platoon commander. Sadly he died of his wounds, but for his conspicuous bravery and sacrifice he was awarded the first Victoria Cross to be awarded to an Australian in World War II (14 April 1941).

The siege of Tobruk continued until November, when Colonel Sydney Hartnell of 19th New Zealand Battalion, part of General Auchinleck’s relief force, symbolically shook hands with Brigadier Arthur Willison, commanding 32 Brigade. The ANZAC bravery continued in North Africa in 1942, with five of the six VCs awarded in Egypt being presented to New Zealand and Australian soldiers. The full story is in my book, Liberating Libya.

I was never fortunate enough to be sent to the Antipodes during my time in the Army, but I did have an outstanding young New Zealand artillery detachment under command in Bosnia in 1995. When we were attacked by the Bosnian Serb army, they all performed in combat in the finest traditions of their distinguished predecessors, who earned fame at Tobruk and El Alamein 50 years before.

Alamein 1942