Operation Capri
Encyclopedia
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
counter-attack at Medenine
Medenine
Medenine is the major town in southeastern Tunisia, south of the port of Gabès and the Island of Djerba, on the main route to Libya. It is the capital of Medenine Governorate.- Overview :...
, Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
, intended to disrupt and delay the 8th Army's attack on the Mareth Line
Mareth Line
The Mareth Line was a system of fortifications built by the French between the towns of Medenine and Gabès in southern Tunisia, prior to World War II...
. The German attack started on 6 March 1943, failed to make much impression and was abandoned at dusk on the same day. Over the next day or two, German forces withdrew northward.
Background
After the Axis defeat at El AlameinSecond Battle of El Alamein
The Second Battle of El Alamein marked a major turning point in the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. The battle took place over 20 days from 23 October – 11 November 1942. The First Battle of El Alamein had stalled the Axis advance. Thereafter, Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery...
, the German commander—Generalfeldmarshall Erwin Rommel
Erwin Rommel
Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel , popularly known as the Desert Fox , was a German Field Marshal of World War II. He won the respect of both his own troops and the enemies he fought....
—had executed a retreat into eastern Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
. This had been successful in that the Axis forces had avoided destruction. An attack
Battle of the Kasserine Pass
The Battle of the Kasserine Pass was a battle that took place during the Tunisia Campaign of World War II in February 1943. It was a series of battles fought around Kasserine Pass, a wide gap in the Grand Dorsal chain of the Atlas Mountains in west central Tunisia...
on the Allied forces now on his western front in Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
was also successful and caused their withdrawal.
Heeresgruppe Afrika was reformed, with Rommel in command, including Generaloberst
General (Germany)
General is presently the highest rank of the German Army and Luftwaffe . It is the equivalent to the rank of Admiral in the German Navy .-Early history:...
Hans-Jürgen von Arnim
Hans-Jürgen von Arnim
Hans-Jürgen Bernhard Theodor von Arnim was a German Generaloberst who served during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross...
′s 5. Panzerarmee and Generale
Italian Army Ranks
This chart represents the Italian Army rank insignia used on the slip-on of winter service uniforms. The color of the uniforms is khaki.Officers who are assigned to a position acting in a higher rank than their own wear the insignia of the higher rank but the highest star of the insignia is trimmed...
Giovanni Messe
Giovanni Messe
Giovanni Messe was an Italian general, politician, and Field Marshal . He is considered by many to have been the best Italian general of the Second World War.-Early life and career:Born in Mesagne, Apulia, Giovanni Messe pursued a military career in 1901...
′s Italian 1st Army
Italian First Army
The Italian First Army was an Italian army formation, in World War I, facing Austro-Hungarian and German forces, and in World War II, fighting on the North African front.-World War I:...
which now included the German Panzerarmee Afrika.
Rommel faced the 8th Army, which was now established at Medenine in eastern Tunisia and preparing for its assault on the Mareth Line.
Allies
The 51st (Highland) DivisionBritish 51st (Highland) Infantry Division (World War II)
For the First World War unit, see 51st Division .The 51st Infantry Division was a British Territorial Army division that fought during the Second World War...
commanded by Major-General
Major-General (United Kingdom)
Major general is a senior rank in the British Army. Since 1996 the highest position within the Royal Marines is the Commandant General Royal Marines who holds the rank of major general...
Douglas Wimberley
Douglas Wimberley
Major-General Douglas Neil Wimberley CB, DSO, MC was commander of the 51st Division at the Second Battle of El Alamein in World War II and lead it across North Africa to Sicily....
, 7th Armoured Division
British 7th Armoured Division
The 7th Armoured Division was a British armoured division which saw service during the Second World War where its exploits made it famous as the Desert Rats....
(General George Erskine) and New Zealand 2nd Division
New Zealand 2nd Division
The 2nd New Zealand Division was a formation of the New Zealand Military Forces during World War II. It was commanded for most of its existence by Lieutenant-General Sir Bernard Freyberg, and fought in Greece, Crete, the Western Desert and Italy...
(Bernard Freyberg) of the 8th Army. The open southern flank was covered by the 4th Light Armoured Brigade, which included the Free French Flying Column (FFFC) and the 1e Bataillon d'Infanterie de Marine et du Pacifique (1 BIMP).
Axis
Two German infantry divisions, the 90th and 164th Light, and the 10., 15. and 21. Panzerdivisions of the Deutsches AfrikakorpsAfrika Korps
The German Africa Corps , or the Afrika Korps as it was popularly called, was the German expeditionary force in Libya and Tunisia during the North African Campaign of World War II...
(estimated 200 tanks). The Spezia Division of the Italian 1st Army occupied the Mareth Line.
The battle
At about 06:00 on 6 March, under cover of fog, Rommel attacked Medenine with three Panzer divisions. Montgomery had, however, been forewarned of the German attack by EnigmaEnigma machine
An Enigma machine is any of a family of related electro-mechanical rotor cipher machines used for the encryption and decryption of secret messages. Enigma was invented by German engineer Arthur Scherbius at the end of World War I...
decrypts and had established strong defensive positions. The 8th Army had massive force superiority, including large, concealed batteries of anti-tank guns. These guns included a few of the new 17-pounder gun
Ordnance QF 17 pounder
The Ordnance Quick-Firing 17 pounder was a 76.2 mm gun developed by the United Kingdom during World War II. It was used as an anti-tank gun on its own carriage, as well as equipping a number of British tanks. It was the most effective Allied anti-tank gun of the war...
s. The British were also able to concentrate their artillery in divisional or corps strength.
Infantry probed the entire front. Tanks led the attack, closely followed by motorised infantry. The British and New Zealand artillery held their fire until the tanks were almost on the anti-tank guns, when the 25-pounder guns opened fire on the infantry, leaving the tanks isolated without infantry support. At 08:30, a group of 10 Panzer III
Panzer III
Panzer III was the common name of a medium tank that was developed in the 1930s by Germany and was used extensively in World War II. The official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen III translating as "armoured battle vehicle". It was intended to fight other armoured fighting vehicles and...
tanks—advancing on Tadjera Kbir—were surprised by two 6-pounder anti-tank gun
Ordnance QF 6 pounder
The Ordnance Quick-Firing 6-pounder 7 cwt, or just 6 pounder, was a British 57 mm gun, their primary anti-tank gun during the middle of World War II, as well as the main armament for a number of armoured fighting vehicles...
s and mortar
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
s and half of the tanks were quickly destroyed. The enemy was beaten off and withdrew.
Between 09:00 and 10:00, artillery dispersed enemy troop concentrations.
Another German force attempted to advance along the Foum Tatahouine to Medenine road. They were contained by British forces.
During the afternoon, heavy and accurate artillery fire disrupted German concentrations, in particular a large group of 1,000 infantry plus tanks just short of Tadjera Kbir. The artillery included a troop of captured German 88 mm (3.46 in) gun
88 mm gun
The 88 mm gun was a German anti-aircraft and anti-tank artillery gun from World War II. It was widely used by Germany throughout the war, and was one of the most recognizable German weapons of the war...
s.
The attack had been beaten with the loss of 52 German tanks.
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
attempts to support the attacks were ineffectual.
Aftermath
Over the following night, patrols were sent out to discover the likelihood of renewed attacks, but without incident. Over forty German tanks had been destroyed, so it was unlikely that they would have the strength for a repeat. Audible vehicle movements did suggest an attack, but in fact a withdrawal was in progress.There were minor rearguard actions on 7-8 March, as the Germans withdrew to the Mareth Line and Gabès
Gabès
Gabès , also spelt Cabès, Cabes, Kabes, Gabbs and Gaps, the ancient Tacape, is the capital city of the Gabès Governorate, a province of Tunisia. It lies on the coast of the Gulf of Gabès. With a population of 116,323 it is the 6th largest Tunisian city.-History:Strabo refers to Tacape as an...
. Allied efforts to force further action were defeated by the weather and the speed of the withdrawal. The action was over by 10 March, although some heights were still occupied and there was sporadic long-range artillery fire.
Erwin Rommel
Erwin Rommel
Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel , popularly known as the Desert Fox , was a German Field Marshal of World War II. He won the respect of both his own troops and the enemies he fought....
remarked:
The attack began extraordinarily well, but soon came up against strong British positions in hilly country, protected by mines and anti-tank guns…. Attack after attack was launched, but achieved no success…. it soon became clear that the attack had failed and there was nothing more to be done about it…. The attack had bogged down in the break-in stage and the action never had a chance of becoming fluid. The British commander had grouped his forces extremely well and had completed his preparations with remarkable speed. In fact the attack had been launched about a week too late…. We had suffered tremendous losses, including forty tanks totally destroyed. But the cruellest blow was the knowledge that we had been unable to interfere with Montgomery's preparations. A great gloom settled over us all. The Eighth Army's attack was now imminent and we had to face it. For the Army Group to remain in Africa was now plain suicide.
On 10 March, Rommel left Africa for the last time, leaving von Arnim in command. He had played little part in the planning or control of the battle. It showed. There had been no reconnaissance. Allied artillery was well hidden and well placed and the German tanks were unable to spot them. The defeat had been so comprehensive that it caused the Germans to question their security and Montgomery was rebuked for not taking greater steps to hide the source of his information.
On 6 March 1943, Bernard Montgomery wrote in a letter to Sir Alan Brooke
Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke
Field Marshal The Rt. Hon. Alan Francis Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke, KG, GCB, OM, GCVO, DSO & Bar , was a senior commander in the British Army. He was the Chief of the Imperial General Staff during the Second World War, and was promoted to Field Marshal in 1944...
, the Chief of the Imperial General Staff:
He is trying to attack me in daylight with tanks, followed by lorried infantry... It is an absolute gift, and the man must be mad.
Allied plans for the attack on the Mareth Line continued, virtually undisturbed.
See also
- North African Campaign timelineNorth African Campaign timeline- 1940:* 10 June: The Kingdom of Italy declares war upon France and the United Kingdom* 14 June: British forces cross from Egypt into Libya and capture Fort Capuzzo* 16 June: The first tank battle of the North African Campaign takes place, the "Battle of Girba"...
- List of World War II battles