Operation Strike (6–13 May 1943) was the last ground attack by the Allied forces of the First Army 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. The offensive was launched only a week after the end of Operation Vulcan, in which the Axis forces had been severely weakened and hemmed in against the coast but the Allies were unable to break out.
Operation Strike was the follow up attack launched on 6 May. This time the Axis line was broken within 24 hours. Allied forces then streamed through and cut off various units. For the Axis, escape was impossible, on the following day Tunis fell to British forces and Bizerte fell to US troops. Axis forces were destroyed piecemeal, with mass surrenders taking place. Some fighting continued until the last Axis forces surrendered on 13 May 1943, bringing the total bag to around 250,000 Axis troops. Strike ended the North African campaign.
Background
By April 13 1943, the Allied line faced the Axis who were now concentrated in Northeastern Tunisia from Enfidaville on the Southeast facing the Eighth Army, Pont Du Fahs and Medjez El Bab to Sedjenane facing the allied First Army (Kenneth Anderson). Anderson was able to turn his full attention to the orders he had received from 18th Army Group commander Field Marshal Harold Alexander to prepare the large-scale attack, scheduled for 22 April, to gain Tunis code named Operation Vulcan.
Operation Vulcan commenced on 22 April to breach the Axis defences and break out beyond towards Bizerte and Tunis. The attack succeeded in capturing important strategic locations such as Longstop Hill, Point 174 and Hill 609 and forced the Axis to withdraw elsewhere resulting in large areas being abandoned to the Allies. Vulcan did not break out through into the open ground as planned, but it severely weakened the Axis forces, and became the first stage of the final Allied assault in the Tunisian campaign.
By April 30, Anderson realised that a revision was necessary to achieve the complete destruction of Axis forces in North Africa. The revised final phase of the assault on Tunis was codenamed Strike and was aimed to be launched on May 6.
For Operation Strike, Lieutenant-General Brian Horrocks was transferred to the First Army to take over British IX Corps after its previous commander, Lieutenant-General John Crocker, was wounded in a training accident. IX Corps was also reinforced with experienced units of the Eighth Army, the 7th Armoured Division (Major-General George Erskine), 4th Indian Division (Francis Tuker) and the 201st Guards Brigade. While the other units of First Army would sweep into the plains facing them, so they could surround the Axis forces, V Corps was to hold the Axis forces against them and would this play a minor role. Facing both Corps were the Hermann Göring, 334th Infantry and what remained of 15th Panzer Divisions.
Plan
The objective of Strike was to capture Tunis and Bizerte and to seal off Cap Bon peninsula. Once achieved this would seal the fate of Axis forces in Tunisia who would ultimately be trapped. IX Corps was to use its two infantry divisions to break through the Axis defences in front of Massicault. 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 Tunis. Anderson arranged a deception, the concentration of around 70 dummy tanks near Bou Arada on the IX Corps' front. This was to draw attention from the arrival of 7th Armoured Division in the Medjez el Bab sector. Horrocks planned for IX Corps to attack on a narrow 3,000 yd (2,700 m) front either side of the Medjez Tunis road. As a prelude, V Corps (Lieutenant-General Charles Walter Allfrey) 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. The French XIX Corps was to take the mountainous Djebel Zaghouan area.
Prelude
Preliminary moves were made before Operation Strike began. The Axis withdrawal against US II Corps on 1 May made it easier for the latter to move up the Ferryville road. The 1st Infantry Division were able to occupy the high ground west of the Oud Tina and got as far as Djebel Douimiss which was held in strength by the Regiment Barenthin.
To the south of the 1st Division, the 34th Division advanced from the Djebel Badjar area on 3 May and encountering very little resistance forced the Germans out of the town of Eddekhila two days later. Further North to the coast, the Corps Franc Afrique had advanced into the hills west of Djebel Chenti and US troops had outflanked Jefna by advancing into the hills. From this position the US II Crops was in a good position to strike for Bizerte and send units south to cooperate with the British in squeezing the 15th Panzer Division out of Tebourba.
Prior to the attack by IX Corps on May 5, V Corps launched an attack on Djebel Bou Aoukaz which had defied them during Operation Vulcan. The Royal Artillery had 600 guns and saturated Djebel Bou Aoukaz with high explosive as elements of the 3rd Infantry Brigade stormed the hill. Kampfgruppe Irkens was driven back and the hill was held, the Germans were unable to launch a counter attack due to lack of fuel. The capture of the hill secured the left flank of IX Corps allowing Horrocks to launch his armoured thrust north-eastwards.
Operation Strike
On May 6 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. From Massicault towards Tunis they struck Protville, the area south-west of Tunis, the Cap Bon peninsula and intermediate strong points between Tunis and its outer defences. On that night, as the attack began, Wellington bombers from Misurata joined the Tactical Bomber Force in hitting areas near La Sebala and El Aouïna, Djedeïda, Tebourba and Cheylus.
The operation began at 3:00 a.m. in the morning of 6 May with troops moving up and artillery concentrations on Axis 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.
IX (British) Corps
The British IX Corps attacked behind a rolling barrage as planned but still found some resistance. The 4th Indian Infantry Division and 4th Infantry Division made a breach in the German line and the 334th infantry division buckled which let the 6th Armoured Division and the 7th Armoured Division move through a small gap, the tanks struggling through minefields. Four battalions of Churchill tanks of the 26th Armoured Brigade supporting the 4th Infantry Division began rolling toward Massicault. They reached the town of Furna where Axis anti-tank guns and tanks slowed them too. The brigade then fought in the only large tank on tank engagement during the operation. Elements of the 15th Panzer Division had put a force of Panzer III, Panzer IV and two Panzer VI (Tiger tanks) supported by two 88 mm guns. The overwhelming number of tanks easily knocked out the two 88 mm guns and most of the German armour was either abandoned or knocked out. The tanks and infantry overran two battalions of the 115th Panzer Grenadier Regiment and pushed back the remainder of the 15th Panzer Division to Massicault. The British occupied the town in the late afternoon, completing the first stage of the Allied push.
By evening of 6 May, IX Corps along with the II US Corps had pushed back the 5th Panzer Army. The dummy tanks, along with other deception tactics, helped achieve a degree of surprise regarding the size and location of the British armoured force. The divisions' commanders had to order the tanks to halt and allow the infantry to catch up and form a firm base before pushing on. The slower Churchills proved excellent at tank and infantry coordination but the quicker Shermans tended to leave the infantry a long way behind. There were thus concerns about German counter-attacks attempting to retake lost ground but by the end of day lack of fuel meant none were even planned. A message from Alexander was given to the divisional commanders to 'push on' and take Tunis.
In the morning of 7 May, the 6th Armoured Division and the 7th Armoured Division began to push harder but this time "met only scattered resistance". The 26th Armoured Brigade (6th Armoured Division) 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. where there some fighting but by the end of the day the city was secured along with scenes of celebrations. The Germans had destroyed the port facilities of Tunis and Bizerte the day before. Following the city's capture the 6th Armoured Division was ordered to stop Axis defensive positions being formed before the Cape Bon peninsula. The final objective for the day was the high ground overlooking La Mohammedia which was reached and taken as planned.
The 1st Armoured Division assaulted Djebel Kournine after a heavy bombardment in the late evening of 6 May which was captured with ease on the following morning. The division then moved to Créteville and in the next few days penetrated the hills on either side of the Grombalia–Tunis road. They too fought their way to trap the Axis in the Cape Bon peninsula.
The 6th Armoured Division had also moved to the Cape Bon Peninsula but a narrow defile at Hammam-Lif barred the way. The objective was to take the high ground of Djebel el Rorouf - securing this would also secure the pass. It was defended in depth by the Germans by Kampfgruppe Frantz who had an assortment of anti-tank guns, nebelwerfer, machine guns and heavy artillery. The task fell to the 2nd Lothians and Border Horse and the 201st Guards Brigade. The tanks launched a frontal attack on 9 May but the German repelled the attacks, the 2nd Lothians losing about twenty Sherman tanks.
The Grenadier Guards were driving towards Djebel el Rorouf capturing about 400 Italians in the plain below. The Welsh Guards after some tough fighting captured Djebel el Rorouf in two days of fighting. The Coldstream Guards relieved the Welsh Guards and cleared the rest of the position. At dawn the next day a squadron of Lothian tanks decided on a risky assault via the beach that was found to be undefended. The tanks got on the beach and drove at speed in the wet sand and surf to outflank the German positions. At the same time the 17/21st Lancers which had arrived to reinforce the Lothians broke into the German positions in the town. Once the area was secured, the tanks cleared the way for the capture of Hammamet. The Germans retreated towards Grombalia and the 6th Armoured Division then raced towards Bou Ficha and Enfidaville, cutting them off.
XIX (French) Corps
XIX Corps had made a push towards Pont du Fahs against limited resistance. Elements of Division D'Algier entered the town on 7 May, the German having cleared out the day before. XIX Corps' next objective was to take the high peak of Djebel Zaghouan and drive the Axis forces into the valley below. The Division D'Oran (General Boissau) and Brigade Légère Mécanique (Mechanised Light Brigade, Le Coulteux) moved quickly from the north-east of Pont Du Fahs and drove north to the centre of the Zaghouan mountains.
The following day having advanced from the Pont du Fahs–Takrouna Road to the edge of the Zaghouan hills slopes resistance stiffened. The French advanced was checked by the 10,000 men of Kampfgruppe Pfieffer of the Afrika Korps entrenched around the hills. This composed of units from the 21st Panzer Division and the Italian 1st Infantry Division "Superga". Further attempts by the French over the following days were costly failures. On 10 May, Koeltz decided to besiege the area. Kampfgruppe Pfeiffer would then be trapped between the French and the advance of XI Corps below.
II US Corps
In the II US Corps, armour struck in the North and drove towards Djebel Kechabta driving the 15th Panzer Division from Djebel Mansour 4 mi (6.4 km) east of Ferryville. Here the Americans noticed the Germans in full retreat across the Tunis–Bizerte road. The Germans had expended the last of their artillery ammunition. Having advanced from Mateur around Lake Bizerte there was an opportunity to entrap Axis armour on the hills south-east of Bizerte. This was achieved when the crossroads were seized east of Mateur and then moved further towards Protville.