大象传媒

Rommel had decided to withdraw the 10th and 21st Panzer Divisions from the 1st Army front in order to take advantage of the delay of the 8th Army in reaching the Mareth Line, which the Axis had set up inside southern Tunisia, just over the Libyan border and which they had crossed on 26/01/43; they were now sandwiched between both the 8th and 1st Armies (not a very tasty filling, I would think!).

The 8th Army itself did not cross the Libyan/Tunisian border until 15/02/43 and by-passed the Mareth Line very cleverly, by filtering around it via the Gabes Gap. The Mareth line per se was held only by a token force of Axis troops.

As a result of the fore-going, the Axis attack upon the 1st Army was halted, von Arnim having withdrawn into a defensive position. Strangely enough, owing to some utter confusion within Allied Command, Lt.Gen.Harold Rupert Leofric George Alexander had rejected Lt.Gen.Kenneth Anderson in favour of Lt.Gen. Oliver Leese; however, his request having been rejected, Lt.Gen. Anderson had to remain.

During this confusion, the Allies had been completely unaware that von Arnim had withdrawn for the previous 48 hours into a defensive position.

Both the 10th and 21st Panzer Divisions had now returned to the 1st Army front by the 22nd/23rd February, 1943.

The leading Observation Post at the eastern end of hill 609 afforded an extensive view over the Plain of Tunis and it was visited on the morning of the 25th February by the Divisional Commander (Major-General Freeman-Attwood), the C.R.A. (Brigadier Rigby) and the Commanding Officer of 172nd Field Regiment (Lieut.Colonel W.D.McN. Graham), but having spent some two hours there, they did not detect any sign of enemy activity.

On the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of WW2 I had been sent four reports relating to the battle at Sidi N'Sir in which our 155 Battery was engaged on 26th February, 1943. Tw of those reports were similar to the original provided by the C.O. of 155 Battery/172 Field Regiment, R.A. I decided therefore to utilize the fourth, relating to the 'Gunner' Magazine, the Official Organ of the Royal Artillery Association, dated June, 1943. Permission to use same having been very kindly given me by the current Editor, Miss Catherine Redpath. Very many thanks to her. I shall report it verbatim, any added remarks by self added within brackets.

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