Tunisian Victory

In November 1942, the largest expedition ever to sail from the United States, and a large British convoy twice its size, are poised for a combined top-secret operation, code-named "Acrobat." President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill plan a joint Allied effort to thwart the two Axis powers, east through Europe to India, and west from Japan to India, thereby isolating China and Russia except for their remote Arctic ports. In just over four months, the offensive will be launched in North Africa involving hundreds of thousands of American and British soldiers. An American soldier, Joe McAdams of Kansas City, and a British soldier, George Metcalf, describe some of their feelings and thoughts throughout the course of the operation. The first invasions begin on 8 November 1942, with simultaneous and successful landings by the Americans, under General George Patton, at Casablanca, and by the British at Oran and Algiers. Joined by the Free French forces, they begin an eastward thrust toward Tunisia, where Germany's supply lines from Europe are to be cut. The plan calls for the assistance of the British Eighth Army, which is heading east from the Egyptian border. As the troops progress, Allied planes bomb factories in Genoa, Naples and Turin. On 18 November, skirmishes begin on the Tunisian border as the Allies enter that country. Within four days, Beja, 450 miles from Tunis, is captured, but as Allied soldiers proceed across the plains to Tunis, they fall prey to German aircraft. On 25 November, a huge tank battle is won by the Allied forces, but a retreat is ordered outside Tunis as the German air force attacks, cutting supplies off and causing heavy casualties. Winter brings mud and floods to the Allied forward airfields; tanks and planes are immobilized, although battle lines are held as both sides gather their forces. After Christmas, when the joint forces enjoyed a good meal and celebrated with gifts and letters from home, Roosevelt and Churchill meet again in Casablanca and organize a new Tunisian campaign under General Eisenhower. British, American and French troops surround the northwest corner of Tunisia and plan their attack. Rommel, anticipating such a move, attacks first on 14 February, forcing his way through the Faid pass and Maknassy. By the 21st, Allied forces have retreated behind their original battle lines. Rommel then makes an abortive attack against the British Eighth Army on the east. On 7 Apr, the Americans break through and meet the Eighth, taking Sfax and Sousse. The vital hills west of Tunis become the sites of five major battles: Hill 609, Longstop Hill, Goubellat Plain, Djebel Mansour and Takrouna. A coordinated Allied attack is successful on all fronts, and the enemy is splintered into four separate pockets. In the greatest mass surrender of fully equipped troops in modern history, 266,000 enemy soldiers lay down their arms. For every Allied soldier lost, the Germans lost five. Joe and George think of all the cars and trucks that might have been built instead of the piles of junked jeeps and tanks in North Africa. Soldiers are shown from all the countries that supported the African campaign: France, Russia, Australia, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and the United States. The two soldiers plan to keep in touch. They hope the world can build things up instead of blowing them up.