1. DEFINE THE SUBJECT/EVALUATE THE SOURCES:
a. Define the Battle to be analyzed (where, who, when).
The Battle of the Kasserine Pass was a series of battles that began February 14, 1943 in Tunisia, which is found on Africa’s central north coast. The Kasserine pass is a gap in the Dorsal Mountains, which are part of the Atlas Mountain Range, two miles wide in west central Tunisia. This battle was between the Allied Forces lead by British General Bernard L. Montgomery and consisted of British, American and French troops that formed a defensive line against General Erwin Rommel and the Afrika Korps of the German Army.
2. REVIEW THE SETTING (SET THE STAGE):
a. Strategic/Operational Overview
The Battle of Kasserine Pass pitted the German 10th and 21st Panzer divisions against the Allied forces 8th
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This tactic along with the addition of a concentration of force, artillery and tanks, allowed troops to penetrate even deeper and disrupt enemy forces (miepvonsydow.wordpress.com, 2014).
(4) Logistical systems.
Allied supply chains were strained as they were trying to keep up with the demand of supporting two separate fronts and the distances they had to move.
Axis supply chains were strained because Hitler did not consider the Africa campaign to be of significant importance. Instead focusing on supplying the German eastern front as they battled the Russian Army. Only when the Germans surrendered to the Russians did the additional supplies get directed towards the African front.
(5) Intelligence.
Intelligence reports were ignored by General Fredendall on several occasions while he would bypass division and brigade commanders and direct troop movements down at the company level (Budiansky, 2011). Also intelligence reports suggested that there was only one Panzer division located to the south of their
The prelude to the Battle of the Bulge began on a winter day in mid-December of 1944. Three powerful German divisions, were the last German offensives in the west at that time during World War II. They began after the Normandy invasion in June 1944. Allied had forces swept rapidly through France but became stalled along the German border earlier that year in September. On December 16, 1944 taking advantage of the weather, which kept the Allied aircraft on the ground, the Germans launched a counteroffensive through the semi-mountainous and heavily-forested Ardennes region in Germany, and advanced 31 miles into Belgium and northern Luxembourg near the Meuse River. Their goal was to trap four allied armies, divide the Americans and the British to force negotiated peace along the western front, and retake the vital seaport of Antwerp in Belgium. Thinking the Ardennes was the least likely spot for a German offensive, American staff commander chose to keep the thin line, so that manpower might concentrate on offensives north and south of the Ardennes known as the "bulge" in the Allied lines. These American lines were thinly held by three divisions in the Allied Army and part of a forth division, while fifth division was making a local attack and the sixth division was in reserve. Division sectors were more than double the width of normal defensive fronts, therefore there were more men scattered along a larger area. The German advance was halted near the Meuse River in late December. Even though the German Offensive achieved total surprise, nowhere did the American troops give ground without a fight. Within three days, the determined American stand and the arrival of powerful reinforcements insured that the ambitious German goal was far beyond reach. In snow and sub-freezing temperatures the Germans fell short of their interim objective- to reach the rambling Meuse River on the edge of the Ardennes. But they managed to avoid being cut off by an Allied Pincer movement.
Atkinson's passion is evident on every page. By the of the book, even the most diehard believer that North Africa was just a sideshow will see the logic in Atkinson's argument of the importance of the North African campaign as a critical first-step on the way to ending World War II.
The battle started when the British sixth air born division went in at ten minutes after midnight. They were the first troops to go into action. The second attack was by the eighty second in the one hundred and first division of air born attacks. They were less successful than the first division.
The naval blockade had been draining German resources since 1914 – by 1918, the blockade has seen the German nation on the edge of revolution. The people were starving and the 4 years of war had increasing industrial and political un... ... middle of paper ... ... ers were strained of resources due to the British Naval Blockade while the Allies had a steady supply of their provisions due to the support of the French and large British colonies. Coordination of attacks by the allies showed more skill in producing a successful outcome.
In the summer of 1944, General George S. Patton and his 3rd Army successfully broke through heavy German Forces resistance from the Normandy invasion. German forces were in total disarray by the end of August 1944. Patton pleaded with his boss, General Omar Bradley, that if 3rd U.S. Army could be allocated as little as 400,000 gallons of fuel, he could be inside Germany in two days. Time was crucial before the inevitable reaction by the Germans to shore up their defense, preventing Patton from advancing. General Bradley refused Patton's request for more fuel; Unfortunately, General Patton advanced to Germany. Morale ran high throughout Patton’s Army, and there was no sign of heavy resistance before the German border. Consequently, by early September, the 3rd U.S Army had ground to a virtual halt along the flooded Moselle River. In places, Patton's tanks and vehicles ran out of fuel on the battlefield and their swift momentum outran their supply lines (Fugate, 1999). Lack of logistics allowed the German forces to take advantage of Patton’s Army and initiate one of the largest tank battles of World War II, the Battle of Arracourt.
In this paper, I will provide a Battle Analysis and outline the events leading up to and surrounding the Battle of 73 Eastings (refers to a north-south grid line). In addition, I will describe how the United States Army’s (USA) 2nd Armored Calvary Regiment (ACR) defeated forces from the Iraqi Republican Guard (IRG) using speed, technology and superior combat power. Although some consider the Battle of 73 Eastings extremely successful, some consider it a failure due to the large amount of Iraqi forces that retreated towards Bagdad. Lastly, I will analyze how each side used their intelligence assets and what they could have used to change the outcome.
The Battle for Castle Itter is known as one of the strangest battles to take place during World War II. French VIP’s were captured by the Waffen SS and held is Castle Itter but were rescued by an unlikely bunch; American and German Soldiers fighting side by side. The only reason this could take place was because of the fact the war was just days from being over.
The Allies went beyond simply supplying each other with rations, weapons, and equipment. This alliance allowed them to coordinate war efforts with each other. Timothy Stewart, a student of history at the University of Minnesota, stated in his essay Why the Allies Won World War II that “Had the British and Americans not found a way to work with the ideologically disparate Soviets, the outcome of the war likely would have been different indeed. The Allies coordinated their efforts through a central staff and thus managed to ensure that good decisions were being made” (6). Hitler, on the other hand, did not necessarily ally, so to speak, with the other Axis powers, nor did he cooperate well with his own staff....
...ilities of the tanks being penetrated were slim. Also there was an addition of an anti-craft gun which made it even more powerful and unstoppable (Slayton 103).
This battle was interesting because Germans sided with the Americans to fight against the Nazis. “Days after Hitler’s suicide a group of American soldiers, French prisoners, and, yes, German soldiers defended an Austrian castle against an SS division—the only time Germans and Allies fought together in World War II” (Roberts). The Germans were fighting against their own government? This signaled the downfall of Nazi Germany in one battle Now, further researching into this topic, the soldiers did not exactly support Hitler or his extreme view of government. “Yet when the units of
Warfare was in a state of transition. Older commanders and generals in the French and British militaries were very cavalry and infantry focused. These commanders believed that cavalry, infantry, and artillery would assure victory in any circumstance, against any foe. They clung to the static tactics of the bygone World War I era. World War I had been fought primarily on French soil, and the military as well as the government never wanted that to happen again, therefore they wanted to reinforce their main border against any future German. Little did they know that only twenty two years later they would be bested by German forces in a way that would shock the world. This research will be analyzing many important assumptions, oversights,...
One of the causes of World War One was the Alliances. These were settlements or oaths to defend and help other countries. It was a thought that alliances would calm things down and make peace, and in case of war others would protect each other, so it would be harder to fight with that country. In 1914 the most powerful countries in Europe were divided into opposite Alliances, The Triple Alliance and the Central Powers or the Triple Entente. The Triple Alliance was made up of Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary. The Triple Entente was made up of Britain, France and Russia. European Alliances had a major part of being in the war. These two powers were very worried about being attacked after all of the tension from Nationalism, Imperialism and Militarism. To make sure these countries weren’t attacked and defeated these alliances were formed. Germany and Austria-Hungary made an alliance but they made it secretly in 1879, after this happened Italy joined this Dual Alliance to form the Triple Alliance because it was annoyed with France for stopping its plans to col...
It began to emerge the differences in tactics. The question was whether to continue so far the Supreme Allied Commander of the Allied Forces Europe, General Eisenhower’s tactics attacking on a broad front, or due to problems of supply to take just one mighty blow. In that period Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery developed a new operation plan, which would include the use of 1st Airborne Army (Lieutenant General Lewis H. Brereton), actually 1st Airborne Corps (Lieutenant General Frederick Browning). The Corps comprised of 82nd US Airborne Division (Brigadier General James M. Gavin), 101st US Airborne Division (Major General Maxwell D. Taylor), and 1st British Airborne Division (Major General Robert “Roy” E. Urquhart) supported with, under his command, 1st Polish Independent Parachute Brigade (Major General Stanislaw Sosabowski). These units should be dropped along the roa...
the lower grounds they could have used the trenches to take cover and have better aim of the adversary Union army.
Regular reconnaissance patrols, assisted by information gathered from aerial photography, meant that records of changes to the German defenses on the Ridge were always up-to-date. Tunnellers dug “subterranean” passages under the Ridge - a total of five kilometers in all on four levels - allowing the attacking troops to move close to their jumping-off positions in some safety. Once the battle had begun, these same tunnels allowed the wounded to be brought back under cover and also provided unseen and safe lines of communications. The Infantry attack was preceded by a powerful artillery bombardment, which lasted almost three weeks, involving about 1,000 guns, including huge, 15-inch howitzers. For the first two weeks, some guns were not fired at all, so that the Germans would not be able to locate their positions but eventually, these guns joined in the bombardment, too.