Key objective taken

Finally the enemy buckled in the centre. The whole orchards and the olive trees are on fire. No resistance supported so far from the advanced Reece sections far west.

Carnage...

That's how the Tunisian landscape looks now... The Shermans got severely punished, but some inexperienced Pz-IIIj crews also paid the price. Not much going on elsewhere. Some PzGrn. units roaming in Ernie's back; probably soon being dealt with by his remaining M-10 TD; who could say...

Behind enemy lines

Remember the Panzergrenadier Platoon I mentioned earlier? 50% of them were able to sneak through, including their APCs. In the centre the Ammo carrier was blown up by Ernie's engineers; but the munitions devastated an area of a 200m radius!

The south-west

Here's the situation in the south-west and the fruitless efforts of the Reece detachment. A platoon of Panzergrenadiere was split up, 50% made it to their assigned objectives.

Two Pz-IIIj were unlucky

Instead following orders they started a Reece on their own and got punished. One tank crew escaped the devastating shots of superbly hidden Shermans. In the centre the Panzergrenadiere made some ground and repelled the attacks of the engineers. Infantry was spotted in the south-west and suppressed by a remnant of the original Reece force.

Knocked out

More Shermans met the fate of the ones the skilled Pz-IIIj crews were able to destroy. There are however still some M-10 TD on the lose that have to be dealt with the Tigers in the south west.

Armoured clash

The main body of our tanks clashed and a few Shermans were left burning on the field. I the south another SdKfz-250/9 fell prey to a M-10 TD; the Panzergrendiere in the centre repelled an enemy Reece force.

Fw Kessler scored a hit

All over the place, especially on each others flanks the armoured and mechanized columns advance and exchange fire. The tank crew of Fw (Sgt) Kessler finished off the dreaded M-7 in the north. Recon elements came under machine gun fire from the plateau or drift in the south-west.

Engineers!

The column advancing along the shaded roads towards the small French colonial post are half-track borne engineers with a special punch. No flame throwers have been used, but their automatic weapons pinned and made my Panzergrenadier Platoon withdraw from their advances positions along the road. The SdKfz-222 destroyed a 37mm AT and an M-3 HT in the process though.

Once bitten, twice shy...

should have been followed by the book, a cocky green recon armoured car of my force didn't. It never had the time to evade the potent and precise shot of an M10 Tank Destroyer. In the north a SdKfz-222 got it's weapons mount damaged by what appeared to be a powerful 105mm shell of an M7 Priest.

M10 TD, M7 Priest and M4 Shermans spotted!

The 1st recon reports came in an in the north there's a combined Sherman Tanks and M7 Priest SP group advancing. Southern group seems to be composed of M10 Tank Destroyers. Along the central approach, still hidden in a cloud of dust, a recon or armoured car column is heading my way!

Enemy spotted!

One advantage or disadvantage at desert battles is, the columns of dust that armoured and motorized columns produce. You can spot the enemy, but so does he notice your general approach... unless you employ deceptive measures and make the enemy believe an armoured column is actually approaching.

On to Tunisia!

After a short trip to East Asia and picking our respective sites at the Chinese Civil War, Ernie and I embark now on a journey to Tunisia. The date is set, February 1943, and the Panzergruppe Afrika is facing the armoured elements of the II. US Corps of General Fredenhall near Kasserine. There's the map...