48
circuit by 11 May. On the 12th the British 1st Armored Division
and the 4th Indian Division joined the French XIX Corps in capï؟¾turing the remaining elements of the German 10th and 21st Panzer
Divisions southwest of Grombalia. Von Arnim was captured in
the vicinity of Zaghouan the same day.*
The last isolated enemy resistance, mainly by Italian troops and
remnants of the German Panzer Army of Africa, who were facing
the Eighth Army, ceased on the morning of 13 May as Allied forces
converged on them from all directions. In all, some 248,000 Axis
prisoners were taken, together with large quantities of materiel and
supplies. These included 1000 guns, 520 airplanes, and 250 tanks.
The combined action of the Allied naval and air forces prevented
the escape by sea or air of other than a few small detachments.
During the first two days of the Battle of Tunis the Tactical Air
Force made 1500 sorties. Although weather conditions grounded
most of the Allied planes from 25 April to 5 May, they were most
active during the remainder of the battle, particularly on 6 and 7
May, when they blasted the enemy in the Medjerda valley and conï؟¾tributed greatly to the breakthrough operations of the First Army.
In a special order of the day General Alexander addressed the
Allied forces in these words:
Today you stand as the conquerors and heroes of the North Afï؟¾rican shores. The world acknowledges your victory; history will
acclaim your deeds. British, French, and American arms have
swept from these lands the last of the German and Italian invaders.
As your commander in the field, I add my admiration and gratitude
to those of the United Nations for this great victory, which will go
down in history as one of the decisive battles of all times.
Comments.—The final defeat of the Axis in Tunisia was brought
about by the coordinated action (teamwork) of superior Allied
forces on the ground, in the air, and on the sea. But superior forces,
even though properly coordinated, are not enough for a decisive
victory; there must be a well-conceived plan. Since such is the
case, it is worth our while to review the plan for the final phase and
the effective execution of that plan.
It will be recalled that the first regrouping of General Alexander's
forces was accomplished by 22 April. At that time the main attack
was to be launched along the entire front of the First Army, with
the major effort by the V Corps down the Medjerda valley. In the
Goubellat sector the IX Corps was to force its way through the
mountains in order to pass its two armored divisions into the open
plain to the east. Both corps made some progress, but there was
* Rommel had returned to Germany some time before.
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