The battle of the mareth line 2026 march 1943 was the eighth armys last major setpiece battle in north africa, and saw montgomery force the germans and italians to retreat from their last significant defensive position in southern tunisia. In creating this guidemap we have tried to bring together our experience in mapping as well as our interest and thirst for travel, exploration and adventure. Full map of tunisia covering 144,000 sq km from the mareth line in the southeast and as far west as tebessa on the west side of the west dorsal mountain range. Rommel reached the tunisian border at the end of january 1943. Map of the major operations of wwii in asia and the pacific. An outflanking move west and north of the mareth line was followed by operation supercharge ii which broke through the axis defences of the tebaga gap and led them to retreat from the mareth line to wadi akarit. By the time he got there, however, another allied force was waiting for him. The british 8th army has smashed through the mareth line at its coastal anchor and driven around and behind.
In a 15milewide gap between the matmata mountains and the seashore, field marshal erwin rommel had stopped him cold and he had backed up, leaving the plain strewn with british dead around the hell of the wadi zigzau see p. The m1943 field ensemble was meant to be the standard uniform of the united states army during world war ii. Timeline showing key events of the second world war, particularly new zealands involvement in north africa. Tunisia was occupied by axis forces after operation torch in 1942 and the line was used by the axis to defend against the british 8th army, which had reoccupied libya during 1943.
Jul 03, 2019 indeed one of the fiercest battles done by the italians in north africa was the one of the mareth in southern tunisia in march 1943. The end in africa campaign book 250 and over 8 million. Download books history, military the mareth line 1943. Finally, by march 20th, montgomery was ready to breach the line. Southern rhodesia, then a selfgoverning colony of the united kingdom, entered world war ii along with britain shortly after the invasion of poland in 1939. By february it was all over for the sixth army at stalingrad as the soviet offensive gathered momentum along much of the eastern front. The new tunisia map missions and locations war thunder. On the tactical and operational levels in mareth line, several factors conspired against the axis despite the battlefield brilliance of rommel and the superb fighting of the afrika korps. North africa campaigns north africa campaigns rommels final offensive in africa.
This new edition is similar to the original game from 1995, but features a revised order of battle, modifiedrules, and new maps. The mareth line 1943 campaign by ken ford 2012 english pdf. Africa map national center for geographic information and. Jul 12, 2017 thus, the north african campaign and the naval campaign for the mediterranean were extensions of each other in a very real sense. Wellingtons lightning strike into spain by rene chartrand. Watch ww2 north african campaign 1943 tech insight on dailymotion. The battle of the mareth line or the battle of mareth was an attack in the second world war by.
Charity jobs advertising store locator site map contact us. Victory in europe depicts the second world war in europe, 193945. Each player can use the railnets on the tunisia maps. The wehrmacht strikes back campaign by robert forczyk. The widely dispersed and thinly held positions of the long allied line permitted the enemy to launch his final offensive thrusts. Countries are shown with colortinted areas with cities, major lakes and rivers. One player commands the axis powers, the other the allies and soviets. Axis with germany, creating a greater threat to french security in north africa. On the mareth line is the getting started scenario for war on the southern front and is to be used, along with the getting started help file, to gain familiarity with the game system.
North africa campaigns, 194043, in world war ii, series of battles for control of north africa. North africa is a region generally considered to include algeria, egypt, libya, mauritania, morocco, sudan, tunisia, and the western sahara. Media in category maps of africa the following 200 files are in this category, out of 310 total. Feb 14, 2015 during the second world war, the north african campaign took place in north africa from 10 june 1940 to may 1943.
Not only is this our first south african map, but the essential south africa is also our first guidemap. Packed with color battle scenes and illustrations plus maps and vintage black and white photos, this is a fine pick for any world war ii collection. The mareth line was a system of fortifications built by france in southern tunisia, prior to world war ii. At the far northern end of the matmata hills is the tebaga gap. Jun 27, 2019 one of the fiercest battles done by the italians in north africa was the one of the mareth in southern tunisia in march 1943. Game scale is 1 hex 1 km, 1 turn 2 hours, with battalion and company size units. Various shots of the troops of the 8th army waiting and preparing for the attack on the mareth line.
Rommel returned to the mareth line and prepared to. The campaign of 1943 opened with a german counterstroke that stunned the allies. At the battle of the mareth line 1631 march 1943 the eighth army was contained within the mareth line defences. While these hexes can be improved to level 3 or 4, they can never. First echelon, second new zealand expeditionary force 2nzef embarks for the middle east. Map of the allied operations in europe and north africa 19421945. It included campaigns fought in the libyan and egyptian deserts western desert. The division was nearly totally destroyed in 1943, during all the. A wellwritten text is nicely supplemented by an outstanding collection of photographs, illustrations, maps and diagrams of the various battlefields.
The battle of wadi akarit operation scipio was an allied attack from 67 april 1943, to dislodge axis forces from positions along the wadi akarit in tunisia also known as the akarit line during the tunisia campaign of the second world war. North africa as rommel prepared his mareth line defences in southern tunisia, eighth army units crossed the border from libya on the 4th. On the th, all organized enemy resistance came to an end in north africa, and the allies were in. Timeline of world war ii 1943 military wiki fandom. There is an option for the soviets to be a third player. Strategic purpose of the battle map showing the left hook applied by montgomery using the nz corps the purpose of the battle for the allies was to break through the axis defences at the mareth line so they could continue their push on through tunisia in order to secure north africa. In 1943 she went back to canada, where she joined the canadian army and was sent to england and later, holland. Victory in africa encouraging display of united nations teamwork by felix mnrley. He went on the run before his pow camp at fontanellato was taken over by the nazis after the september 1943 italian armistice. The end in africa campaign book 250 in pdf and epub format.
A total of 34 scenarios are included plus a mapviewer scenario so you can see the entire map at one time. Map of the battle of stalingrad july 17, 1942 february 2, 1943. John tiller software panzer campaigns tunisia 43 gold. The mareth line was a system of fortifications built by france in southern tunisia in the late 1930s. On the night of 20 march 1943, montgomery attacked the line with 30th corps while making a. The birds of north africa, from the canary islands to the red sea by r. The tunisian campaign 8 november 1942 may 1943 was the final stage of the north african campaign, and saw a combined british, american and french army slowly eliminate the axis bridgehead in. The mareth line was a system of fortifications built by france in southern tunisia in the late. The end in africa, campaign series, book 250 campaign the mareth line 1943. On 19 march 1943, operation pugilist, the first british attack, established a bridgehead but a breakout attempt was defeated by. Focuses on the allied assault on northwest africa and the battle for tunisia the. On the night of 20 march 1943, montgomery attacked the line with 30th corps while making a flanking. The mareth line battles are given enough before and after context to place them in.
In may 1943 axis forces in north africa surrender and the new zealanders begin a long trek back to egypt. The national archives beginning the liberation on november 8, 1942, allied naval task forces put u. The attempts to drive the germanitalian forces back from prepared defensive. One of the fiercest battles done by the italians in north africa was the one of the mareth in southern tunisia in march 1943. How north africa became a battleground in world war ii. It was to defend tunisia against attacks from libya, then a colony of fascist italy. By the wars end, 26,121 southern rhodesians of all races had served in the armed forces, 8,390 of them overseas, operating in the european theatre, the mediterranean and middle east theatre, east africa, burma and elsewhere. Britain, france, and poland are at war with germany. Not all the enemy got clear away from the mareth line, for the 2nd battalion had worked their way up into the hills on its southwestern end and, after some diffcult close quarter work, their resolution was rewarded. The line was intended to protect tunisia against an italian invasion from its colony in libya.
The corfquest of the mareth line by gn montgomerys now forever famous 8th army is the most decisive allied vic tory of the war to date. And it is a vic tory in which, as the british will be quick to agree, the american forces under gen. At the battle of the mareth line 1631 march 1943 the eighth army was contained. The struggle for control of north africa began as early as october 1935, when italy invaded ethiopia from its colony italian somaliland. The line occupied a point where the routes into tunisia from the south converged, leading toward mareth, with the mediterranean sea to the east and mountains and a sand sea to the west. Strategic purpose of the battle the battle of mareth line. American signal intelligence in northwest africa and western europe. The north african campaign page 5 tunisia and victory. Hard fighting from february through early may 1943 led to success in tunisia.
At stake was control of the suez canal, a vital lifeline for britains colonial empire, and of the valuable oil reserves of the middle east. After a lengthy period of time, we had the entire battle area in a game map, from the mareth line in the southeast and as far west as tebessa on the west side of the west dorsal mountain range. Destruction of the axis forces in north africa, november 1942may 1943 by david rolf. Montgomerys battle of elalamein and rommels retreat, 194243.
Thus, the north african campaign and the naval campaign for the mediterranean were extensions of each other in a very real sense. In the six months that passed before the final surrender there was much hard fighting, as the defeated german and italian armies sought to hold off the. Tunisia was occupied by axis forces after operation torch in 1942 and the line was used by the axis to defen. Allies close in on the cornered germans in the tunis area. Although north africa was a logisticians hell, logistics was the deciding factor. Winter rains and german reinforcements stalled rapid advances eastward. The matmata hillsa jagged purple coxcomb drenched with the scent of wildflowers, as one soldier wroteextended at a right angle from the mareth line, roughly paralleling the. All of libya was now in allied hands and the italian north african empire ceased to exist. By that time the axis position in tunisia was being battered from the west, through the execution of torch. Rommel pulled his troops back to tunisia, digging in along the mareth line, and turned westwards to counter the massive angloamerican torch landings in french north africa. The answer lay on the map, and within two hours montgomery had found it, along with his composure. The game starts in 19393, third quarter of the year. The end in africa, campaign series, book 250 campaign. From mareth to enfidaville the approach of the british eighth army.
The capture of tripoli towards the end of january, 1943, considerably. In the mareth line the 5,000 soldiers of the 6th armoured division giovani fascisti fought bravely alongside the remaining axis troops. The maps and illustrations are especially helpful to a military novice like me. The battle of the mareth line or the battle of mareth was an attack in the second world war by the british eighth army general bernard montgomery in tunisia, against the mareth line held by the italogerman 1st army general giovanni messe. The hospitals were set up in south africa because they couldnt establish them fast enough in north africa. The military geological unit compiling these maps consisted.
It covers the end of the axis presence on the african continent as well as the death of the afrika korps. Elizabeth treated patients from the north african campaign that were sent to their hospitals. In the six months that passed before the final surrender there was much hard fighting, as the defeated german and italian armies sought to hold off the encroaching eighth army. In the six months that passed before the final surrender there was much hard fighting, as the defeated german. From this point on the end was inevitable, as rommels forces began the long retreat that was to end in tunisia in may 1943 when, hemmed in by british and american forces on all sides, over 250,000 axis soldiers filed into prisoner of war camps, a number comparable. Twelfth air force status report as of 2 january 1943 placed the. The tunisian campaign 8 november 1942 may 1943 was the final stage of the north african campaign, and saw a combined british, american and french army slowly eliminate the axis bridgehead in tunisia. Information users of guests are not allowed to comment this publication. While it generally reached most infantry units by the end of the war, the older and outdated uniforms and garments of the early war still remained in use. The prewar mareth line is printed on map b as level 2 hedgehogs. Rommel, his health suffering, fought a number of major actions during this.
The gross area of the map totalled 144,000 sq km, when you remove the unmapped area. Allied planes attack foe in central tunisia land fighting scant 8th army scores gains takes foum tatahouine, near southern end of mareth line. General sir bernard law montgomery had been thrown back at the northern end of the mareth line. Ladders used to scale the sides of wadi zigzuoa on the mareth line, 27 march 1943. He spent six months on the run in the apennine mountains aided by brave and selfless italians. A total of 34 scenarios are included plus a map viewer scenario so you can see the entire map at one time. The relationship of the continent of africa to europe and the middle east is clearly shown in this map. The boy in the picture might be tsvi nussbaum, who survived the holocaust 1. Mar 19, 2018 the battle of kasserine pass was fought february 1925, 1943, and was the first major clash between american and german forces during world war ii. Northwest africa from november, 1942 through may, 1943. Birds of britain and europe with north africa and the middle east collins pocket guide by hermann heinzel. Before world war ii, european powers held longestablished positions in the region. That move made egypt very wary of italys imperialistic aspirations. Media in category 1943 in africa the following 8 files are in this category, out of 8 total.