I'm a bit late to this piece but that was excellent. Excellent analysis and a much needed re-examination of his battle
Even before reading this I do remember looking over the battle and thinking, in comparison to what was to come, this was more a 'minor victory' for Rommel than a 'major defeat' for the Americans.
Really, it did indeed spur the US on to become the formidable opponent the Axis would later contend with.
Excellent analysis! The US Army was a green outfit in North Africa with a subpar commander in .fredendall, but as you point out, they fought well. Tactically the Americans lost some engagements but they came back to win strategically. The Axis surrender amounted to a bag of POWs equal to Stalingrad. A comparison with the Ardennes offensive is apt.
In the classic movie “Patton” it was portrayed as a stunning defeat. Atkinsons trilogy was very enjoyable.
Ya he’s the best
Very well written. Awesome read.
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One man’s defeat is another man’s learning experience. Good article.
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I'm a bit late to this piece but that was excellent. Excellent analysis and a much needed re-examination of his battle
Even before reading this I do remember looking over the battle and thinking, in comparison to what was to come, this was more a 'minor victory' for Rommel than a 'major defeat' for the Americans.
Really, it did indeed spur the US on to become the formidable opponent the Axis would later contend with.
Excellent analysis! The US Army was a green outfit in North Africa with a subpar commander in .fredendall, but as you point out, they fought well. Tactically the Americans lost some engagements but they came back to win strategically. The Axis surrender amounted to a bag of POWs equal to Stalingrad. A comparison with the Ardennes offensive is apt.
At Kasserine they were still using the M3 TD's which were halftracks armed with a 75mm gun - open topped vehicles with minimal armor. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M3_Gun_Motor_Carriage