Operation Vulcan (22 April – 1 May 1943) was one of the last ground attacks by the Allied forces of the First Army against the Italian and German forces in Tunisia in the last Axis bridgeheads in North Africa, during the Tunisian campaign of the Second World War.
An Axis attack on British positions on 20 April failed to delay Operation Vulcan which commenced two days later. The Allies hoped to breach the Axis defences and break out beyond towards Bizerte and Tunis. The attack by First Army succeeded in capturing important strategic locations such as Longstop Hill, Point 174 and Hill 609. This forced the Axis to withdraw resulting in large areas being abandoned to the Allies. Vulcan did not break out through into the open ground as planned, but it severely weakened the Axis forces, and became the first stage of the final Allied assault in the Tunisian campaign. Operation Strike commenced only a week after Vulcan had terminated, and within a few days allied forces broke through Axis frontlines, putting an end to the North Africa campaign.
Background Allies Allied forces had landed in French North Africa in July 1942 and since November 1942 the British Eighth Army had pushed Axis forces westwards from Egypt and across Libya, leaving only Tunisia under Axis control. The allied First Army (Kenneth Anderson), despite not having captured Tunis by December 1943, had begun to hem in Army Group Africa (/) by the beginning of the following year. The Eighth Army (General Bernard Montgomery) having won the Western Desert campaign were now aiming to join First Army in Tunisia. They had broken through Axis positions at the Battle of Wadi Akarit by 7 April and combined with the US II Corps (Major General George S. Patton) attack at the Battle of El Guettar, Axis troops fell back to defensible positions north and west of Enfidaville, south of Cape Bon. The mountains there descend to the sea, with a narrow passage to Hammamet.
By this time 18th Army Group was created, commanded by General Sir Harold Alexander and came under General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces Headquarters (AFHQ). Allied aircraft had been moved forward to the recently captured airfields in Eastern Tunisia by Eighth Army to prevent the aerial supply of Axis troops in North Africa. In Operation Flax the Allied air forces successfully cut off Axis supplies, and gained control of the air.
Following their breakthrough at Wadi Akarit, Eighth Army troops pushed along the coastal plain of Eastern Tunisia and took Sfax on 10 April and Sousse two days later. Patrols met advance guards of U. S. II Corps on the Gabes road and linked up the Allied lines. An attack by the British 6th Armoured and the US 34th Infantry divisions took the Fondouk Pass on the same day, followed by Kairouan.
By April 13, the Allied line faced the Axis who were now concentrated in North-eastern Tunisia from Enfidaville on the Southeast facing the Eighth Army, Pont Du Fahs and Medjez El Bab to Sedjenane facing the First Army. Meanwhile with victory in Tunisia only a matter of months if not weeks, Patton passed command of US II Corps to General Omar Bradley as the former began planning for America's contribution to the invasion of Italy.
Anderson was able to turn his full attention to the orders he had received from Alexander to prepare the large-scale attack, scheduled for 22 April, to gain Tunis code named Operation Vulcan.
For Vulcan, Alexander shifted his attack from the narrow bottleneck at the south to the broad western side, where British, American, and French troops could maneuver in unison. Three divisions of the Eighth Army were transferred to the First Army while US II Corps had 100,000 men moved 150 miles north, passing through the British First Army to the Beja road which ran to Bizerte.
Axis Despite having won the race to Tunis in December 1942, Axis offensives from January to March (Operation Frühlingswind and Operation Ochsenkopf) attempted to force back the allies. After driving wedges in the allied lines these offensives ultimately failed and only delayed further allied offensives. Eventually allied forces retook all lost ground by early April and Axis forces instead built up defensive positions all along their front.
Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel believed that the Axis position in Tunisia was untenable and he had recommended the evacuation of all German troops to Italy, where he believed they could be more useful. His advice was rejected by Adolf Hitler.
By April 1943 Germans and Italians continued, with all remaining aircraft and ships, to desperately evacuate troops. Casualties particularly from Operation Flax were heavy. For the Axis the situation was confusing - transport missions from Sicily to Tunisia (by ship and air) usually returned loaded with wounded and sometimes unwounded troops. How desperate the situation had become was illustrated by the events of the evening of 18 April: only six transports made it back to Sicily out of 65 that had left Tunis. Flying at sea level, half of them were shot down and the remainder turned back damaged.
Prelude
Von Arnim now prepared for a major allied offensive. He expected the main Allied thrust at Medjerda and the Goubellat plain, he thus deployed his best infantry the 334th Division north of the Medjez-Massicault road and the Hermann Goring Division to its south. To the southern boundary of the Goubellat Plain and Pont-du-Fahs, Von Arnim moved Hans Cramer's Afrika Korps facing British IX Corps and the French XIX Corps respectively.
Operation Oration
To support Operation Vulcan the Eighth Army aimed to tie down as many Axis troops as possible, while the 1st Army was making their attacks. Called Operation Oration, the British objective was to break through the Enfidaville Line. This meant taking the high ground as well as the tactically important town of Enfidaville. To reinforce the First Army, the 1st Armoured Division was transferred from the Eighth Army on 18 April. Montgomery, unhappy with this move, hoped to breakthrough first and capture Tunis. Facing the Eighth Army was the 1st Army (General Giovanni Messe) a mix of veteran but under strength Italian and German divisions.
On 19 April, X Corps (Brian Horrocks) launched an attack after an artillery bombardment. The 4th Indian Infantry Division (Francis Tuker) and the 2nd New Zealand Division (Bernard Freyburg) advanced into the hills west of Enfidaville to capture Takrouna and Djebel Garci hill respectively. The Italians defending their main defensive line fell back to another defensive line to escape the bombardment. The 50th Northumbrian Division took the town of Enfidaville after severe fighting from the Italian 16th Motorized Division "Pistoia". The New Zealanders meanwhile took the village of Takrouna along with its dominating hill, and the 4th Indian Division took the southern portion of Djebel Garci with many casualties. By the end of the first day it was clear a breakthrough had not been achieved. The northward advance of Eighth Army had "pinched out" US II Corps' eastward facing front line, allowing the corps to be withdrawn and switched to the northern end of the Allied front. This was achieved with great success and speed without the Axis knowing. This move was fully completed by 24 April.
Montgomery allowed the offensive to continue but the next day was dominated by Axis counter-attacks led by Fritz Bayerlein. The 16th "Pistoia" launched several counter attacks towards Enfidaville but were beaten back. Elsewhere Axis attempts to retake the lost ground were repelled with severe losses on both sides. With the advance halted, Montgomery learned that the Axis position in Africa was hopeless through ULTRA intelligence. He ordered Oration to be terminated on 21 April as further casualties in his opinion were not worth it. Montgomery authorised local minor attacks in order to keep the pressure on Axis forces in front of the Eighth Army while Vulcan was in progress.
Unternehmen Fliederblüte While the British were preparing for Vulcan, the Germans launched a spoiling attack on the night of 20/21 April 1943. Code named Unternehmen Fliederblüte (Operation Lilac Blossom) they were to strike at V Corps in the hope to retake the heights on the edge of the Goubellet plain, including a pass on the north side of Djebel Djaffa and the nearby 'banana ridge'.
The Germans attacked four points simultaneously in three groups under General Schmid. Elements of the 10th Panzer Division supported by Tiger Tanks and infantry from the 1st Hermann Göring Division surprised the British and broke through the positions on the ridge on a twelve mile sector to depth of about five miles. The attack surprised the British at first causing confusion. The Germans however fell headlong into the main British positions ready for Vulcan including field artillery. In the ensuing bombardment, with the British firing sometimes over open sights, the Germans suffered severe losses in men and tanks. British troops supported by Churchill tanks counter-attacked and pushed the Germans back.
Despite the loss of four Churchills knocked out, after determined fighting the British retook Banana Ridge and the Germans retreated by the afternoon of 21 April. The Hermann Göring division alone lost some 327 casualties and two valuable Tigers knocked out. The attack failed to deter the British offensive in this sector and only put the Axis position to further strain. It was also the last major German armoured attack in North Africa.
Operation Vulcan British V Corps
The British V Corps began with a preliminary attack on 21 April, aimed at retaking the heights of Djebel el Ahmera, Sidi Ahmed ridge and Djebel Rhar, known collectively as Longstop Hill. The hill had been lost to the Germans four months earlier. The hill was defended by the reinforced 999th Light Afrika Division which was composed of the 962nd Afrika-Schützen-Regiment and the III/754th Grenadier Regiment. Infantry of the 78th (Battleaxe) Division and Churchill Mk III tanks of the North Irish Horse assaulted the position.
Djebel Ahmera was seized on 24 April by the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and the East Surrey Regiment after severe fighting. Later that day an attempt was made by East Surreys and a squadron of tanks, to clear Sidi Ahmed ridge just north of Longstop Hill and that too was captured and held.
The main hill, Djebel Rhar was attacked on 26 April, when the Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) along with Churchill tanks stormed up the hill. With gradients of 1:3 the Churchills managed to creep over the crest of the hill and breached the German defences, much to the surprise of the defenders. The Buffs and Argylls then cleared the German positions - some 650 prisoners were taken during the battle. Longstop was the last great natural barrier barring movement towards Tunis.
Once Longstop had been taken the 24th Guards Brigade launched an attack against Djebels Assoud and Bou Aoukaz on 27 April - two dominating positions approaching Tebourba. Advancing some 2,000 yards through the Gab Gab Gap the Irish Guards took Djebel Assoud while the Grenadier Guards took Djebel Bou Aoukaz despite heavy casualties. The Germans counter attacked and managed to regain the left flank of Djebel Bou Aoukaz. The Scots Guards attempted to regain the positions, but eventually the hill became isolated by 29 April due to heavy bombardments and exposure to machine gun and mortar fire. In this time, Von Arnim, desperate to plug gaps had formed all remaining armoured units into one force - Kampfgruppe Irkens, commanded by Oberst Josef Irkens. By May 1 the Irish Guards were finally relieved on Djebel Assoud with only 80 survivors. Up to 700 German dead were counted in front of them. In this action the 24th Guards Brigade won two Victoria Crosses.