HISTORY

Photo: O'Boyle

man fuel depot. The raid had a serious impact

on Luftwaffe operations.

In the opening two days of the battle, the relatively small number of Luftwaffe aircraft committed created an indelible impression on U.S.

Army troops, and reports of 14 and 15 February

featured phrases such as: “Enemy aviation had

been apparently unopposed”, “Enemy planes

overhead continuously” and “The Stukas seemed to be shuttling their loads from very close

airfields.” However, the devastating American

raid on Kairouan was a warning shot to the

Germans that despite the successes of their

tactical air force, their opponent had a very capable air force of his own.

INFO Eduard - October 2021

Photo: Roba

Photo: Roba

Thelepte Evacuated, 16-17 February

1943

The Axis army spent 16 February 1943 consolidating and planning, while II Corps began

a gradual withdrawal to the west. This withdrawal meant that the American forward airfield of

Thelepte would soon be threatened by advancing Axis troops, so during the day, the first

moves were made to evacuate XII ASC units

and personnel based there to safer airfields in

eastern Algeria.

The weather was reasonable on the sixteenth,

with occasional showers, but both sides were

much quieter in the air, with XII ASC conducting

134 sorties, and Fliegerkorps Tunis around 60.

P-39s reconnoitred the battle area, as did reconnaissance Bf 109s of 2.(H)/Aufklärungsgruppe 14, but with no major land battles occurring, the Stukas were given a day off, while the

FW 190 fighter-bombers had left Kairouan due

to the bomb damage resulting from the previous day’s XII Bomber Command raid.

For the Allied air force, the major event on 17

February 1943 was the full evacuation of Thelepte airfield, an event that lived long in the

memory of those men who experienced it. The

evacuation was relatively well-organized, and

there were few signs of panic amongst those

involved. Still, it was a melancholy situation for

the Americans, as one pilot later wrote: “Everyone hated to have to retreat.” 34 unserviceable XII ASC aircraft had to be destroyed upon

departure.

Meanwhile, to the north of Thelepte, the Germans resumed the offensive on 17 February

and captured the town of Sbeitla. American

air efforts were disrupted by the Thelepte evacuation and terrible weather, including snow,

but XII ASC still managed to put up 166 sorties.

To support their offensive, the Germans used

only fighters and the Bf 109 fighter-bombers

of I./Sch.G. 2, who operated successfully against vehicles near Sbeitla. A member of a U.S.

Army tank destroyer unit recalled that the

Bf 109 Jabos “… were bombing and strafing the

vehicles in Sbeitla. About ten or twelve vehicles

were temporarily blocking the road, and the

men were running for cover in the ruins of buildings.”

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