The Battle for Kasserine Pass

The Battle for Kasserine Pass began on February 14, 1943 and to this day ranks as one of the worst American military performances in the twentieth century. That said, as bad as the Battle for Kasserine Pass went it could have been a lot worse. Instead, and saving the Allies from a more significant defeat, the Germans undermined their own chances to create a significant operational and even strategic level success because, in part, and as was all too common during the Second World War, they failed to create a unified command with clearly defined and agreed upon objectives.

In this instance part of the problem was that German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel and General Hans von Arnim held a deep-seated animosity toward each other. Most critically, during the planning for the February 1943 German counteroffensive in North Africa they failed to come to agreement on even basic aspects undergirding the plan. Tactical and operational level German command mistakes would cause the Axis to miss out on a golden opportunity to deal the Allied armies in Tunisia a sharp and potentially severe blow....Continue reading here for a detailed accounting of this important Second World War clash of arms.