CHAPTER 12
Tunisia: The Fight for El Guettar
“God help me and see to it that I do my duty, but I must have Your help. I am the best there is, but of myself I am not enough.”
Letter, GSP, Jr., to Beatrice, March 6, 1943
Darling B. As I wrote you I got a sudden call to go to the vacin-ity of the place where John [Waters] was last seen. I flew to D’s, leaving Rabat . . . [where] there was much tooting and band playing. The 2d Armored gave me three ruffels and played your piece [the Armored Force March].
D met me at the air port and gave me some verbal instruction and told me to go on to Constantine.
At the Maison Blanche airfield in Algiers, Eisenhower and Bedell Smith said that Patton was to replace Fredendall because the fighting in Tunisia “was primarily a tank show and I know more about tanks.” Freden-dall’s relations with the British had been less than harmonious, and criticism of the British had to stop. Eisenhower scribbled a note in pencil and handed it to Patton as authority to assume command of the II Corps as soon as he arrived there. Fredendall had been notified of his “impending release.”
Patton flew at once to Constantine and called on Alexander, “who seems competent.” He later told Beatrice that Alexander was “very quiet and good looking” and impressed him “a lot.”
Alexander informed Patton that the II Corps would no longer be under Anderson’s First Army but would come directly under Alexander’s 18th Army Group. Thus, Patton was to command a separate and wholly American sector, much like Pershing under Foch.
In his diary he noted that Alexander
was very friendly and complimentary in his remarks, stating he wanted the best corps commander he could get and had been informed that I was the man.
Patton spent the night in Constantine. He spoke briefly to John Mc-Cloy, the Assistant Secretary of War, who was visiting the theater. His old friend W. Carey Crane, now on Alexander’s staff, came to see him, “giving me a lot of dope on how to get on and we sat and talked till 1:00 [in the morning].”
Patton later remarked:
I fear he [Eisenhower] has sold his soul to the devil on “Cooperation,” which I think means we are pulling the chestnuts for our noble allies . . . It is clear that I too must “cooperate” or get out.
Diary, March 6
Arrived Headquarters II Corps 10:00. Gen. Fredendall still at breakfast. Very nice and conducted himself well – very well. His staff in general [is] poor. Discipline and dress poor. Lt. General Cochran, British Army, has been with Fredendall for some time. He clearly gave me the impression that he was sent to instruct me. I let him think he was doing so. He leaves in the morning.
I had Terry Allen, 1st Infantry Division, and Orlando Ward, 1st Armored Division, come in and explain the next operation . . .
Fredendall leaves in the morning.
I issued some orders on dress, saluting, etc. None have ever been issued [before]. It is absurd to believe that soldiers who cannot be made to wear the proper uniform can be induced to move forward in battle.
I think Fredendall is either a little nuts or badly scared. He won’t fly to Constantine and proposes to leave at 3:30 am by car. That is the safest time on the road.
Letter, GSP, Jr., to Beatrice, March 6, 1943
Fredendall is a great sport and, I feel sure, is a victim largely due to circumstances beyond his control. He says he is sure John [Waters] is alive, a prisoner, and Omar Bradley who is here feels the same. So I am much more incouraged.
There is going to be a party [battle] here which I will be hoast of. I have Gaffey, Lambert, Koch here [from the I Armored Corps headquarters] to help pass the drinks [meaning to serve on the staff]. I hope it is a success, as it is about time. Terry Allen and Pink Ward are coming [to the party —would participate in the attack]. Also Eddy and Ryder, but as waiters [at first] not servers.
By a strange coincidence the day I got the phone call to come here was a year to a day from the time we hit the desert first.
Well this is one hell of a dump, cold and wet and nasty.
“There is a tide in the affairs of men.” I have had several but this one certainly looks like rather a high tide ...
I am wearing the woollies you sent and certainly need them. It is very hard on the men, especially the mud ...
Geoff [Keyes] is still carrying on my other party. I seem to have to double in brass as it were. I hope I live up to what seems to be expected of me as a duet player.
What he meant was that his assignment to the II Corps in Tunisia had no effect on his command of the I Armored Corps in French Morocco. Keyes was in temporary charge of the latter, and he was planning the invasion of Sicily to be carried out by Patton after the Tunisian campaign was over.
To make an official record of their conversation at the Maison Blanche airport, Eisenhower sent Patton a memo on March 6. Patton’s “immediate task,” he said, was to rehabilitate the American forces and prepare them for attack. He expected Patton “to respond to General Alexander’s orders exactly as if they were issued by me. I want no mistake about my thorough belief in unity of command.” He had brought Omar Bradley to the theater “to serve as my personal representative in a very broad capacity,” and Bradley was available to Patton “for any duty you may desire.” Eisenhower warned Patton about “personal recklessness.” Patton had no need to prove his “personal courage” to Eisenhower, who wanted him “as corps commander – not as a casualty.” He was to run his show from his command post rather than from the front line. He was to have no doubt about enjoying Eisenhower’s “fullest confidence.” And he was to retain no one “for one instant” who failed to measure up. “We cannot afford to throw away soldiers and equipment and . . . effectiveness” out of reluctance to hurt “the feelings of old friends.” This frequently required more courage than anything else, but he expected Patton “to be perfectly cold-blooded about it.” Patton was taking over a difficult but highly important assignment, and Eisenhower knew he could do the job.
In Tunisia Patton directed four divisions; Ward’s 1st Armored, Allen’s 1st Infantry, Eddy’s 9th Infantry, and Ryder’s 34th Infantry – altogether about 90,000 men. They occupied the southern part of the Allied front facing eastward. On their left were about 50,000 French troops. To the left of the French, in the north, were approximately 120,000 British. The Americans and the French were on the mountain range called the Western Dorsale, having been pushed there from the Eastern Dorsale by the Kasserine Pass battle.
The Allied attack being planned by Alexander had its locus in the south. Montgomery was to launch an operation to drive the Italo-Ger-mans out of the Mareth positions and push them northward up the coastal plain, successively through Gabes, Sfax, Sousse, and Kairouan. If Montgomery compelled them to abandon the Mareth Line, so long as they held the Eastern Dorsale, which overlooks the coastal plain, they could protect a withdrawal to the north.
Patton’s part in what was essentially Montgomery’s show was to advance from the Western to the Eastern Dorsale. Specifically he was to retake Gafsa, thereby threatening Gabes from the flank. This, Alexander hoped, would prompt the Axis to divert troops from the Mareth Line to counter Patton and thereby weaken the defenses facing Montgomery.
Rommel, seeing no prospect of winning in Tunisia despite his victory at Kasserine, departed the country on March 9. He flew first to Italy, where he talked with Mussolini, then to Germany, where he saw Hitler. To both he urged the evacuation of the Axis forces from North Africa in order to avoid certain defeat and the loss of 200,000 men. The Axis leaders refused to heed his recommendation, and Hitler forbade him to return to Tunisia.
Diary, March 7
Up at 6:30, brakfast at 7:00. No one there but Gaffey. I told the cooks to close the mess at 7:30, so I believe that tomorrow people will be on time ...
Issued an order yesterday detailing Omar N. Bradley as Deputy Corps Commander. Bradley and I inspected the 1st Armored and 9th Infantry Division command posts.
This country is really under water. Men have a terrible time, but are well and cheerful. Very cold – I damned near froze. Troops not too keen [to fight] – I hope I can pep them up.
Bradley was one of Marshall’s favorites and a West Point classmate of Eisenhower’s. Although Bradley had commanded a division in the United States in a superior manner and was eligible to receive a corps command, he had no battle experience. At II Corps headquarters he would observe Patton as an understudy.
Diary, March 8
The discipline, dress, and condition of weapons at 34th [Division] very bad – terrible. On the other hand, elements of the division have fought well. Inspected their positions and found it weak, particularly in the emplacement of the 37 [mm.] anti-tank guns, which are on the crest instead of on the reverse slope where they belong . . .
Whole country full of ruins – great stones and pillars sticking up like ribs of wrecked ships or dead men through sand . . .
All division commanders, field artillery brigade commanders, and heads of corps staff sections came to supper . . . After dinner [II Corps] G-3 and G-2 gave plan and enemy situation. Allen and Ward gave their tentative plans. I finally approved plans, as altered, and fixed H hour . . .
My concern is for fear that the enemy will attack us first. This command post was situated . . . too far in the rear. I will change it as soon as the . . . operations start.
He was touched to receive from French Morocco a sheet of paper with a typed heading: “Good luck and God Bless you. If it isn’t a private fight we would all like to go with you. From your staff” Fifty-one officers of the I Armored Corps headquarters had signed.
Kenneth Anderson sent him a nice letter. “It seems long ago since we last met at lunch at Claridge’s,” he wrote. “I am sorry ta have lost [direction of the] II Corps just when you have taken command. I am sure you will fill it with enthusiasm and desire to kill the Boche.”
“It shall be my earnest endeavour” Patton replied, “to live up to your kind thoughts concerning my ability to inspire the men of the II Corps with an adequate hatred for the Germans.”
Diary, March 9
General Alexander and his Chief of Staff, Major General McCreery (brother of the international polo player No. 1) came . . . I had a guard of honor posted . . . and the General was very pleased . . .
I was very much taken with Alexander. He is a snob in the best sense of the word – very alert and interested in all sorts of things including genealogy . . . He seemed to agree with most of my [military] ideas. I really think he is a good soldier and much more talkative than he is supposed to be ...
John Crane says that I am the oldest general in Africa and that he is next. I am the best anyhow.
Patton was struck with awe when he learned that Alexander had had four years in World War I, two years in Russia fighting Reds, one year on the northwestern frontier of India, and three years in World War II – altogether ten years of fighting —and had been wounded three times. “What a man,” he wrote Beatrice.
Letter, GSP, Jr., to Beatrice, March n, 1943
Darling B. This is the coldest damned place I have ever seen and it has rained every day since I came. To day it hailed also. As we are over 2000 feet up, that may explain it.
I was under ground in a phosphate mine for an hour to day and it was quite hot. I got several fine phosil sharks teeth which I will send if I can get them chipped out of the rock.
This whole country is covered with Roman ruins, villas, farms, rest houses. They are so common no one pays any attention. I have visited several but the arabs have played hell with most of them.
Yeterday Gen. Alexander and I . . . saw a big Arab lift a barrell of water up on the shoulders of a little woman. I said, “That is arab chivalry” Alexander said, “Let’s stop and jolly well kick his ass.” But we thought better of it.
I like him very much . . .
It is funny that I am not worrying at all about this next show. The only nusance will be if they attack first. Our men need an attack. They are a little too much interested in diging in.
So far I have not been straffed from the air, but it is bound to come, as I have to drive miles every day. If you see the plane in time, you stop the car and run like hell for 50 yds off the road and lay down. It seems most undignified but all do it.
Patton was to be ready by March 15, to reoccupy and reopen the Thelepte airfields, then move through Feriana and capture Gafsa. Once Gafsa was secure, he was to send other troops to Maknassy and seize a pass through the Eastern Dorsale. Meanwhile, because everyone was wary of what Rommel might do, Patton had to hold two divisions in the rear.
Eddy’s 9th and Ryder’s 34th Divisions would stay behind. Allen’s 1st would move to Gafsa. Ward’s 1st Armored Division would drive to Maknassy.
Actually, the II Corps attack was distinctly subsidiary and minor in purpose and scope. Patton was merely to mount a threat against the Axis in order to help Montgomery. Alexander had been so disappointed by the performance of the American troops during the Kasserine battle that he had little confidence in their ability to fight.
Patton preferred not to notice. “Soldiers,” he announced to his men:
All of us have been in battle. But due to circumstances beyond the control of anyone, we have heretofore fought separately. In our next battle we shall, for the first time on this continent, have many thousands of Americans united in one command . . . In union there is strength!
Our duty . . . is plain. We must utterly defeat the enemy. Fortunately for our fame as soldiers, our enemy is worthy of us. The German is a war-trained veteran – confident, brave, and ruthless. We are brave. We are better-equipped, better fed, and in the place of his blood-glutted Woten, we have with us the God of Our Fathers known of Old. The justice of our cause and not the greatness of our race makes us confident. But we are not ruthless, not vicious, not aggressive, therein lies our weakness.
Children of a free and sheltered people who have lived a generous life, we have not the pugnacious disposition of those oppressed beasts our enemies who must fight or starve. Our bravery is too negative. We talk too much of sacrifice, of the glory of dying that freedom may live. Of course we are willing to die but that is not enough. We must be eager to kill, to inflict on the enemy – the hated enemy – wounds, death, and destruction. If we die killing, well and good, but if we fight hard enough, viciously enough, we will kill and live. Live to return to our family and our girl as conquering heroes – men of Mars.
The reputation of our army, the future of our race, your own glory rests in your hands. I know you will be worthy.
Bradley discussed with Patton several propositions Eisenhower had made with respect to Bradley’s future. Bradley could go to French Morocco and take the I Armored Corps while Patton remained in command of the II Corps. Patton decided against that because he thought it was unfair to Keyes, “though possibly safer for me.” Or, Bradley could stay on as Deputy Commander, work into the situation, and when the first phase of the Tunisian battle was over – whenever that happened – take the II Corps while Patton returned to the I Armored Corps.
I accepted this as best. I am not at all sure this show [in Tunisia] will run according to plan and feel that as long as it is interesting Alexander will keep me. If it bogs down, I can get out. If Rommel attacks first, that will be something different – [and] he may.
No one on the Allied side seemed to know that Rommel had gone. Or perhaps it was more exciting to fight Rommel than anyone else.
Diary, March 12
We have done a lot [here] but much remains to be done. Freden-dall just existed – he did not command, and with few exceptions, his staff was worthless due to youth and lack of leadership . . .
Terribly cold. Took a drink to get warm.
Eddy called at 2100 to tell me he had heard on radio that I am a Lieutenant General. Dick Jenson brought me a flag he had been carrying with him for a year. I am sleeping under the three stars [of Lieutenant General]. When I was a little boy at home, I used to wear a wooden sword and say to myself, “George S. Patton, Jr., Lieu-enant General.” At that time I did not know there were full generals. Now I want, and will get, four stars.
He had, in fact, been promoted that day.
Diary, March 13
Received order . . . to postpone D day to 17 th. I fear Rommel will take initiative, but I shall not assume defensive. Sent Bradley to 34th Division to preach bloody war. 34th is too defensive, gth has “Valor of Ignorance” [meaning it had yet to enter combat]. 1st is good. 1st Armored is timid ...
Having a big program on discipline. Fined several officers $25.00 a piece for improper uniform. Fined 35 men for same. Discipline consists in obeying orders. If men do not obey orders in small things, they are incapable of being led in battle. I will have discipline – to do otherwise is to commit murder. Am also enforcing speed limits and intervals between trucks and demanding that maintenance [procedures] be examined [for improvement]. I cannot see what Freden-dall did to justify his existence. Have never seen so little order or discipline. I am just the same since I am a Lieutenant General.
Letter, GSP, Jr., to Keyes, 13 March 1943
The day and hour [of our attack] are as yet somewhat veiled and, within limits, the longer the delay the better. The situation is quite good except as to discipline which is bad, particularly with respect to vehicles. However, in the week we have been here, we have had some results and have at least got people to the point of buttoning their clothes and wearing the same kind of a hat.
Letter, GSP, Jr., to Beatrice, March 13,
The Der Tag has been postponed but not for long.
Well at last I am a Lt. Gen. but there are so many of them that it has lost its zest. Still of course I am quite pleased . . .
It is funny how easy it is to do the things one has planned to do.
I am having a hell of a time with discipline. When I got here there was none. No salutes. Any sort of clothes and general hell.
Omar Bradley is my deputy and is good. He will get the job when I have finished this phase. If I do. I don’t think it is too easy. However, it is perhaps a compliment to be used to do the fighting and still thought so important that I actually command on both coasts at the same time.
We had quite a little fight to day. We got three tanks and lost two planes. Life is never dull, but terribly cold. It is realy awful. Jimmy Doolittle is sending me a fleace lined leather coat. I guess it will be warm in two weeks . . .
Lots of love. George. Lt. Gen. (FIRST TIME)
Diary, March 14
Kasserine Pass is fierce and a sea of mud. We expected Rommel to attack today. That is why I went there, but nothing happened. McCreery met me when I got back at 1700 and brought me a bottle of Scotch, which I don’t drink . . .
Think the soldiers are improving a little. Am sure it does good [for me] to be seen. Yesterday I took a walk and collected 8 soldiers and 2 lieutenants for improper uniform. Had them fall in and follow me —quite a procession . . .
It makes no difference where we fight provided we take and hold Gafsa. Whatever credit I get from this show will be due solely to personality unless, during the battle, something happens.
Letter, GSP, Jr., to Beatrice, March 15, 1943
I had been out in the rain all day [yesterday] . . . I was simply plastered with mud, and the mud in this part of the country is blue clay so that it sticks like cement and wont brush off.
The men here are taking an awful beating from the weather. If we can get out of these mountains onto the coastal plain, it will be warmer...
I have had so little time – less than ten days – [to prepare for the attack] that what ever I have done has been on the spiritual side and cooperating with the British. In fact cooperation is not the right word.
However, Alexander is o.k., though naturally selfish for his side just as I would be in his place. I do hope that I do my full duty and show the necessary guts. I rather dislike mines, and the whole damned country is full of them. We loose officers daily, mostly with legs blown off or broken. We have to have sand bags in the bottom of the cars. That helps some.
Yesterday Gen. T.R. [Teddy Roosevelt] and I got a little lost and were about six miles out side our front line. I felt scared till I came on some air listening post men who were putting up a station. I said do you know where you are, and they said no. So I told them to move to a healthier place. They had put out no sentinels – soldiers are funny.
There is a phospate mine here full of sharks teeth and things. I have one fine tooth and another fossil which the French say is the roof of a sharks mouth but which I think is the rear portion of a lobster...
I suppose it is an honor to be given all the hard nuts to crack. I Jiope my teeth hold out. The next nut after this one [the invasion of Sicily] is one I would willingly turn over to W. [Clark] but I had the chance the other day [to do so] and didn’t.
Well I am always a little short of breath before a match. I wish it was the 19th [and over]. Love
Diary, March 15
A horrible [day] . . . Everything there was time to do has been done. Not enough, but all there is time for. Now it is up to the others [to fight] and I have not too much confidence in any of them. Wish I were triplets and could personally command two divisions and the corps. Bradley, Gaffey, and Lambert are a great comfort.
God help me and see to it that I do my duty, but I must have Your help. I am the best there is, but of myself I am not enough. “Give us the victory, Lord.”
Went to bed and slept well till 0600.
Diary, March 16
I feel well. . . and am “radiating confidence.” Actually I am quite confident and not at all worried the way I should be. The only trouble I have is a cold sore on my lip. The hardest thing a General has to do is to wait for the battle to start after all the orders are given.
Around 11 P.M., Patton heard firing north of Gafsa. “Well, the battle is on. I am taking off my shoes to go to bed.”
Allen’s men made an approach march during the night and on the morning of March 17, detrucked near Gafsa. Taking the town against relatively light opposition, they moved a few miles down the Gabes road toward El Guettar.
Diary, March 17
The great and famous battle of Gafsa has been fought and won. The show was well done . . . I went up to the OP [observation post] . . . and could see the troops moving and the shells, mostly ours, bursting...
I used my new scout car with the three stars and II Corps flag. At first I was nervous for fear of air attack, but soon got used to it. Courage is largely habit and self-confidence. I thank God that He has again aided me.
The battle of Gafsa was “great and famous” because it was good to see American troops, after their dismaying performance at Kasserine Pass, take the initiative and win. The triumph restored confidence and underscored Patton’s ability to succeed. The capture of Gafsa received wide publicity in the United States to counter the shock of Kasserine.
A radio program on prime time, 11:15 P.M., took listeners
to a desert oasis in the wilderness of Tunisia . . . the much fought for town of Gafsa [where] . . . a hard-hitting, fast-thinking American hero is tonight planning his next move. He entered Gafsa today with his tanks and men . . .
And we can be certain that the General was at the head of the line, very likely in the very first tank . . .
General Patton is a great leader, and Mrs. Patton too was certain that he was right at the head of that column . . .
The story is making the rounds that hard-fighting General Patton is supposed to have made the promise that he would neither smoke nor drink until he had entered the city of Tunis. According to Mrs. Patton, the General is not the kind who makes promises. He does not talk about what he is or is not going to do. He simply does it...
The general is a man with a strong sense of discipline both of body and mind. He is hard as nails . . . He was a wonderful horseman and polo player. Still is. Still carries a small revolver we are told . . . “The idea is to hold the enemy by the nose and kick him in the rumble seat.” Except that the general who has a vocabulary that is as virile as his body did not say rumble seat.
If any American officer ever had the will to win, that man is Lieutenant General George S. Patton.
He certainly won the first round today . . . Apparently the Nazis saw him coming and ran, and not a single American soldier was lost, according to reports . . .
The General, very likely, slept very little. He never sleeps much, I have been told. Another day has begun, a day on which General Patton with his irresistible spirit will inspire his American tank forces to follow him again closer to the coast . . .
Certainly the prayers and best wishes of every American are with that six foot, lean, determined American tank expert, on whose shoulders has fallen the task of helping to bring the battle of Africa to a head . . .
As the Oasis Gafsa may well become a milestone in the battle of Africa, so the name of the fighter, Patton, may well become a symbol of victory.
Letter, GSP, Jr., to Beatrice, March 18, 1943 I commanded in a pretty big battle . . .
We took a famous town and had practically no casualties. It was a very well run show ...
I tried to get in, but we hit a mine field and had to stop. The Dagoes beat it and I fear we got few prisoners, but the air and artillery killed a lot of them.
I was going to attack again this morning, but it rained all night so we had to delay. It is blowing like hell now so we may have a go at them in the morning if the guns can move accross country. When I started forward, I was realy scared of an air attack but soon got used to it and stopped worrying.
Ike and Alex were both here telling me to stay back, which cramped my style, but any how this high command keeps me out of the real front line stuff, and honestly I rather resent it. But when one is fighting Erwin [Rommel], one has to be near the radio.
If you hear that I have been relieved, don’t worry, there is a reason. Anyhow I will finish this show which will take some weeks. We have to go slowly to get confidence going in the troops. Terry is really good and so are his men. I am not too happy about John’s outfit [1st Armored Division], but they will come back. I may have to relieve a general.
Ike and Alex seemed very well pleased. I hope they stay that way. But realy I have a hell of a job fighting with men I have not trained and with a staff I don’t know. I have only Hugh G. [Gaffey], Kent L. [Lambert], and Oscar K[och] . . . with me. All the rest are boy wonders, but the G-2 [Dickson] is good.
The weather is frightful cold and wet. Jimmy Doolittle gave me a fur lined leather coat or I would freeze.
The Roman ruins are wonderful and all over one gets quite used to passing huge cities and not even knowing the names . . .
I have found out why all the pillars are broken: the Romans pinned them together with bronze pegs, and the Arabs pushed them over to get the metal. What a race!
It is hard to realize that the Romans were here [for] 700 years . . .
The great city of Thelepte is near here but I have not had time to investigate it. It is supposed to have the finest temple to Minerva in the world. I can see the columns sticking up from the road. There is a roman mile post in the yard of this building with dates and distances all over it. I could get some wonderful relics if I could move them, but they are all too big. There is a fine torso of a senator laying in the yard too. It is life size and probably weighs a ton.
I feel terribly sorry for the men in this cold . . . Note to Censor: I am having Gen Gaffey censor this, as autograph hounds steal my letters if I sign the outside.
On March 18, the Ranger battalion, working with Allen’s division, took El Guettar, ten miles east of Gafsa. The forces in that area would continue to push forward, consolidating their defenses against a possible Axis counterattack.
By then, Patton was looking to Ward’s 1st Armored Division.
Diary, March 18
The 1st Armored Division is largely stuck in the mud.
Alexander . . . was satisfied with the situation . . . Ike left . . . He was in good form and like his old self . . .
If I can, I will start to push in on Maknassy tomorrow. All depends on the amount the ground dries . . . Of course the weather hurts the Boche as much as it does us. I feel that if we attack first we will have an advantage in making the enemy dance to our tune.
Diary, March 19
Left for 1st Armored Division . . . Drove over [new] road we had made, about 42 miles. Took three hours [to drive]. I never saw such mud nor such men as the Engineers who built and are maintaining it. Wet, dirty, and isolated, they keep right at it. I stopped and talked to each group and complimented them on what they had done and they seemed pleased . . .
Called on General [Paul] Robinett . . . Don’t like his mental attitude – he is defensive and lacks confidence. I talked attack. Called on Ward. He is in a sea of mud, really awful . . . He fears that tanks can’t move, due to mud, but I told him to do it with [his] infantry . . . I told him to use all available half-tracks to move infantry weapons. I want to hit Rommel before he hits us, also to help Eighth Army, which attacks tomorrow night . . .
When I got back, McCreary . . . was here. He explained the future plan of the campaign to us and sent outlined instructions for future operations.
Patton found these instructions galling. While holding Gafsa, the Americans were to take Maknassy and the heights immediately beyond, then stop. Just when capture of the Maknassy high ground would signify a penetration of the Eastern Dorsale, the Americans were to halt. Instead of continuing eastward to cut off the Axis facing Montgomery farther south, they were to watch the British push the Italo-Germans up the coastal corridor. As soon as Montgomery passed Maknassy, the II Corps would be out of action and have nothing to do.
It is noteworthy that these instructions definitely prohibit an American advance to the sea. In other words, we continue to threaten the enemy’s right flank, but we do not participate in cutting him off.
In brief, this is to pinch us out so as to insure a British triumph. I kept my temper and agreed. There is nothing else to do, but I can’t see how Ike can let them [the British] pull his leg so. It is awful. I hope I will be back in Morocco on the other job before we are pinched out ...
Oh God, let us win in the morning! ...
The more I think about the plan of pinching us out, the madder I get, but no one knows that except me.
Feeling, perhaps unconsciously, that if Ward’s division reached and held the Maknassy heights, Alexander could hardly deny him the opportunity to enter battle on the coastal plain, Patton soon began to push Ward with a passion that verged on obsession.
Letter, GSP, Jr., to Beatrice, March 19, 1943
I drove about 150 miles to day visiting the two fronts [Allen’s and Ward’s] and past countless Roman ruins. This country is simply lousy with them . . .
We are putting on a show in the morning. The weather is awful but it cuts both ways, and I feel that if I strike first, Erwin [Rommel] will have to parry. Owing to the fact that he may also strike in the morning, I must stay here.
Diary, March 20
Omar Bradley woke me at midnight to read me the radio that John [Waters] is safe [captured] ...
I had to sit at the phone all day – a hell of a way to fight a war. I hope to get in tomorrow . . . Both the 1st Infantry and the 1st Armored will attack. The Eighth Army jumped off tonight. I think that if Rommel reacts, he will do it tomorrow. I feel that I will lick him so long as the Lord stays with me.
Letter, Jenson to Mrs. Patton, March 20,
Today all looks rosey – we got the news last night that Johnnie Waters is safe . . . It certainly lifts a dark feeling we all had . . . Next job on the calendar is to get him back, and if things keep going along as well as they are, that isn’t altogether in the realm of hope or wishful thinking.
It seems that we get one bit of super news each week up here, the previous one being the third star – it didn’t cause too much excitement, because all of us were just waiting, but the final recognition of the Old Man, which he should have gotten long ago, is the grandest thing that could have happened to him. Believe me, he is ten years younger in feeling and appearance, part of which is due to his having something real to do, and the strain of sitting around doing nothing is over, part to the rightful star, and now the finding that Johnny is ok tops the picture. If he gets any more good news, we will have to sit on him to keep him down. I think the hex is over.
We have had a regular epidemic of visiting firemen around here recently, but as usual most of them left when the hunting season opened up, and without going up to see what was going on. However, we make regular runs into the front areas, and it is quite a shot in the arm to the men – the General’s theory of showing himself has certainly paid dividends in morale already.
Diary, March 21
I went to the front and sat on forward face of hill . . . Shortly after I left, the place where I had been sitting was struck by a salvo of 150’s [shells] almost on the spot...
Things were going too slow. Wrote Ward a message to use more drive and keep his command post at the front. We were strafed twice on road but nothing hit near me.
Keyes, who was visiting in Tunisia, advised Patton to “go up personally and push Ward’s attack” for the Maknassy heights. Since Patton had written Ward a strong letter the day before, he thought that a visit “might scare him to death.” He sent Gaffey instead, but “Ward simply dawdled all day, finally capturing the town of Maknassy, but has not taken Maknassy Heights.” Patton blamed himself for not following Keyes’ advice. “It I had led the 1st Armored Division, we would have taken the heights.” Patton then ordered Ward to launch a night attack against the hills. Ward did so, but failed to take the ground.
Letter, GSP, Jr., to Malin Craig, March 22,1943
[I am] engaged in the third round of the battle with my old college chum Rommel. So far, since we have only fought his Italian allies, we have been quite successful. In fact, yesterday we took in 1400 of them. My aide refers to them as “additional Roman ruins.”
Diary, March 23
The Lord helped a lot today. I visited the Surgical Hospital – it was pretty gruesome but it was strange how the men followed me with their eyes, fearing I would not speak to each one. I talked to all who were conscious. One little boy said, “Are you General Pat-ton?” I said, “Yes,” and he said, “Oh, God.” Another one said, “You know me. You made a talk to my battalion at Casablanca.” I told him I remembered him well.
I hate fighting from the rear, but today it was too complicated to leave the telephone. Ward has not done well – no drive.
On that day, at El Guettar, Allen’s men stopped a German and an Italian division, both attacking up the Gabes road toward Gafsa. This was a notable American success for two reasons. Patton’s advance had in fact attracted these Axis forces that would otherwise have been used against Montgomery. And the Americans manifested a strong defense without signs of hesitation or panic.
Patton made no note of this in his papers. He was hardly interested in defensive prowess. He was oriented toward the attack, and that meant Ward’s 1st Armored Division.
Diary, March 24
After dinner I found that the 1st Armored Division had still failed to get the heights . . . so I called Ward on phone and told him to personally lead the attack on the hills and take them.
Now my conscience hurts me for fear I have ordered him to his death, but I feel that it was my duty. Vigorous leadership would have taken the hill the day before yesterday. I hope it comes out alright.
As a result of the above orders, the 1st Armored Division attacked, led by Ward, and gained a temporary foothold on top of the ridge but were unable to maintain it, due to the fact that they had wasted so much time that the position was too thoroughly organized to be held with the troops available. I, therefore, ordered the 1st Armored Division to quit attacking and consolidate. In the course of the above attack, Ward received a slight wound. He showed good personal courage.
Letter, GSP, Jr., to Beatrice, March 25, 1943
I got awfully mad with Pink Ward for his slowness in taking a hill so last night I told him to lead the attack in person. He did and got hit slightly. He could not hold the hill as it was solid rock and we could not dig in. I think I have made a man of Ward . . .
This job of commanding . . . is not much personal fun because . . . I cant leave the CP due to the width of my front . . . I fear the papers are making an unnecessary hero out of me. I never felt less deserving in my life. The only way I influence things is by providing drive and keeping my temper with the B’s [British]. Some times that is hard to do.
Yesterday I was down looking at a small attack and a shell hit near enough to rattle on the jeep. Luckily they were small pieces and did no harm. The day before I had to get out twice and run for cover when the air straffed me but it sounds much more thrilling than it is in fact.
I have visited the clearing station and surgical hospital daily. The men like to see me. Few of them are suffering and all but a couple are cheerful. The treatment of the wounded is much better than last war, and the food is good. They give all the men a shot in the arm before they take the ambulance ride. Every soldier has three hypos, a bottle of sulpher nilimade pills and some powder. He can give himself a shot and then takes a pill every five minutes until the bottle is empty. He dusts some of the powder on the wound.
The blood plasma is fine too. Lots of the belly wounds are curing...
I still get scared under fire. I guess I will never get used to it, but I still poke along. I dislike the straffing most.
I told you I think that an Arab shot at me and I missed him, worse luck.
Diary, March 25
Gaffey woke me to say that Allen had telephoned that his position was penetrated arid that he needed the [additional] battalion . . . to defend the town. I decided to send it, then went to sleep and slept soundly. In the morning, as is usual, things looked less gloomy.
Diary, March 27
Visited 1st Armored Division near Maknassy and talked with Ward, explaining the ensuing operation. I also told him that he lacked drive and trusted his staff too much in that he presumed orders were carried out and did not take the trouble to find out that they were. He admitted this. I also told him that if he failed in the next operation, I would relieve him. He took it very well. I decorated him with the Silver Star for his action in leading the attack. I believe his action would have merited the DSC except for the fact that it was necessary for me to order him to do it.
Diary, March 28
I have little confidence in Ward or in the 1st Armored Division. Ward lacks force. The division has lost its nerve and is jumpy. I fear that all our troops want to fight without getting killed . . .
Found a chaplain who was poking around the command post while wounded were being put into ambulance close by, and gave him hell.
On March 28, with the Axis showing signs of abandoning the Mareth Line, Alexander authorized a more active role for the II Corps. Ryder’s 34th Division now marched to Fondouk to seize the pass and make the Axis think he would drive to Kairouan and threaten, even more rearward, the flank of the withdrawing enemy. Eddy’s 9th Division moved to Gafsa to help open a hole in the Axis defenses and make possible a drive by tanks down the road toward Gabes.
Letter, GSP, Jr., to Marshall, March 29, 1943
I am very remiss in writing to thank you for my promotion but I have been so busy trying to make my operations justify your choice that I have not had the time . . . At the moment, all four [of my] divisions are in action on slightly better than a one-hundred-mile front. However, this is not as bad as it sounds because three divisions are well-grouped and the fourth – the 34th – is on a sort of raiding mission to the northeast. Of course the general scope of the operations is specified by . . . [Alexander]. All I have [to do] is the actual conduct of the operation prescribed. I would like to interpolate here the fact that I find General Alexander extremely able and very fine to serve under ...
In battle one can never tell what is going to happen, but up to the present I believe that you have cause to be satisfied. We are trying to be simple, not change our plans when once made, and keep on fighting.
Letter, GSP, Jr., to Stimson, March 27, 1943
Please accept my sincere thanks for my extra star. I am doing my best to justify the selection . . . The biggest fight to date is going on as I write and it is very hard for me to sit in an office. However, in order to control so many units on so large a front, it is necessary to spend some time near the telephones. Yesterday I was fortunate in getting up to a regimental command post during the fight. It really is not as dangerous as it sounds. The nearest I have come to being hit was when a shell burs ted beside the road and splattered my command car. But it was only small pieces and none of them came through ...
Unless something strange happens, we should have, I hope, quite a big success by tomorrow or the next day.
Ward shifted some of his units to El Guettar for a lightning drive toward Gabes. Patton had told him to have his troops ready to go by dawn, but the poor roads in the area delayed the movements, and the men were in place only by 7 A.M. “I am very disgusted. I would relieve Ward but fear this is the wrong time. I will send Bradley with him when he breaks out.”
McCreery telephoned with orders from Alexander and later Alexander’s operations officer amplified and detailed them. Patton was somewhat resentful because Alexander was telling him where to place his battalions.
I feel that I must respectfully call General Alexander’s attention to the fact that in the United States Army we tell officers what to do, not how to do it, that to do otherwise suggests lack of confidence in the officer . . . I feel that, for the honor and prestige of the U.S. Army, I must protest.
For the breakthrough down the Gabes road, Patton put the available units under Colonel C. C. Benson, who had been a tanker under Patton in France. He had great confidence in Benson’s aggressiveness. Yet he recognized that if the enemy had “plenty of artillery, Benson may not get through. The worst danger is that the hole may close behind him. I feel confident that with God’s help, it will work.”
Diary, March 30
We moved all artillery forward last night to support the attack ...
Ryder, 34th Division . . . wants me or Bradley to come up. I will send Brad. He is good, and I will be needed here ...
Benson jumped off at noon, which was very creditable considering the amount of movement necessary [beforehand] . . . I watched from a hill and got shelled, then went forward over the road, which was under pretty accurate fire . . . Benson’s attack was held by a mine field and we lost 3 tanks and 2 [tank] destroyers. I am not wholly satisfied with his attack. On the other hand, the conditions under which he had to operate were almost impossible for armored vehicles ...
The life of a General is certainly full of thrills, but I am not worried, only cold all over. I wish I could do more personally. It is awful to have to confide everything to others, but there is no other way, and if you trust people, they seem to perform. “God show the right.”