It is difficult to say which of the two tanks, the M3 or the PzKpfw III, was the better one. The Germans had won the initial stages of the Kasserine battles through surprise and superior tactics, experience, solid command, and rapid decision making. In the end, however, the Americans regained the lost ground and forced the Germans to withdraw. The Americans had learned their lessons, and while tactical flexibility had contributed to this, it was mainly superior logistics with plentiful fuel, ammunition, supplies, and replacement vehicles and troops that enabled them to force the withdrawal. The M3 and PzKpfw III each had their own distinct advantages, capabilities, and limitations in armament, armor, mobility, reliability, and design. What it really came down to was the skills of the crew and small unit commanders and who was the quickest.
The 1st Armored Division and other units suffered serious but not devastating losses. Replacement equipment and personnel allowed them to quickly rebuild. The survivors of the 2d and 3d Battalions, 1st Armored Regiment were consolidated into a provisional 23d Armored Battalion. A field artillery battalion and a self-propelled artillery battery had to be reequipped along with a reconnaissance and an engineer company. In all the 1st Armored Division lost 1,401 troops dead, missing, captured, and wounded. This was exclusive of the attached units’ losses. Much of the 34th Infantry Division’s 168th Infantry had to be rebuilt, having lost over 1,800 troops, mostly captured.
The Germans reported the capture of over 4,000 American, British, and French troops, 58 machine guns, 25 40mm AA guns, five British 25-pdr gun-howitzers, 13 mortars, 13 AA guns, two 75mm self-propelled howitzers, three 105mm self-propelled howitzers, three tanks, 61 armored vehicles (mostly halftracks), 161 trucks, 45 tons of ammunition, 100 cubic meters of fuel, and 115 cubic meters of lubricants.
The fact that only three tanks were captured is attributed to the fact the Germans’ AP ammunition had an HE charge, which caused tanks to burn or explode. For this reason, two months after the Sidi Bou Zid battle, over 40 American tanks were found rusting on the plain northwest of the town. They were damaged to the point that the Germans did not attempt to recover them. In all the Americans lost 89 medium tanks and almost as many lights.
It is difficult to determine the numbers of troops involved because the action was spread over a wide geographic area and one can use several different criteria for determining which units participated. Estimates claim that there were roughly 30,000 Allied and 22,000 Axis troops involved. There were some 10,000 Allied casualties, of which 6,500 were Americans, and 2,000 Axis casualties. The Americans lost 183 tanks and the Axis 34.
A knocked-out German Panzer III with a dead crewman, 1943. (IWM NA 836)