Field Marshal Rommel (third from left) and members of his staff.
(DA photograph)
While both sides waited for better weather they also grew stronger. With a dominant naval presence in the western Mediterranean and large garrisons in Morocco and Algeria, the Allies had little difficulty continuing their buildup in Tunisia. But the amount of Axis troops and supplies that infiltrated by sea and air from Italy was frustrating. From the surrender of Algiers in mid-November through January 112,000 men and 101,000 tons of supplies and equipment arrived in Tunisia to join enemy forces already there.
During the last week of 1942 and the first six weeks of 1943 the opposing armies sparred to improve positions in central Tunisia. Road-rail routes leading from ports on the east to the Algerian border on the west provided stages for these actions. From the port of Sousse, 75 miles south of Tunis, one line ran west through Fondouk el Aouareb; another stretched from Sfax through Faid, then joined the first at Sbeitla to continue west through Kasserine. A third route began at Mahares, 25 miles south of Sfax, and ran west through Maknassy; a fourth started at Gabes, 60 miles south of Mahares, and joined the third at Gafsa. All of these routes had to cross a north-south mountain range, making the passes for each a critical point. To effect the von Arnim-Rommel linkup they desired Axis units would
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