An Army at Dawn (112 page)

Kesselring agreed
: Irving, 266–67 (
“We are going to go”
);
NWAf,
206–207; war diary, Fifth Panzer Army, Feb. 8, 1943, in “Kasserine Pass Battles,” vol. I, part 1, CMH (
“weaken the American”
); war report, Panzer Army Africa, Jan. 16 to Feb. 12, 1943.

The front remained
: Pyle,
Here Is Your War
, 154; Dickson, “G-2 Journal,” MHI, 37; Oswald Jett, “As I Saw the War,” ts, n.d., ASEQ, 47th Medical Bn, 1st AD, MHI, 287 (
Army chaplain
); war diary, 27th Armored FA, Feb. 11, 1943, PMR, GCM Lib, box 12 (
Clubmobile
).

II Corps had suffered
: Waters, SOOHP, 690; William H. Simpson, AGF Observer Report, Apr. 1943, NARA RG 165, E 418, Director of Plans and Ops, box 1229 (
130 charged with absence
); Ankrum, 179–80 (
“Hell, no”
); Hougen,
The Story of the Famous 34th Infantry Division
; William Petroski, “Fifty Years Later, Defeat by Rommel Still Clear,” March 21, 1993,
Des Moines Sunday Register
(
“We had never heard of them”
); Heller and Stofft, eds., 247.

Quiescence at the front
: Everett S. Hughes diary, Feb. 10, 1943, “Allied High Command” micro, reel 5, David Irving collection, MHI (original in LOC Ms Div) (
“too complicated to be placed”
); G-3 memo, Feb. 8, 1943, NARA RG 331, AFHQ micro, R-188-D (
Allied intelligence concluded
); Hinsley,
British Intelligence in the Second World War
, 274; Ralph Bennett, 373–74.

Commanders in Tunisia
: Statement, P. C. Hains, III, 1st AR, in AAR, 2nd Bn, 168th Inf, “Kasserine Pass Battles,” vol. 1, part 1 (
seven possible
); Robinett,
Armor Command,
152 (
“He sucked in his breath”
), 155, 160; Robinett, “Among the First,” ts, PMR, GCM Lib, box 22, 366–70 (
“The conference”
); Martin Philipsborn, Jr., and Milton Lehman, “The Untold Story of Kasserine Pass,”
Saturday Evening Post,
Feb. 14, 1948, 23 (
“We can’t win”
).

Daubed it was
:
NWAf,
402–403; Leon F. Lavoie et al., “The First Armored Division at Faïd-Kasserine,” 1949, Armored School Advanced Course, 22 (
“The generals of three nations”
).

Nor were commanders certain
: “Diary Covering the Activities of General Fredendall and Supporting Players, Dec. ’42–March ’43,” James R. Webb Collection, DDE Lib (
“They seemed to expect”
); Gugeler, ts, OW, MHI, x-66; E.C. Hatfield, diary, Feb. 6, 1943, OW, MHI (
“angry and disappointed”
); Howze, SOOHP, MHI; Howze, OH, Gugeler, OW, MHI (
“infuriated, insulted”
).

The greatest insult arrived
: Jackson, 430;
NWAf,
400; Gugeler, ts, OW, MHI, x-72 (
“It’s wrong”
).

Fredendall had visited Sbeïtla
: Peter C. Hains, III, OH, May 1991, David W. Hogan, MHI (
“Good God”
); Blumenson,
Kasserine Pass
, 122; Andrews, “A Place to Be Lousy In,” 100; Gugeler, ts, OW, MHI, x-73; Howze, OH, Gugeler, OW, MHI (
“Neither he nor I”
).

Orders were orders
: Howe,
The Battle History of the 1st Armored Division
, 141; Ankrum, 182 (
“isn’t that much barbed wire”
), 183 (
“How would you hear rocks”
), 186 (
“Poppycock!”
); AAR, 2nd Bn, 168th Inf Regt, Feb. 3–16, 1942, Iowa GSM; Waters, SOOHP, 189–90 (
“Waters, I’ve got orders”
and
“General McQuillin, let me ask”
).

There was nothing for it
: AAR, 168th Inf Regt, Feb. 27, 1943, Iowa GSM; AAR, 3rd Bn, 168th Inf Regt, n.d., Iowa GSM; AAR, 2nd Bn, 168th Inf Regt, Feb. 3–16, 1942, Iowa GSM (
“killed at once”
and
“when I want prisoners taken”
); Robertson, ts, ASEQ, 1st AR, 1st AD, MHI.

“A Good Night for a Mass Murder”

As commander-in-chief
: Chandler, vol. I, 604n (
far greater powers
); Danchev and Todman, eds., 365 (
neither “the tactical”
and
“We were pushing”
); Miller,
Ike the Soldier
, 464; DDE to GCM, Feb. 8, 1943, Chandler, 942–46 (
“popular impression”
);
Three Years
, 258 (
“burning inside”
).

Upon hearing the news: Three Years
, 260; Hughes diary, Jan. 24, 1943, MHI (
“Ike is doomed”
).

that
woman
: Miller, 469; Morgan,
Past Forgetting,
111; Irving,
The War Between the Generals: Inside the Allied High Command,
47–48; Hughes diary, Feb. 12, 1943, MHI (
“Maybe Kay”
).

Skibereen was behind the wheel
: chronology, Chandler, vol. V, 105; D. D. Eisenhower,
At Ease: Stories I Tell to Friends,
259 (
“taking too many trips”
); Charles M. Thomas, diary fragment, Feb. 13, 1943, possession of Roger Cirillo (
“I never knew the wind and sand”
).

“In one respect only”
: Truscott,
Command Missions,
153; Blumenson,
Kasserine Pass,
124; Eisenhower,
Crusade in Europe,
141 (
“the divisions have”
).

Fifteen minutes later
: Michael J. King, “Rangers: Selected Combat Operations in World War II,” 1985, CSI, 15; Altieri, “Darby’s Rangers,” 1945, Ranger Book Committee; Jerome Joseph Haggerty, “A History of the Ranger Battalions in World War II,” Ph.D. diss, 1982, Fordham University, 120; Altieri,
The Spearheaders,
197 (
“We’ve got to leave our mark”
), 206 (
“good night for a mass murder”
); Patrick O’Donnell,
Beyond Valor,
33–35 (
at least one wounded prisoner
).

Anderson walked in
: Akers, OH, SM, MHI; Dickson obituary,
Assembly,
Sept. 1978; B. A. Dickson, “statement of service,” Benjamin A. Dickson Collection, USMA Arch, box 3; Blumenson,
Kasserine Pass,
125.

“Rommel can be expected”
: Dickson, “G-2 Journal: Algiers to the Elbe,” 38–43 (
“alarmist and a pessimist”
); Dickson, OH, Dec. 13, 1950, G. F. Howe, SM, MHI.

For over two hours
: Porter, SOOHP, MHI; Hinsley,
British Intelligence in the Second World War,
583–85, 757; Dickson, “G-2 Journal: Algiers to the Elbe,” 38–43; Robert A. Hewitt, OH, n.d., G. F. Howe, SM, MHI (
“General disposition of forces”
); John H. Thompson, “Kasserine Fiasco Laid to British,”
Chicago Tribune,
Feb. 1948; DDE to GCM, Feb. 15, 1943, Chandler, 955 (
“as good as could be made”
), 956 (
“seems keen and fit”
).

An urgent phone call
: PMR to DDE, Sept. 12, 1967 (
“hoped to win”
), and DDE to PMR, Sept. 15, 1967, Robinett Papers, MHI; Robinett, “Among the First,” ts, PMR, GCM Lib, box 22, 366–70 (
“Only a question”
and
“The yielding of ground”
); Robinett,
Armor Command,
160–62 (
“only evidence”
and
“Now that General Eisenhower”
); Eisenhower,
Crusade in Europe,
142.

Another cactus patch
: Gugeler, ts, OW, MHI, x-77; Truscott,
Command Missions,
153; Peter C. Hains, III, OH, Apr. 26, 1951, G. F. Howe, SM, MHI; “The Battle of Sidi bou Zid,” n.d., PMR, LOC, box 6.

Eisenhower had sensed
: diary, Feb. 13, 1943, OW, MHI (
“Ike would swap”
); Eisenhower,
Crusade in Europe,
142; Eisenhower,
At Ease,
259–60 (
“Get your mine fields out”
); CCA, “Narrative of Events from 23 January 1943 to 26 February,” 1st AD, NARA RG 407, E 427, 601-CCA-0.3, box 14825 (
“listened to a description”
); “The Battle of Sidi bou Zid,” n.d., PMR, LOC, box 6.

He stepped from
: D’Este,
Eisenhower: A Soldier’s Life
, 641mss (
“We do not pray”
); Blumenson,
Kasserine Pass,
139 (
“General, what will we do”
); John S. D. Eisenhower,
Allies,
269 (
“I think you’re going”
).

A week later
: DDE to GCM, Feb. 21, 1943, Chandler, 970 (
“a delicate matter”
); Hinsley,
British Intelligence in the Second World War,
vol. II, 583–86, 757–59 (
“A-day”
), 761–62; G-2 records, II Corps, Feb. 13, 14, 1943, NARA RG 338, II Corps, box 9 (
“Urgent. Absolute priority”
and
“Rommel has been reported”
); “The Battle of Sidi bou Zid,” n.d., PMR, LOC, box 6; Waters, SOOHP, 193 (
“My error”
);
NWAf,
411.

A cold drizzle
: “History of the 26th Infantry in the Present Struggle,” 6/13; Robertson, ts, ASEQ, 1st AR, 1st AD, MHI; letter, W. Bruce Pirnie, Jr., to Amon G. Carter, June 16, 1943, OW, MHI (
“seemed sort of silly”
); msg, DDE to AGWAR, Feb. 13, 1943, 1013 hrs., NARA RG 331, AFHQ micro, G-3 Forward, Constantine, R-99-D, 319.1 (
“Axis cannot risk”
)

CHAPTER 9: KASSERINE

A Hostile Debouchment

A brief, howling sandstorm
: Hudel and Robinett, “The Tank Battle at Sidi bou Zid,” in “Kasserine Pass Battles,” n.d., vol. I, part 1, CMH; Lucas,
Panzer Army Africa,
165; AAR, “Narrative of Events from 23 January 1943 to 26 February,” CCA, 1st AD, NARA RG 407, E 427, 601-CCA-0.3;
Tätigkeitsbericht,
10th Panzer Div., 14–22 Feb. 1943, NARA RG 319, OCMH, box 225; James E. Hagan, ASEQ, n.d., Co G, 3rd Bn, 1st Armored Regt; Ankrum, 186 (
“Krupp Iron Works”
); Howze, “The Battle of Sidi bou Zid,” lecture, MHI.

Three miles east
: letter, W. Bruce Pirnie, Jr., to Amon G. Carter, June 16, 1943, OW, MHI (
“really changed the sound”
); Waters, SOOHP, 204, 213 (
“If you can’t fire”
);
NWAf,
408, 412.

One after another
: Howe,
The Battle History of the 1st Armored Division,
145–46; David W. Hazen, “Role of the Field Artillery in the Battle of Kasserine Pass,” master’s thesis, 1973, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, 43 (
somehow forgotten in the confusion
); Thomas E. Hannum, “The 30 Years of Army Experience,” ASEQ, ts, n.d., Co A, 91st Armored FA, MHI (
“We didn’t know exactly”
); Robert G. Bond, “Induction into the Armed Service,” ASEQ, ts, n.d., 1st AD, MHI; Howze, “The Battle of Sidi bou Zid” William H. Balzer, ASEQ, ts., n.d., 1st Armored Regt, MHI (
“All around me comrades”
); 443rd CA Battalion history, and letter, Werner L. Larson to G. F. Howe, 1951, NARA RG 319, OCMH, box 229; Wiltse, 126 (
“lost his sense of direction”
); John T. Jones, Jr., ASEQ, n.d., Co H, 3rd Bn, 1st Armored Regt.

The enemy without question
: AAR, “Operations of 3rd Bn, 1st Armored Regt,” Feb. 14, 1943, NARA RG 407, E 427, box 14916; Harold V. Boyle, Associated Press account of
Texas, Cavalry Journal,
March–Apr. 1943, 12 (
“smoked us up”
and
“like peas”
); Robertson, ASEQ, Co H, 1st Armored Regt, MHI (
“dryland Dunkirk”
); John B. Scheller, ASEQ, n.d., 1st Armored Regt Band, MHI (
“Take off, men!”
); Hannum, “The 30 Years of Army Experience” (
“air was full of whistles”
); Stanley J. Krekeler, ASEQ, ts, n.d., 91st Armored FA, 1st AD, MHI (
lint from camouflage nets
); Pirnie to Carter, June 16, 1943, OW, MHI (
“suddenly blossomed”
); Milo L. Green and Paul S. Gauthier, ed.,
Brickbats from F Company,
149; Howe,
The Battle History of the 1st Armored Division,
150–53; Louis V. Hightower, DSC citation, 1943, NARA RG 492, NATOUSA general orders; Blumenson,
Kasserine Pass,
141–42.

Of fifty-two Shermans
:
Kriegstagebuch,
21st Panzer Div., 14–23 Feb., 1943, in “Kasserine Pass Battles,” vol. I, part 2, CMH; Hudel and Robinett, “The Tank Battle of Sidi bou Zid.”

The disaster
: AAR, “1st Armored Regt., North African Campaign, Nov. 8, 1942–May 9, 1943,” NARA RG 407, E 427, box 14916; Waters, SOOHP, MHI, 203–22 (
“Sir, I couldn’t”
), 596 (
“There must be something”
); AAR, 2nd Bn, 168th Inf Regt, Feb. 1943, Iowa GSM; “Kasserine Pass Battles,” n.d., vol. I, part 1, CMH (
“Pete, I’m going to shut”
); Balzer, ASEQ, 1st Armored Regt, MHI; Blumenson,
Kasserine Pass,
164–65.

Ten miles to the southeast
: Edgar P. Moschel, statement in “168th Inf Regt. Narrative of Action,” n.d., Iowa GSM; Franklin M. Davis, Jr., “The Battle of Kasserine Pass,”
American Legion,
Apr. 1965, 22 (
“It seems like”
); AAR accounts by Gerald C. Line, Thomas D. Drake, Harry P. Hoffman, in “Kasserine Pass Battles,” vol. I, part 1, CMH; Hougen,
The Story of the Famous 34th Infantry Division
.

Drake soon recognized
: “Narrative of Events from 23 January 1943 to 26 February,” CCA; AAR, 3rd Bn, 168th Inf Regt, Feb. 8–20, 1943, Iowa GSM; letter, Thomas D. Drake to Charles W. Ryder, Oct. 4, 1944, Ryder Papers, DDE Lib, box 1 (
“fled so fast”
).

At two
P.M.
Drake
: “Narrative of Events from 23 January 1943 to 26 February,” CCA; “Brief Statement of Lt. Col. John H. Van Vliet, Jr.,” in “168th Inf Regt. Narrative of Action,” Iowa GSM; letter, Drake to Ryder, Oct. 4, 1944, Ryder Papers, DDE Lib., box 1; AAR account, Marvin E. Williams, 3rd Bn, 168th Inf, “Kasserine Pass Battles,” vol. I, part 1, CMH; Blumenson,
Kasserine Pass,
145.