After The Battle #144 – The Battle Of El Guettar

THE BATTLE OF EL GUETTAR – Jean Paul Pallud tells how in mid – February 1943 the Axis forces launched a strong counter – attack against the US II Corps in south – western Tunisia. The 1st ArmoRed Division’s counter – moves ended in a complete disaster, the division losing two of its tank battalions in two days, with over 2,500 American soldiers being taken prisoner on February 16 and 17. After 22 days of tough fighting at El Guettar the US Army were regenerated after its unfortunate setback. Now under George S Patton’s energetic command, the self – confidence and offensive spirit of the 1st ArmoRed and 1st Infantry Divisions returned and the 9th Infantry Division had gone from being a Green, inexperienced outfit to a combat – experienced and able fighting unit. POW Camp No. 13 at Murchison – From April 1941 to January 1947, the Australian town of Murchison, 165 kilometres north of Melbourne in the state of Victoria, was home to Australian Prisoner of War Camp No. 13. Built to accommodate 4,000 inmates, the camp in time came to house some 2,100 Italian, 1,300 German and from August 1944, 185 Japanese prisoners, while another several hundRed Italians and Germans worked in various affiliated outstations. David Mitchelhill – Green tells the story. Putting a Name to a Face – Among the stills that Jean Paul Pallud chose to include in his book Battle of the Bulge Then & Now published in 1984 was a shot of an unknown GI. He remained unnamed for another two decades until 2005 when American researcher Norman S. Lichtenfeld traced him in New Jersey and put a name to his face: George E. Shomo. From the Editor – Readers’ letters and follow – up stories on previous issues.

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