The Battle of Kasserine Pass: What War with the German Army Really Taught Us 🇩🇪

The tension was overwhelming in February of 1943. The American troops were finally going to face the relentless and mighty Wehrmacht, considered by many the most powerful military force on the planet.

For the Germans, it was time to prove that the Americans were no match for their experience, tactics, and determination. At the same time, Britain was eager to assess the combat capabilities of its new war ally, and the Americans wanted to show that they could stand up against tyranny and overwhelming odds.

Thus far, the American forces in North Africa had only fought against poorly supplied and motivated Vichy French troops.

The setting for the anticipated encounter was a two-mile chasm in the Grand Dorsal chain of the Atlas Mountains in west-central Tunisia, a place known as Kasserine Pass. There, 30,000 entrenched Americans patiently awaited a German attack.

A force of 22,000 German troops then advanced toward the American position, led by the legendary Desert Fox himself, General Field Marshal Erwin Rommel.

As the sun rose on February 14, Rommel ordered his troops to attack the heavily defended Allied position.

Inexperienced and anxious young American recruits finally saw German tanks surging over the dusty horizon, and over the next four days, they would experience the wrath of the Wehrmacht for the first time in their lives…


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