Background
After a failed attempt, at Medenine, to interfere with Allied preparations (Operation Capri), Axis forces had withdrawn to prepared defences at the Mareth Line. At the same time, Erwin Rommel returned permanently to Europe, command being assumed by Italian General Giovanni Messe, the first time that German units came under Italian command, albeit with a German "liaison" officer, Major-General Fritz Bayerlein. The command structure, however, was not unified. Italian orders were ignored and German units effectively set their own objectives, leaving Italian units to conform.
There were also disagreements within the German command. Rommel doubted the efficacy of the Mareth Line and had long advocated a position at Gabès, between the sea and extensive, impassable salt marshes known as the Chotts. He had also argued that actions at Mareth and Gabès could only delay and Axis forces should concentrate much further north. Hitler disagreed until Rommel had returned to Germany and only accepted the arguments on March 10. Further disagreements from Albert Kesselring and the Italian high command impeded and finally reversed the decision and reinstated the Mareth position.
Read more about this topic: Operation Pugilist
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