Operation Pugilist - Geography

Geography

The rough southern Tunisia broken terrain of the local geography greatly influenced the course of both operations Pugilist and Supercharge II as terrain suitable for military movement was limited by difficult rocky ridge lines and desert. Opposite the bight where the north-south coast opens out again towards the east the semi-arid scrub covered coastal plain is delimited inland by the Matmata Hills (or Monts des Ksour) which lie south to north. Across this plain in a line roughly SW to NE was a line of forts and fortifications built by the French in the 1930s—known as the Mareth Line—and along which Rommel keyed his defense. In the north, both the hills and line of forts terminate at the Tebaga Gap, a low pass which separates the Matmata hills from the Djebel Tebaga hills, another line of high ground to the west of the gap running east-west: north and west of this are the Chotts. West of the Matmata Hills, the terrain is dry country, the Dahar, and then impassable sand of the Grand Erg Oriental. The town of Gabès lies on the coast where the coastal plain meets the route from the Tebaga Gap. North of Gabès, the road to Sfax passes between the sea and the Chotts and this was Montgomery's only route north, a way blocked by the Mareth Line.

The Axis defences of the Mareth Line took advantage of the terrain. Wadi Zigzaou is a natural anti-tank obstacle with steep banks rising up to 70 feet: the north-western side had been fortified by the French and subsequently reinforced. It crosses the coastal plain from Zarat to Toujane; in the Matmata Hills, the terrain alone was sufficient defence. In 1938, the French had determined that the Dahar was impassable to motorised transport and so had not extended the Mareth Line. By 1943, however, military transportation had improved. The British also had practical experience in desert mobility and so considered that the Dahar might offer an opportunity for outflanking the Mareth Line - the so-called "left hook". The Germans sought to defend it but Rommel had long advocated, albeit unsuccessfully, the Gabès gap as a better defensive alternative.