Operation Pugilist - Supercharge II

Supercharge II

Operation Supercharge II was planned to start on the afternoon of 26 March. The New Zealand Corps was to attack into the Tebaga Gap on a two brigade front and create a break in the enemy's defences which would be exploited by X Corp's 1st Armoured Division.

After half an hour's bombing, the Allied artillery bombardment commenced at 4.00pm and the attack went in. It appeared that the two German divisions in the line (164th Light and 21st Panzer) had not expected a daylight assault and were taken by surprise. By dark a gap in the defences had been made and delaying until there was light from the moon which rose at 11.00pm, 1st Armoured Division poured through and then rapidly moved on El Hamma, 20 miles to the northeast and halfway to Gabès on the coast. Meanwhile, German 15th Panzer Division was brought out of reserve to counterattack the New Zealand Corps on their right flank on the morning of 27 March. By 9.00am the attack had been repelled and the New Zealand Corps took the initiative, thrusting up into the hills on their right. By the evening of 27 March, German resistance had been broken and the line of communication forward to the advancing 1st Armoured secured.

Meanwhile, 1st Armoured had been halted by the defences the Germans had improvised at El Hamma whilst the tanks had waited for the moonlight. Freyberg convinced Horrocks that the New Zealand Corps, then heading down the road to El Hamma to link with first Armoured, should branch off to the right and, avoiding the defensive concentration at El Hamma, head across the broken ground directly towards Gabès.

By 28 March, all the Axis forces on the Mareth Line had withdrawn to face the advancing X and New Zealand Corps on their right flank but the pinning of 1st Armoured at El Hamma had allowed them to avoid encirclement. On 29 March, NZ Corps took Gedes and continuing pressure on the Axis defences forced a further withdrawal to a new defensive line some 15 miles to the rear of Gabès at Wadi Akarit whilst 164th Light, 15th Panzer and 21st Panzer Divisions fought protective rearguard actions. El Hamma was evacuated on 29 March, leaving the way open for 1st Armoured to advance northward with the New Zealand Corps on their right.