Tunisia Campaign - Reorganisation of Allied and Axis Commands

Reorganisation of Allied and Axis Commands

At the Casablanca Conference it had been decided to appoint General Sir Harold Alexander as Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Allied forces in French North Africa. This came into effect on 20 February and at the same time, in order better to co-ordinate the activities of his two armies in Tunisia, Eisenhower at AFHQ brought First and Eighth Armies under a new headquarters, 18th Army Group, which Alexander was to command. Shortly after taking up his new appointment Alexander reported to London:

...I am frankly shocked at the whole situation as I have found it...Real fault has been the lack of direction from above from very beginning resulting in no policy and no plan.

He was critical of Anderson although this was later felt to be a little unfair. Once he had been given control of the whole front the end of January Anderson's aim had been to reorganise the front into consolidated national sectors and create reserves with which to regain the initiative - exactly the same priorities articulated in Alexander's orders dated 20 February. On 21 February Alexander declared his objective to destroy all enemy forces in Tunisia. He would achieve this by first advancing Eighth Army Army north of Gabès while First Army mounted attacks to draw off reserves which would otherwise be used against the Eighth. Next, both armies would concentrate on gaining airfields from which the growing dominance of the Allied air power could be launched. Finally, the co-ordinated land, sea and air strength of the Allies would strike to draw a net round the Axis forces in Tunisia. He aimed to achieve this by 30 April to meet the timetable set at the Casablanca Conference to allow the planned invasion of Sicily to be launched during the favourable weather of August.

The Casablanca Conference had also agreed a far reaching reorganisation of air forces in the Mediterranean to create greater integration. This was implemented over the next month. Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder was made commander of the Mediterranean Air Command, responsible for all Allied air activity in the Mediterranean and Major General Carl Spaatz became commander of the Northwest African Air Forces under Tedder with responsibility for all air operations in Tunisia. By 23 February Air Marshal Sir Arthur Coningham had succeeded Kuter at the Allied Air Support Command which had become the Northwest African Tactical Air Force, part of Spaatz's command, with the Desert Air Force, which had been supporting Eighth Army, under its operational control. Coningham was surprised to find that arrangements in Tunisia were the same as had existed in the Western Desert in 1941 when he had first assumed command of the Desert Air Force. Strangely, the hard-earned lessons of the Desert Campaign, both operational and administrative, had not been integrated into the planning for Torch and this had had a significant impact on the ability of the air arm, already at the time constrained by shortage of numbers and logistical problems, to provide tactical support to the land forces during the Run for Tunis. He immediately set about integrating the British and American operational commands and training them in new operational policies.

The Axis too decided to create a combined command for their two armies. Hitler and the German General Staff believed that von Arnim should assume command but Kesselring argued for Rommel who was appointed to command the new Army Group Africa on 23 February.