Patton And Rommel Showdown In Tunisia | Greatest Tank Battles | War Stories

north africa 1943 for the american tankers in their first combat mission of the war it's a baptism of fire we thought we had the best equipment and everything we thought we were well prepared the general said follow my orders attack against the german africa corps it's kill or be killed distance 500 meters [Music] tank at 12 30. fire at will spearheading the german onslaught is irwin rommel the desert fox would say it is your task to shoot shoot shoes shoes and shoes the americans only hope is general george patton we felt if we had a man that had that much guts while we had better have some nerve too the armies of two of the greatest tank commanders of the second world war face off turret to turret in the battle of tunisia [Music] november 1942 at el alamein the british eighth army deals a devastating blow to field marshal irwin romney his once mighty africa corps reduced to just 64 tanks their defeat is total they're plight desperate the shattered remnants of rommel's forces limp back across the desert [Music] pursued by the british from the east they retreat 2500 kilometers to tunisia where they face an allied force advancing across the mountains from the west including the fledgling u.s first armored division confident and cocksure in their first combat mission of the second world war the americans come armed with the latest in frontline technology the sherman tank the allies newest tank is fast with a top speed of nearly 40 kilometers per hour and it's powerful with a 75 millimeter short-barreled cannon at el alamein it proved itself a winner and in tunisia the american tankers are riding high on expectation we thought we had the best equipment and everything we thought we were well prepared i had no fear the allies land an impressive initial force of more than 400 tanks 100 tank destroyers and 70 000 men but the american tankers have yet to be tested in the heat of battle and the cauldron of war for all their bravado they are rookies still so he certainly worked we had no actual combat experience it was a big handicap [Music] for rommel the problem is a dire shortage of men and arms but he's thrown a lifeline when the fifth panzer army lands in tunisia bringing with them powerful anti-tank guns and long barrel panzer fours in my opinion it was possibly the best tank in the world at that time we were under the impression that we were definitely going to be superior to the americans by january the germans field 300 panzers over 100 000 troops and hundreds of anti-tank guns the fate of rommel and his tankers hangs in the balance whoever wins here wins north africa the battle lines are drawn in the remote mountains of western tunisia the germans attack first then dig in on either side of the field pass where they wait for the americans to launch a counter-attack which they do on january 31st their plan to engage the enemy in open combat the general said follow my orders attack i had a lieutenant as my commander of the tank actually he wanted to get more bars or something and he says i'll go first so i was a driver so we went out but you could seize the americans attacking from the front i don't want to bash the americans but in my opinion they were inexperienced with a farm our 88 guns were camouflaged well in the cactus problem they entice you to come through but the americans didn't see it and then they opened fire of us [Music] and the americans didn't stand a chance against the 88 anyway the german 88 is the most lethal weapon on the battlefield it has a 4.9 meter barrel and a muzzle velocity of 820 meters a second with a clear line of view it can destroy a sherman at a range of more than two kilometers if the 88 was positioned right and camouflaged well it was able to bring down tanks that were very far away the only way we i'll do them is face them head on but if they get you from the side you're very vulnerable sometimes you didn't even know where they were coming from you know when shell fire hits it's loud oh it could be 10 feet away i looked out there like i could get out there and get a baseball bat and hit those things one of our tanks in our company his 75 millimeter gun was shot off it was just like a howitzer and i had a short barrel on one after the other was brought down by the 88 either get out of there or get shot up but you have to move you wouldn't be stationary thank commerce says well back it up back it up he said let's get out of here let's get the hell out of here back in the back of the bill back it up my feet were going like this is shaking but he no sooner said than that and bam not helping me get me out of here that was frightening as the dust settles on the mountain pass at faid the lessons to be drawn are there for all to see we thought we had the best equipment and everything but we finally found out that we didn't [Music] that was at that time we just felt we were vastly superior to them in every respect [Music] but it's a lesson that u.s commanders refused to learn and just two weeks later they will send their tanks down the pass once more we just do our duty and follow orders that of course was a feast for us november 1942 rommel's panzer army meets disaster at el alamein the germans withdraw 2500 kilometers west to tunisia only to be faced by an allied force advancing across the mountains the rookie americans roll into an ambush at faid pass the german panzers advance up the pass and take up new positions at cd bouzid where the americans launch their shermans in another reckless counter-attack we're aware that the odds are against us from past experience we're aware of that no question we don't feel we just do our duty and to follow orders the americans started to attack us with huge formations that of course was a feast for us in a show of force the sherman's attack at full throttle and with all guns blazing in a classic v formation they charge blindly down the pass kicking up such an immense cloud of dust they can see nothing to either side of them including the two panzer divisions which are lying in ambush it's a textbook cavalry challenge but it's a textbook that was written before the war and a tactic that is hopelessly out of date against the battle-hardened panzers they didn't know there were two german tank companies hiding we had discussed on the radio that we let the americans approach as much as possible i believe the first american tank had approached at a distance of 300 meters and then the first shot was fired and so began the battle of zidi business is there were so many that we didn't have time to discuss who is targeting which tanks the german panzer iv is one of the most powerful tanks on the battlefield at a range of two kilometers its 75 millimeter long barreled gun can punch through a sherman's armor plating at a fraction of that distance it will blow a sherman tank to pieces it was a gun with an unbelievable speed so our shells would go on a thing like the trajectory but the germans went right straight through of thousand meter at a range of one thousand meters you had to aim only about 10 centimeters higher other than that you could just use it as it was because it shuts the shells at a very high speed we managed to destroy one american tank after the other in front of us but of course they fired as well i wouldn't say we would blind firing some of it might have been but uh majority of it we tried to have a target in mind i had to duck my head a couple of times but they never hit us the american tanks that were following further behind saw what was happening and obviously didn't think they had a chance and tried to escape we drove north as well to cut off the retreating americans which lasted for just a matter of minutes everybody just shot until there was no tank left until all of them had been destroyed the last tank was maybe two kilometers away it's five kilometers and i was able to take down this one as well [Music] we took out at least 45 to 60 shermans our casualties were 0. [Music] the germans had shot not a single tank of ours [Music] and it was a scary scene to see all these burning tanks in a small [Music] two times in two weeks the inexperience of the americans has been exposed more than a hundred tanks lost with his enemy on the ropes rommel comes up with a daring new plan to drive a stake straight through the heart of the american position and eliminate them once and for all tunisia february 1943 tanks of the us first armored division charge blindly down the pass at cd boosie for the americans it's a disaster for german field marshal irwin rommel it's an invitation to finish them off for good the american command appeared to be getting jittery and they were showing the lack of decision typical of men commanding for the first time in a difficult situation beginners lacks a nerve i wanted to push forward with all our strength and strike on deep into the allied rear [Music] ramo's plan codenamed operation stormtide is a three-pronged panzer onslaught through the mountain passes and at the epicenter of the battle is a name that will become infamous in the annals of american armored warfare [Music] kasserine [Music] [Music] here in this place there are a lot of dead bodies this is my land and every year we find bodies germans were over there and the americans were there this land is where the battle took place this mountain was the most important place during the battle february 1943 it's a battle the americans are not prepared for their defenses around kasserine are overstretched and thinly deployed their heavy armor is poorly dug in on the rocky terrain and sea company the 805th tank destroyer battalion holds the high ground to the north we was holding the pass you might say we wasn't scared because up until that time we really hadn't had too much conflict while up in that area it was pretty quiet but we never knew when something would happen at first light the german panzers make their move and rommel himself is at the front spearheading the attack it was a short and precise order follow me and further orders will follow later shortly of course i said yes field marshall sir they were so close i'll never forget that as bars and naked eye could see through right or left bumper to we thought oh my god what's going to happen to our boys they looked at us with surprise because they didn't expect to see germans here at all it was an unusually rapid advance for sure when we saw them i'll tell you to put the fury in you right off the bat [Music] it was my task to scout the area with my binoculars from the turret for enemies inside i've seen officials then i told my gunner turret at 12 30. alpines panzer fire at will firefly this was all a matter of a couple of seconds oh my uh it made us all open our eyes and wonder what was going to happen next spike american tank at two o'clock armor piercing fire at will [Music] we saw a we suddenly saw eight american sherman tanks vietnam so far right away we took position [Music] better you're scared but you're only thinking of one thing as survival so we had several of the guns set up and start shooting down the germans the m3 half track equipped with a rear-mounted 75-millimeter cannon is designed as a tank destroyer lightly protected with just 16 millimeters of rolled face hardened steel its only means of defense is to attack 75 would hit the german tanks and it was almost like like taking a match and striking it 75 would hit their armor and it would just ricochet right off we couldn't penetrate hope you're doing the right thing and doing as fast as you can out gunned and outnumbered sea company is cornered with its back to the mountain the tank destroyers are about to become the destroyed the enemy was real close to us he's all wondering what to do next all we can see is that steep mountain [Music] we were more or less trapped february 1943 the battle of cassareen a german tank inferno rages through the mountain pass and the american defenses are consumed by fire when we saw them i'll tell you to put the fear in you right off the bat american tank at two o'clock armor piercing it made us all open our eyes and wonder what was going to happen next sea company of the 805th u.s tank destroyer battalion is trapped caught between the mountain and rommel's unstoppable panzers the enemy was real close to us we was more or less trapped [Music] and all of a sudden planes came over and we thought oh my gosh now we're really going to be in it we thought that was the end thinking it was german planes it was going to be custer's last stand and all of a sudden would realize they was americans that they started to strafe their germans and they swung up over us and when they did they had their wings rocked back and forth and followed one another over the top of this mountain somebody said they're trying to show us that we can get up over that and get down over the other side there's a pass up there sort of just follow that and we can get out of this position so then we immediately started everybody going get over the hill you could see it looked impossible but some of us made it some didn't over the next three days the americans retreat over 100 kilometers with more than 6 000 casualties and the loss of more than 200 of their armored vehicles it's another defeat for the inexperienced and overconfident americans our commanding officers were not knowledgeable they didn't have the experience either that uh was required against uh superior forces but despite the victory at kasserine pass rommel's position is still perilous his enemies are on all sides with the americans reeling to the west he turns his attention to the british eighth army in the east and on march 6 he spearheads another shock attack this time through the desert at medellin we drove from the pass through the desert at high speed creating a huge dust cloud behind us so that you couldn't see anything behind us about 150 tanks we are supposed to push the british eighth army back towards the sea and destroys them [Music] but rommel's luck has run out british intelligence intercepts his orders and 500 guns are waiting for him non-stop shells hitting in the front the back to the left to the right next to me approximately 15 meters away there was a sergeant with his tank and he got a direct hit in the turret [Music] beside me at the by the way i saw flames coming out of the turret and him sitting up trying to jump out but then collapsing done and he got a direct hit as well blinded by the sand the german panzers are sitting ducks unable to engage the enemy because they have no idea where the enemy is in these four hours all i could see was sand sand sand spraying on all sides you couldn't see to the left no right no front you couldn't see anything at all just sand spraying around that blocked the view entirely we were standing there it didn't make sense to go anywhere i was standing on the same spot for four hours and always hoping not to get hit by a shell and rommel's tank got hit as well it had begun all of a sudden and it stopped all of a sudden at 12 pm as we figured later 55 of the 150 tanks one third had been destroyed it was a disaster for hormel [Music] this was woman's last battle in africa africa three days later rommel is secretly recalled by hitler to germany for medical treatment leaving the germans bereft of their inspirational leader just when they need him most defeated by the british in the desert their only escape route lies through the mountain passes to the west but the u.s forces have regrouped in rommel's absence they've reoccupied the kasserine pass and now they have a new leader brash and outspoken general george patton has taken charge and where he leads he expects his men to follow he told us which made us the kind of laugh we as men from mars have no fear of anything you're in good hands and you'll come out of this on top a confident boast by a confident general whose mettle is about to be tested in the crucible of battle february 1943 the allied and german tankers fight for supremacy in the killing zone of tunisia humiliated by one defeat after another the americans are put under the command of general george patton his task transform an army that retreats into one that will stand up and fight patton would be right there hollering go get them sons of bees yeah we felt if we had a man that had that much guts well we had better have some nerve too so that gave us a lot more confidence in ourself knowing that he depended on us a reinvigorated american force re-occupies the mountain passes tightening the noose around the german panzers and blocking their escape route at el guitar here patton draws a line in the sand beyond which the americans will retreat no more learning the grim lessons of faid and sidi buzeed patton sets his own trap and his troops dig themselves into the hard and rocky ground along either side of the pass [Music] this one [Music] you can find these all over the land [Music] [Music] i was 10 years old and i remember it all [Music] formed m i remember the voice of the planes the weapons [Music] this is the land of war echo march 23 1943 the germans advance up the pass at el guitar and this time patton's tank destroyers are ready for them we had 36 of them garden had passed our recon went out and bumped into the germans i counted 75 german tanks coming at us across the desert they were moving real slow they knew we were there they were in no hurry and just kept coming it looked like they were on the parade ground it's a calculated gamble by the germans the panzers are an iron fortress moving at just five kilometers per hour down the middle of the pass their plan is to use their heavy armor like a blunt instrument to bludgeon straight past the american lines on either side long as we were below the top of the ridge we couldn't shoot so you'd pull up shoot and back down pull up shoot back down there wasn't any problem knowing where the targets were they were out there when you're on higher ground shooting down it's a big advantage over somebody shooting up at you i'd pull up as quick as i could and stop and by the time i stopped the gunner at his target and firing the only place that you could do them any damage was hit within the tracks you could hit in there you disabled them so they couldn't maneuver i remember the fish when you're in combat first of all you don't think about the possibility of being killed you need to focus on achieving the target under withering fire the german formation holds firm resolute and relentless it inches towards its goal [Music] i'm not being arrogant but let's face it we were valued we were an elite troop weren't we march 23 1943 in the decisive battle of the north african campaign the german panzers advance up the pass at el guitar but for the first time in the campaign the us force refuses to give an inch and over 12 torrid hours they slug it out with the germans it's either going to be them or us one of the other you just got to hope you're doing the right thing and doing it as fast as you can kind of hard on the driver he's sitting up not too far from the end of that barrel so that's why i don't hear too well now we were terribly frightened [Music] one of the things you had to admire about the german soldier was we knock out a tank and the crewmen if they weren't hurt they would take their machine gun off the tank ground mount it and lay there and keep shooting [Music] twice in the course of the day the panzers advance up the pass and twice the tank destroyers of the 805th battalion hold firm [Music] the losses on both sides are immense by day's end 21 tank destroyers and 31 panzers lie burning across the plain but the battlefield belongs to patton and the exhausted panzer force now has nowhere left to turn and that was the end after we had run out of ammunition and gas there was nothing else to do but give up [Music] and that happened on may 13 1943 more than a quarter of a million german troops in tunisia surrender to the allied forces [Music] the feeling was horror about being captured of course there's nothing worse that can happen to a soldier guitar is the americans first armored victory of the war no more will their battle-scarred tankers be seen as the allies weakest link but that success has come at a price well i didn't think it would be a breeze you know actual combat is never a breeze it's either going to be them or us one or the other so you get scared we say you you can't help it if you've got anything about you he's human [Music] it's part of i think warfare that you've got to accept the fact that you're going to have casualty that some of your best friends might not survive the battle of tunisia is the closing chapter in the story of rommel's africa corps but for patton and his battle-hardened tankers it is the beginning of a journey that will ultimately lead to victory in europe

Channel: War Stories

Views: 1,269,002

Rating: 4.7152758 out of 5

Keywords: military history, war, war documentary, military tactics, war stories, history of war, rommel, patton, george s. patton, erwin rommel, north african campaign, tunisian war, tank battles in africa, greatest tank commanders

Id: 0F93Ymjv198

Length: 43min 26sec (2606 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 11 2020