Tunisian campaign
| Tunisian campaign | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the North African campaign of the Second World War | |||||||||
German and Italian prisoners of war following the fall of Tunis on 12 May 1943 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
|
March: 500,000 troops 1,800+ tanks 1,200+ field guns Thousands of aircraft |
March: 350,000 troops 200+ tanks 1,000+ field guns Thousands of aircraft | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
|
76,020 849 aircraft destroyed 340+ tanks lost |
290,000–362,000 (238,000–300,000 captured) 450+ tanks lost 1,000+ guns captured Thousands of trucks captured | ||||||||
The Tunisian campaign (also known as the battle of Tunisia) was a series of battles that took place in Tunisia during the North African campaign of the Second World War, between Axis and Allied forces from 17 November 1942 to 13 May 1943. The Allies consisted of British Imperial Forces, including a Greek contingent, with American and French corps. Despite initial successes by the German and Italian forces brought from the mainland and which had withdrawn into and occupied Tunisia after their defeat in the Western Desert and the success of Operation Torch, massive supply interdiction efforts and Allied assaults from east and west led to the decisive defeat of the Axis. Over 260,000 German and Italian troops were taken as prisoners of war, including most of the Afrika Korps.