Battle of The Kasserine Pass - Axis Plan

Axis Plan

At this point, there was some argument in the Axis camp about what to do next; all of Tunisia was under Axis control, and there was little to do until the 8th Army arrived at Mareth. Eventually, Rommel decided his next course of action should be to attack through the Kasserine Pass into the U.S. II Corps’ main strength at Tébessa. In this way, he could gain vital supplies from U.S. dumps on the Algerian side of the western arm of the mountains, eliminate the Allies′ ability to attack the coastal corridor linking Mareth and Tunis, while at the same time threatening the southern flank of 1st Army. On 18 February, Rommel submitted his proposals to Albert Kesselring, who forwarded them with his blessing to the Comando Supremo (Italian High Command) in Rome.

At 13:30 on 19 February, Rommel received the Comando Supremo′s agreement to a revised plan. He was to have 10th and 21st Panzer Divisions transferred from von Arnim’s 5th Panzer Army to his command and attack through the Kasserine and Sbiba passes toward Thala and Le Kef to the north, clearing the Western Dorsale and threatening the 1st Army′s flank. Rommel was appalled. This plan diluted the concentration of his forces and would, once through the passes, dangerously expose his flanks. A concentrated attack on Tébessa, while entailing some risk, could yield badly needed supplies, destroy Allied potential for operations into central Tunisia and possibly give the Luftwaffe a forward base in the form of the airfield at Youks-les-Bains to the west of Tébessa.