Word: fondouk
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Dates: during 1943-1943
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Correspondents who saw the British 6th Armored Division break through at Fondouk two weeks later felt that the U.S. armor might have shown more daring at El Guettar. True, the hills to the south of the pass had not been cleared, but a determined thrust might have forced the pass and flanked the enemy in those hills. True, there were minefields in the pass, but so there were at Fondouk, and there the British sacrificed some 40 tanks to plough through. But whatever shortcomings were revealed at El Guettar, they taught some valuable lessons. If U.S. troops learn best...
...better yet was the way the Americans fought when they got there. They had no Dunkirk to avenge, but they did have a Faïd, an El Guettar, and a Fondouk. A correspondent who had written of their deficiencies on those earlier battlefields wrote now: "Experienced units of the II Corps look equal to the best British forces...
...Pass to Kasserine Pass (TIME, March 1). The second action, which ended last week, was a disappointment-the failure to make any appreciable headway in the hills near El Guettar. The third, which began last week, was downright embarrassing-the delaying of the British in the pass before Fondouk by the tardiness of U.S. troops. Out of these actions, U.S. troops have gained humility, determination, and the realization that all the fine points of war cannot be learned on training grounds...
Trouble at Fondouk. The Fondouk action afforded a sharp comparison between British and U.S. troops. The British were assigned to clear the heights to the left of the pass leading to Fondouk, the U.S. troops the heights to the right. These were important preliminaries to getting through to the coastal plain where Kairouan and perhaps some of Rommel's retreating strength could be assaulted. When the British troops reached their first objective at 7:30 the first morning, the U.S. troops had not begun to move. All day the British worked their way efficiently along their ridges...
...thing the U.S. troops were learning was a healthy respect for the British. Said one American who watched the action at Fondouk: "I wish that those American strategists who beef about the British in the Stork Club could have breathed the dust of this valley today...