Allied Air Activity, November and December

All airdromes along the Tunisian border were quickly taken over and strengthened to provide bases for air cover over the advancing First Army. By this time the autumn rains had set in, and airfields were so muddy that aircraft, particularly bombers, were often immobilized. Mats and tracks were laid as rapidly as they could be procured, but transportation, both rail and motor, was so strained in carrying necessary supplies, ordnance, and personnel that the process was very slow. In this emergency troop carriers were used to haul freight and personnel, with or without escort, almost to the front lines, and they continued flying under conditions that ordinarily would have been considered prohibitive. Communications facilities were also very inadequate during those early days.

November and December were feverish months for the U. S. and British air forces. Patrols were flown over Allied-controlled Mediterranean ports, and there were frequent clashes with the enemy. At least 32 Axis raiders were shot down by night fighters alone. Tactical reconnaissance, fighter sweeps, and air cooperation with ground troops were daily tasks when weather permitted. Furnishing escort for C-47's carrying precious supplies was a constant problem. During the period, 170 enemy aircraft were report brought down by RAF day and night fighters, with 41 probably destroyed. the USAAF as a whole, fighters and bombers, accounted for 109 enemy aircraft destroyed and 26 probables, at a cost of 70.

Bombers of all classes lost no opportunity to harass the enemy. The only RAF bombers to arrive before the end of December were four squadrons of Bisleys, and from 14 November they made regular attacks on the airdromes and docks of Tunis and Bizerte; operations were at first from Blida and then from Canrobert and Souk-el-Arba. Bisleys flew a total of 442 sorties during November and December and dropped  almost 157 British tons of bombs. Fourteen Bisleys were missing from operational and 13 from other causes. During the same time Malta-based aircraft dropped 644 British tons of bombs on Tunisian targets. Even by the end of December the Twelfth Air Force had only two groups of Flying Fortresses, three medium bomber groups, and a few A-20's in the forward area. However, from the middle of November they were busily bombing Tunisian objectives whenever weather allowed; 78 missions were flown by Twelfth Air Force bombers and 1,300 long tons of bombs were dropped.

On the night of 20 November about 30 Axis planes, presumably from Sardinia, came in shortly after dark and bombed the airfield at Maison Blanche for two hours. One B-17, two P-38's, six Beaufighters, and four photo reconnaissance Spitfires were reported destroyed and other planes were damaged. The enemy dropped demolition bombs, delayed action bombs, booby traps in t he form of common objects such as purses and fountain pens, and caltrop-like objects intended to puncture tires. Defense from the field was almost nil, but two enemy planes were reported shot down at sea by naval craft. On the night of the 21st a similar attack on the same objective was stated to have damaged 16 aircraft.

Our heavy loss was attributed to the lack of radio control and to the fact that night fighters had no A. I. equipment. By 25 November these lacks had been remedied, with the result that during the next few days more than one-third of the enemy aircraft entering the Algiers area were destroyed. Originally, Axis bombers made straight high level approaches in small formations at five-minute intervals. This plan roving vulnerable, simple evasion tactics were employed, and attacks were made at irregular intervals, at lower altitudes, and from unexpected directions. these also proved easy to counteract, and presumably the drop in enemy pilot morale forced the Germans to adopt more complicated tactics.

The Allied ground movement eastward was undertaken by understrength armor and infantry with even less adequate motor transportation. Nevertheless, by the 15th Tabarka had been occupied and by the 18th the British paratroops who had been dropped in Souk-el-Arba had come into contact with the Germans. About the same time, U. S. paratroops dropped at Youks-les-Bains, occupied Gafsa airfield, and came up against Italian patrols. By this time the Tunisian French forces under General Barre had come over to the United Nations' cause, and they aided in forming a screen between the Germans and the gathering British and American troops.

During the last days of the month a gallant Allied advance was made on Mateur, Tebourba, and Medjez-el-Bab. On the 28th Djedeida was reached, only 12 miles from Tunis, but there the surge was stopped. The rains had set in and mud had bogged down armor and supply trains, but of equal importance was the fact that the ground forces had emerged beyond effective range of their fighter cover. The forward fields were too exposed to enemy action to be occupied as bases. Six Spitfires which attempted to land at Medjez-el-Bab were attacked by enemy planes; two Spitfires were shot down and the rest flew back to Souk-el-Arba. Even the rear area fields Spitfires could fly over the lines only five or ten minutes, and the few P-38's at hand were insufficient to furnish continuous patrols. The result was that German aircraft simply fled when Allied fighters appeared, then returned in half an hour to complete their work. So close were the Ju-87's to the front, and so efficient was German air-ground liaison, that air cooperation was furnished within five or ten minutes of receipt of the request.

Tunis and Bizerte were still in Axis hands and were to remain there until the next May. The effort had not, however, been entirely fruitless. Allied forces were established in the line of mountains facing the northern Tunisian plain, and could issue forth in the spring to finish their task. The French had come over to the Allied side and, though under-armed and under-supplied, were grimly holding a segment of the line. Also, we held a line of advanced airfields, which, though often useless because of mud, would afford good bases with the cessation of the rains and with the acquisition of long-range fighters. Meanwhile the Allies devoted themselves diligently to the task of overcoming transportation difficulties and building up troops and supplies for the coming conflict.