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bigpigeon.us webpage WWII Germany > The MTO > North Africa > OrBat, Tunisia © 2026 by Robert A. Christiansen, updated by RAC 30 Dec 2025
██ Allied Order of Battle - the 1942-43 Tunisia Campaign ██
Key dates in the western Mediterranean in the Allied North African Theater of Operations:
......................................... The February 1943 Allied Command Reorganization .................................................
In February 1943, Axis forces retreating from northwest Egypt entered southern Tunisia, followed by the British Eighth Army. This required a reorganization of the Allied command structure in northwest Africa to incorporate the Eighth Army and associated units.
British and US military leaders created a North Africa Theater of Operations, NATO, split off from the European Theater of Operations, ETO. They also created a new army group, the 18th, to control the 1st and 8th British armies.
..................................... British 18th Army Group (Alexander) (created 20 Feb 1943) .....................................
◼ British 1st Army (Anderson) - as of 20 Apr 1943:
⏶ US II Corps (Fredendall until 4 Mar; Patton until 15 Apr; then Bradley) - moved from 1st Army's right to left flank by 24 Apr
◼ British 8th Army (Montgomery) - as of about 27 Mar 1943
⏶ British X Corps (Horrocks Dec 1942 until Apr, then Freyberg until May, then unknown until Aug, then McCreery)
............................................ in Morocco, pending possible Spanish intervention ..................................................
⏶ US I Armored Corps (Patton except for 4 Mar–15 Apr '43) - scheduled for Sicily Campaign; becomes Seventh Army 10 Jul 1943
Sources for Big Pigeon's WWII Germany > The MTO > North Africa > North Africa, OrBat webpage:
Key dates in the western Mediterranean in the Allied North African Theater of Operations:
- 26 July 1942 - General Dwight Eisenhower chosen to lead the November 1942 invasion of northwest Africa.
- 5 November 1942 - General Eisenhower and his staff arrived at the British base of Gibraltar, the temporary theater headquarters.
- 8 November 1942 - Operation Torch landings at Casablanca, Morocco and Oran and Algiers, Algeria.
- 9 November 1942 - Axis forces begin a military buildup in Tunisia.
- 11 November 1942 - Vichy France resistance ends.
- 23 November 1942 - Theater headquarters moved to Algiers.
- 4 February 1943: North African Theater split off from parent European Theater.
- 14 February 1943: Axis forces begin counteroffensive in central Tunisia, called the Battle of Kasserine Pass.
- 19 February 1943: British 18th Army Group activated with two constituent armies, the British First Army and the British Eighth Army.
- 24 February 1943: Battle of Kasserine Pass ends as Axis forces begin returning to their starting positions.
- 13 May 1943: Tunisian Campaign ends with the surrender of Axis forces.
- 6 August 1942 - General Alexander appointed Commander in Chief.
- 15 August 1942 - General Bernard Montgomery appointed Eighth Army Commander.
- 11 November - Second Battle of El Alamein in northwestern Egypt ends with Eighth Army victory; Axis forces begin long withdrawal to the west with Eighth Army following.
- 13 November 1942 - Tobruk in northeastern Libya recaptured by Eighth Army.
- 23 January, 1943 - Tripoli in western Libya captured by Eighth Army.
- 4 February, 1943 - Axis forces in Libya retreat to Tunisian border.
......................................... The February 1943 Allied Command Reorganization .................................................
In February 1943, Axis forces retreating from northwest Egypt entered southern Tunisia, followed by the British Eighth Army. This required a reorganization of the Allied command structure in northwest Africa to incorporate the Eighth Army and associated units.
British and US military leaders created a North Africa Theater of Operations, NATO, split off from the European Theater of Operations, ETO. They also created a new army group, the 18th, to control the 1st and 8th British armies.
..................................... British 18th Army Group (Alexander) (created 20 Feb 1943) .....................................
◼ British 1st Army (Anderson) - as of 20 Apr 1943:
⏶ US II Corps (Fredendall until 4 Mar; Patton until 15 Apr; then Bradley) - moved from 1st Army's right to left flank by 24 Apr
- 9th Infantry Division (Eddy)
- 34th Infantry Division (Ryder); attached to British IX Corps 4–21 Apr
- 1st Infantry Division (Allen)
- 1st Armored Division (Harmon)
- British 1st Infantry Division (Clutterbuck)
- British 4th Infantry Division (Hawkesworth)
- British 78th Infantry Division (Evelegh)
- British 46th Infantry Division (Freeman-Attwood)
- British 1st Armoured Division (Briggs) - from Eighth Army 18 Apr
- British 6th Armoured Division (Keighley) - from V Corps 12 Mar
◼ British 8th Army (Montgomery) - as of about 27 Mar 1943
⏶ British X Corps (Horrocks Dec 1942 until Apr, then Freyberg until May, then unknown until Aug, then McCreery)
- 1st Armoured Division (Briggs) - to British 1st Army Apr 1943; remained in North Africa until 1944
- 7th Armoured Division (Erskine) - to British 1st Army's IX Corps late Apr 1943
- 2nd New Zealand Division (Freyburg)
- 50th Infantry Division (Northumbrian; Nichols until 1943, then Kirkman) - withdrawn 27 Apr 1943
- 51st Infantry Division (Highland; Wimberley)
- 4th Indian Infantry Division (Tuker)
............................................ in Morocco, pending possible Spanish intervention ..................................................
⏶ US I Armored Corps (Patton except for 4 Mar–15 Apr '43) - scheduled for Sicily Campaign; becomes Seventh Army 10 Jul 1943
- US 2nd Armored Division
- US 3rd Infantry Division
Sources for Big Pigeon's WWII Germany > The MTO > North Africa > North Africa, OrBat webpage: