Case Studies in the Achievement of Air Superiority - Air Force ...

NORTHWEST AFRICA
the weight of the Allied attack on enemy airfields.56 The heavy attacks on
enemy airfields in Tunisia, before and during the assault on the Mareth
Line, while not destroying the Axis air forces in Tunisia, were successful
to the extent that during the British assault of the Mareth Line only five
enemy aircraft appeared over the battlefield.57
On March 20, the British Eighth Army’s attack on the Mareth Line
began. This position was a system of interconnected strong points running
from the sea in the east to the almost impassable steep-sided Matmata
Mountains in the west. Rommel knew that the Mareth Line could be outflanked
by a force moving northward across the desert west of the Matmata
Mountains to the region of El Hamma, and then attacking in a northeast
direction between Chott El Fedjadj and the sea, cutting off the defenders of
the Mareth Line. This is exactly what Montgomery accomplished by
mounting a frontal assault on the fortifications on his right flank, while at
the same time the New Zealand Corps made a 150-mile march north along
the west side of the Matmata mountains arriving before El Hamma on
March 21. The British 50th Division on the night of March 20/21 attacked
the eastern end of the Mareth Line and at considerable cost made a lodgement
on the edge of the enemy position. But by March 23 it was clear that
the British Eighth Army could not, even with strong air support, smash its
way through the Mareth Line. Then, Montgomery ordered the British 1st
Armoured Division to join the New Zealand Corps before El Hamma and
ordered the New Zealanders to push on past El Hamma even before the
arrival of the British 1st Armored Division. Meanwhile, the enemy had
moved forces into positions around El Hamma, which were able to halt the
advance of the New Zealanders almost as soon as it began.58
After several days of fighting and numerous attacks by the Western
Desert Air Force on targets in the enemy’s rear as well as frontline position~,~~
the British turned to air power to smash their way through the enemy
positions blocking the Gabes Gap in the El Hamma region. The air
plan for the second attack against the Axis forces at El Hamma was made
by Air Vice Marshal Harry Broadhurst, the AOC of the Western Desert Air
Force. During the period between the two attacks enemy targets around
Mareth were hit in the daytime by light bombers. And during the two nights
before the ground assault, aircraft of the Western Desert Air Force were
used to attack the enemy anywhere that targets could be found. The objective
was to destroy enemy vehicles and telephone lines in the El Hamma
region, and to deprive the enemy of sleep. In two nights about 330 sorties
were flown, during which over 400 tons of bombs were dropped.60
On March 26 in the late afternoon, fifty-four light bombers conducted
a “pattern bombing” attack on targets near El Hamma to further disrupt
the enemy. Right on the heels of the light bombers came the first group of
fighter bombers which machinegunned and bombed enemy positions from
the lowest possible height at fifteen-minute intervals. The pilots were
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