Battle of El Guettar

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Battle of El Guettar
Part of the Tunisia Campaign of World War II
An American soldier hands out cigarettes to captured Bersaglieri of the 131st Armored Division "Centauro" near El Guettar in March 1943.
Date 23 March – 3 April 1943 Location El Guettar, Tunisia Result Indecisive[1][2]
Belligerents
United States	Germany  Italy
Commanders and leaders
George S. Patton	Jürgen von Arnim Giovanni Messe
Casualties and losses
22 tanks lost 4 halftracks lost[3] 4,000–5,000 killed or wounded	37 tanks lost[3] 4,000–6,000 killed or wounded in 3 weeks

The Battle of El Guettar took place during the Tunisia Campaign of World War II, fought between elements of the Army Group Africa under General Hans-Jürgen von Arnim, along with Italian First Army under General Giovanni Messe, and U.S. II Corps under Lieutenant General George Patton in south-central Tunisia. It was the first battle in which U.S. forces were able to defeat the experienced German tank units, but the followup to the battle was inconclusive.^[2]