January to March 1943

Tunisia, January to March 1943

In January 1943 John Lauten was the intelligence officer (S-2) of the 3rd Battalion, 16th Infantry, still camped near Oran, Algeria. On Jan. 18 he left by truck for the Tunisian front, about 600 miles east. These are the letters he wrote to his wife, Ginny, from the camps around Oran, the road east, the Ousseltia Valley, Kasserine, and the oasis towns of Gafsa and El Guettar.

The Big Picture

By January 1943 the war in North Africa came down to Tunisia. Two Axis armies held the coast, one in the north and Rommel’s, retreating from Libya, in the south. The Allies held a long line through the mountains.

In February the Germans struck American troops at Sidi Bou Zid and Kasserine Pass. It was the first major battle between American and Axis forces in Africa, and the Americans lost badly.

The Army learned fast. In March, under Patton, the 1st Division took Gafsa and beat back a German tank attack at El Guettar.

The Letters

45 letters · tap one to read and zoom