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prisoners, while the 6th Armored Division, followed by the British
4th Infantry Division in motors, was directed southeast toward the
neck of the Cape Bon Peninsula.
In the south the French XIX Corps was still encountering strong
resistance, but the opposition in the Goubellat area relaxed slightly.
At this point, after a determined attack, the British 1st Armored
Division broke through and advanced northeast.
On the 8th the 6th Armored Division continued its movement to
the southeast. By afternoon it was in contact with an enemy rear
guard, strong in antitank guns, that was covering the town of Hamman Lif—in a narrow defile between the steep hills south of the
town and the sea. After a night attack up the precipitous slopes
by the infantry regiment of the division, the armor broke through
the town on the 10th, some of the tanks having moved along the
beach to outflank the defenses. This victory of Hamman Lif was
undoubtedly a major factor in bringing about the quick disintegration of the remaining resistance, for the 6th Armored could now
cut the Axis routes of escape to the Cape Bon Peninsula, which it
proceeded to do. Hammamet, the southern gateway to the peninsula,
was also reached on 10 May.
Meanwhile the II Corps continued its offensive operations in the
north with the mission of preventing the enemy from reinforcing
his units facing the British First Army. The high ground east and
west of Chouigui and the city of Bizerte were the objectives set for
the corps. General Bradley planned to isolate Axis troops in the
areas generally northeast and southeast of Mateur by means of infantry attacks from both flanks of the corps and an armored drive
from the center. To accomplish this task, the 9th Infantry Division
and the French attacked north of Lake Achkel while the 1st and
34th Infantry Divisions attacked toward Chouigui, and the 1st Armored Division drove northeast and east from the vicinity of Mateur.
The attacks by the II Corps were well under way by 5 May. In
the southern zone of action the 1st Division met strong resistance
and was unable to hold the slight gains that it made. The 34th
Division enveloped Eddekhila from the southwest and moved on to
Chouigui, which it occupied by the afternoon of the 7th. Thanks
to the breakthrough by the British First Army farther south, enemy
resistance in the southern part of the II Corps zone slackened
materially.
North of Lake Achkel the only key position remaining to the
enemy was Djebel Cheniti. General Eddy employed here tactics
similar to those used so successfully in capturing Jefna. The Corps
Franc d’Afrique and a part of the 9th Division made a secondary
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