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pared the way for the German entry. French troops under General
Barre, who was pro-Ally, were ordered out of Tunis, and the city
was left defenseless. Later General Barre’s forces joined the Allies,
but in the meantime the Germans found airfield and dock facilities
ready for their use.
On 9 November General Anderson arrived at Algiers to take over
command of the British First Army. His plan was to seize all ports
and airfields to the east (Bougie, Djidjelli, Philippeville, Bone, and
La Calle) as rapidly as possible and then to rush his forces forward
by motor transport, landing craft, and troop-carrying aircraft. The
port of Bougie and the airfield at Djidjelli were the first objectives.
The floating reserve of the Eastern Task Force, part of the British
78th Division, was still aboard ships at Algiers. It sailed on the
evening of 10 November to take the first objectives of the eastward
drive. The capture of Bougie on 11 November was unopposed, but
because of bad surf conditions the force was unable to take the Djidï؟¾jelli airfield until the 13th. During this interim lack of adequate
land-based air cover permitted the Germans to bomb Bougie harbor,
where they damaged a British aircraft carrier.
Bone was occupied on 12 November by two companies of a British
parachute battalion dropped from C-47’s of the American 65th Carï؟¾rier Command and a British Commando battalion brought in by
water. The only Axis opposition to this move was a heavy raid on
the airfield that night. The build-up of troops in the Bone area conï؟¾tinued as rapidly as possible, air, sea, rail, and vehicular transporï؟¾tation being utilized. The advance to the east was pressed, and by
15 November leading elements of the 36th Brigade of the 78th Diviï؟¾sion had occupied Tabarka, only eighty miles from Tunis. A British
paratroop battalion which had been dropped at Souk el Arba on the
16th had moved beyond Beja by the 17th, and the troops at Tabarka
had advanced to Djebel Abiod.
At the same time the Allies were securing airfields to the south.
On 15 November Colonel Edson D. Raff’s 503d Parachute Battalion,
an American unit, dropped at Youks les Bains and two days later
occupied the Gafsa airfield, far to the south. It sent patrols over
the entire southern area, meeting only small Italian forces. Raff
Force, as it came to be known, established cordial relations with
the French garrison at Tebessa, which promptly began cooperating
with the Americans in patrolling the area.
Evidence of French cooperation appeared on 16 November, when
reports were received of French and German patrols clashing in the
Beja-Debjel Abiod-Mateur area. Although General Barre had been
negotiating with the Germans since their arrival, the advance of the
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