15
will include the decisive period of the campaign: the Allied victory
at Mareth, the capture of Bizerte and Tunis, and the subsequent
surrender of all Axis forces in North Africa.
THEATER OF OPERATIONS
Over its whole length and breadth Tunisia varies greatly both in
terrain and climate. Five hundred miles long from north to south
and 150 miles wide from east to west, its surface consists of a conï؟¾fused mountainous zone in the north, an area of lower plateaus in
the center, and broad plains in the south gradually merging into the
sands of the Sahara Desert.
The mountains in the north are the eastern extremity of that chain
of the Atlas Mountains that begins in southern Morocco and runs
entirely across French North Africa in a northeasterly direction.
They are rocky and steep and near Souk Ahras reach an altitude of
over 4200 feet.
The extreme eastern spurs of these mountains, known as the
Grand Dorsal, extend to the south of Tunis in the shape of an inï؟¾verted “V”. From the apex of the “V”, near Pont du Fahs, the
eastern arm, called the Eastern Dorsal, runs south 125 miles to Makï؟¾nassy, thence southwest to the vicinity of El Guettar. Crossed by
few passes—Fondouk, Faid, Maknassy, and El Guettar—this Eastï؟¾ern Dorsal would, with Chott Djerid (a large salt lake), provide a
natural defense of the Allied right flank against any attacker from
the east or south. This terrain was to be the scene of much bitter
fighting during the Tunisian campaign.
The western arm of the “V”, the Western Dorsal, extends southï؟¾west from Pont du Fahs and forms a secondary barrier against
attack from the east or south. The important passes through this
range are Maktar, Sbiba, Kasserine, Dernia, and El Abiod. Tebessa,
on the western slope of the dorsal, is an important communications
center and a key to the southern front.
In the north the Medjerda River, the most important stream, winds
northeast from the mountains to the Gulf of Tunis. Medjez el Bab
is the key to this corridor to Tunis. It was to become an important
defensive position covering Allied lines of communication to the west.
There are few good roads in Tunisia. The main roads are usually
hard-surfaced (tarred) but narrow. Secondary roads are sometimes
well metalled, but more often are little more than dirt tracks. After
a few hours of rain many so-called roads become practically impassï؟¾able for motor transport, while in prolonged dry weather they deï؟¾teriorate rapidly. Where they pass through the hills, the roads often
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