European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 17, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Is Man a 105 my gun set up on a Hal track in the Tunisia desert. A a a a a a a raw . Troops received a fiery baptism at the Kasserine pass by Robert Dvorchak the associated press. A a a f k Ermit Carlson a Minnesota farm boy was a radioman attached to the 19th combat engr in defending the Kasserine pass a a Barren corridor he had never heard of until be germans wanted it. Of the 1,200 men in the battalion n feb. 18,1943, Only 125 of Maine the next Day. The rest we killed wounded captured or altered As a Battle hardened War Lachine gave the untested . Army a bloody baptism. Quot i prayed that night. And i Haven t missed a prayer in 50 years. That s Tow scared i was Quot said Carlson who earned a Bronze Star from a foxhole in Tunisia on the Northern in of  we were Young and dumb. Realty Green Quot said Carlson 75, of Hanley Falls Minn. Quot it was nobody s fault really. We were outnumbered Utuma neutered and outsmarted. We Learned the hard Way. It was a living  the Battles in and around the Kasserine pass Between feb. 14 and feb. 22,1943, were the first clashes Between the americans and the germans. It was a disastrous debut. Of the 30,000 americans engaged under ii corps nearly one of four was a casualty a an estimated 300 a were killed 3,000 wounded and 3,000 missing or captured. The army also lost 183 tanks 104 half tracks 208 artillery pieces and 512 trucks and jeeps. The americans were pushed Back More than 50 Miles although they took Back their original positions four Days after the German Blitz ran out of steam. And tunisian bandits swarmed like vultures to the wreckage stripping gis of their clothes and valuables before medics could reach them. The germans had 1,000 men killed wounded or missing and lost 20 tanks. The germans had better guns and training. The 88 my guns on their new Mark i tanks could fire while out of Range of the 75 my . Sherman tanks. In one suicidal bid to Stop the panzers Only four of 50 tanks of a battalion or the 1st army regt survived a Battle. Messerschmidt and Stuka dive bombers had perfected air ground support and the German infantry had a terrible new weapon called a Nebels Erfert multiple launched. Rockets. Their commanders were Erwin Rommel the desert Fox of the afrika Korps and Gen. Jurgen von Arnim. By contrast one of the americans main weapons a 37 my gun was so ineffective it was called the Quot paint scratcher Quot and was removed from the . Arsenal. And so eventually were some ineffective officers. The Kasserine Battles developed As the Axis forces were being ejected from North Africa by the British 8th army s attack from the East. The americans British and French massed in Western Tunisia for a Spring offensive. But the germans struck first and aimed a blow at a thin american 50. Anniversary series line. On Valentine s Day feb. 14, 1943, scores of German panzers overran american defenders from Faid pass in the North to Hafsa in the South. The mauled survivors of _ Battles at places like Sidi Bou Zid and Bema were sent reeling 50 Miles Back to the Kasserine pass. For pvt. Raymond Puterbaugh his first fight against the germans was his last. Early on feb. 17, he and seven comrades of the 34th inf div were captured West of Faid. He spent the next 26 months As a prisoner of War. His twin brother Robert was in the same company but escaped to fight again not knowing for six months that his brother was alive. Quot there were times i thought i did t really accomplish much. Now that it s Over i feel i was fortunate. I came Home alive Quot said Puterbaugh 74, of Brookville Ohio. Quot i Don t soldiers of the 2nd in 6th inf 1st army div scan the sky for aircraft in feb. 1943 British troops in the trenches. Have any . The germans reached Kasserine on feb. 18 and captured it a Day later when the defences of the 19th combat engr in crumbled before artillery mortar tank and machine gunfire. Some retreating troops stepped on mines meant for the germans. Among the units thrown into the Kasserine breach was the 1st inf div a the big red one. And among them was Steve Franklin Phillips jr., a second lieutenant fresh from the Roth program at Clemson University in South Carolina. As Green As he was the 22-year-old Phillips was placed in charge of a heavy weapons platoon in the 26th inf regt dug in along a dry Creek bed in the Early hours of feb. 19. Quot we were brazenly ejected from our position. It was a debacle a baptism in blood Quot said Phillips who later Rose to the rank of colonel and fought in three wars. For him it was a Case of losing a Battle but winning a War. Quot we weren t the Only army that had to learn from its first Battles. We never forgot what they did to us at Kasserine pass. We proved ourselves not too much later. We got even with them Quot Phillips said. Even in defeat when some outfits Cut and ran the character and will to win emerged in the american fighting men. Those who lived through it returned to fight on different outcomes. One of the machine gunners in the big red one s 26th rat was pfc. John Gembel who volunteered for the army As a 16 year old looking to escape the Pennsylvania Coal Fields a Hazelton. Quot the germans were coming up that Road and nobody was stopping them it makes you think if you re going to survive to see another Day Quot said Gembel who later took part in the Sicily and Normandy invasions. Quot Kasserine was a Bitch but it did t break our morale. We never thought the germans were better than we were. We took a pounding but we reorganized. We thought we were going to get them and we did get them. We always thought we were going to  by feb. 20, under cover of dive bombers Rommel led armoured columns through the pass just outside Kasserine the Road forked North to Thala and Northwest to to Bessa. If the germans weren t stopped they would split the Allied forces and threaten Gen. Dwight d. A Isenhover s Headquarters in Algiers Algeria. But american artillery and British infantry stopped them. Three artillery battalions of the . 9th inf div made a four Day 777-mile forced March. Across the algerian desert and they took up defensive positions after dark on feb. 21. The 105 my howitzers supported British infantry that was dug in on the last line at Thala. With the germans Only 2,500 Yards away artillery tubes were lowered to a Flat trajectory and fired. After a Daylong Duel on feb. 22, the German Advance fizzled. On the same Day at Rebessa jittery americans settled Down and blocked German columns. The germans started retreating through Kasserine that night. Having failed to break through Rommel withdrew on feb. 23 and consolidated his positions East of Kasserine to face new threats form the British in the East. Maj. Gen. Lloyd r. Fredendall the . Ii corps commander was fired and sent Back to a training Center in the United states by Eisenhower. Ike replaced him with a Brash hard charging Cavalryman a George s. Patton. Under Patton the americans licked their wounds and welcomed the new guns tanks and planes Battle of Kasserine pass Ltd it. New German fences retreating trom defeat at i Alamein were met by Allied forces in Tunisia the americans British and French massed m Western Tunisia Tor a sprig offensive initially the nazi forces drove through tie lines at Kasserine pass but Success was Short lived of the 30,000 americans engaged under n corps nearly Ono of four wit a casualty an estimated 300 wars killed 3,000 wounded end 3,000 missing or captured. The army also lost 183 tanks. 104 half tracks 208 artillery pieces and 512 trucks and jeeps. The germans had 1,000 men killed wounded or missing and lost 20 tanks feb. 22 three i battalions of artillery from the . 9th inf div team with British infantry dig in on the last line of defense of Thala to Stop the germans. Jittery americans also Stop the German thrust below t6bessa. Erwin Rommel withdraws and within four Days old lines Are re established. F t Tunisia et23 i Alamein to feb. 20 with Rommel leading the columns germans push through Kasserine and drive in two directions at a Fork of the Road to Thala and t6bessa, trying to split the Allied Force and drive to Algiers Algeria. Z South tha second world War. Thanga of Fata streaming across the Atlantic to join them. Patton was on the offensive by March 16, telling his division commanders Quot if we Are not victorious let no one come Back  by May 13, the last remnants of germans and italians had either surrendered in Tunisia or pulled out of Africa. The american army that was bloodied at Kasserine pass Learned to fight and coordinate a cart Fox attacks with its French and British allies. It grew into the military machine that later fought in Sicily Italy in Normandy and in the drive across France into Germany War correspondent Ernie Pyle wrote that Kasserine painful and difficult As it had been was a rite of passage. Quot our predicament was damned humiliating. We lost a great Deal of equipment Many american lives and valuable time and territory a to say nothing of face Quot Pyle wrote. Quot we americans were so smug with our cockiness. We somehow Felt that just because we were americans we could whip our weight in wildcats. Without the War of Tunisia we would have been ill prepared to go on into the bigger wars ahead. We really learn such things Only by  Kasserine Veteran Kermit Carlson shows the Bronze Star he won. U. Gen. George s. Patton views a . Troops advancing in Tunisia in april 1943. Patton was sent in after the disaster at Kasserine pass. The stars and stripes the stars and stripes wednesday february 17, 1993