When the British Army began the Battle of the Mareth Line in March 1943 the wing was shifted to the east. It was based at Ste-Marie du Zit until 11 April. It fought at the Battle of Wadi Akarit and lost three Ju 87s attacking artillery and armour Oued Zarga on 7 April. The group lost another three Ju 87s to the 20 April. Due to prohibitive losses it was moved to Reggie di Calabria, Italy with 14 remaining aircraft. III./StG 3 operations followed a similar pattern. From late February to March, it operated in the north, near to Sfax. The group was forced to operate in formations of two to three because of Allied air superiority. On 18 April the unit abandoned Tunisia with 18 aircraft for Sardinia. The base came under attack and from 27 to 30 April it returned to Germany having suffered heavy losses.