page_title: 78th Infantry Division (United Kingdom)
section_title: Tunisian Campaign
hierarchical_section_title: 78th Infantry Division (United Kingdom) / History / Tunisian Campaign
caption_attribution_description: English: The British Army in Tunisia 1942 Men of the 6th Royal West Kent Regiment on patrol with a dog, used to carry messages and for guard duties, December 1942.
context_page_description: The 78th Infantry Division, also known as the Battleaxe Division, was an infantry division of the British Army, raised during World War II that fought, with great distinction, in Tunisia, Sicily and Italy from late 1942–1945.
context_section_description: Thereafter the division, assigned mainly to Lieutenant General Charles Allfrey's V Corps, had a prominent role in the Tunisian Campaign, gaining an excellent reputation. In December 1942 Major Wallace Le Patourel of the 2nd Battalion, Hampshire Regiment was awarded the 78th Division's first Victoria Cross (VC) of the war.
  In February 1943 the 1st Infantry Brigade (Guards) was exchanged for the 38th (Irish) Infantry Brigade of the 6th Armoured Division. The 78th was to remain with this composition for the rest of the war. The division participated in the final stages of Operation Ochsenkopf and the subsequent operations, including the capture of Longstop Hill in April, which eventually led to the end of the campaign in Tunisia in mid-May, with nearly 250,000 Axis soldiers surrendering. It was during the capture of Longstop that the 78th Division gained its second VC of the war, belonging to Major John Anderson, Commanding Officer (CO) of the 8th Battalion, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.
  With the end of hostilities in North Africa the 78th Division participated in the Victory Parade in Tunis and had a rest after nearly six months of continuous fighting. The First Army was disbanded soon afterwards, and the 78th Division was transferred to the veteran British Eighth Army, commanded by General Sir Bernard Montgomery.
caption: Men of the 6th Battalion, Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment on patrol with a dog, used to carry messages and for guard duties, Tunisia, December 1942.
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