page_title: Military career of Dwight D. Eisenhower
section_title: Tunisia Campaign
hierarchical_section_title: Military career of Dwight D. Eisenhower / World War II / Operations in the Mediterranean, 1942–1943 / Tunisia Campaign
context_page_description: The military career of Dwight D. Eisenhower began in June 1911, when Eisenhower took the oath as a cadet at the United States Military Academy at West Point. He graduated from West Point and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army in June 1915, in the same class as Omar Bradley. He rose through the ranks over the next thirty years and became one of the most important Allied generals of World War II, being promoted to General of the Army in 1944. Eisenhower retired from the military after winning the 1952 presidential election, though his rank as General of the Army was restored by an act of Congress in March 1961.
  After graduating from the United States Military Academy in 1915, Eisenhower was assigned to the 19th Infantry Regiment at Fort Sam Houston. He served in the continental United States throughout World War I, ending the war as the commander of a battalion that trained tank crews. After the war, he served as part of a Transcontinental Motor Convoy that traveled across the continental United States. In 1922, he was transferred to the Panama Canal Zone, where he served under General Fox Conner.
context_section_description: Following the success of Operation Torch, the Allies launched an invasion of Tunisia, which the Germans had taken control of during Operation Torch. Bolstered by superior tanks and air power, as well as favorable weather, the German forces established a strong defense of the city of Tunis, leading to a stalemate in the campaign. The slow progress in Tunisia displeased many leading American and British officials, and General Harold Alexander, the head of the British Near East Command, was appointed as Eisenhower's deputy commander. At the same time, Eisenhower was promoted to the rank of general, making him the twelfth four-star general in U.S. history. In February 1943, German forces launched a successful attack on General Lloyd Fredendall's II Corps at the Battle of Kasserine Pass. The II Corps collapsed and Eisenhower relieved Fredendall of command, but Allied forces prevented a German breakthrough. After the battle, the Allies continually built up their forces and slowly ground down German defenses. 250,000 Axis soldiers surrendered in May 1943, bringing an end to the North African Campaign.
caption: General Eisenhower and President Roosevelt in Sicily, 1943
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