page_title: Battle of the Mareth Line
section_title: Casualties
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of the Mareth Line / Aftermath / Casualties
caption_attribution_description: English: The British Army in Tunisia 1943 A wounded soldier from the Durham Light Infantry shares a cigarette with a wounded German prisoner during the Mareth line battle, 22-24 March 1943.
context_page_description: The Battle of the Mareth Line or the Battle of Mareth was an attack in the Second World War by the British Eighth Army in Tunisia, against the Mareth Line held by the Italo-German 1st Army. It was the first big operation by the Eighth Army since the Second Battle of El Alamein ​4 ¹⁄₂ months previously. On 19 March 1943, Operation Pugilist, the first British attack, established a bridgehead but a break-out attempt was defeated by Axis counter-attacks. Pugilist established an alternative route of attack and Operation Supercharge II, an outflanking manoeuvre via the Tebaga Gap was planned. Montgomery reinforced the flanking attack, which from 26 to 31 March, forced the 1st Army to retreat to Wadi Akarit, another 40 mi back in Tunisia.
context_section_description: On 31 March, Operation Supercharge II was terminated, having cost the Eighth Army 4,000 casualties, many from the 50th Division and a large number of tanks; the New Zealand Corps lost 51 tanks and 945 men. The corps was disbanded and its elements were distributed between X and XXX corps. On 30 March, Montgomery sent the following message to Freyberg,
  My very best congratulations to NZ Corps and 10 Corps on splendid results achieved by the left hook. These results have led to the complete disintegration of the enemy resistance and the whole Mareth position. Give my congratulations to all your officers and men, and tell them how pleased I am with all they have done.
  — Montgomery
  The Axis forces, despite withdrawing in relatively good order, lost over 7,000 prisoners, of whom 2,500 were German. The 15th Panzer Division had suffered many losses, the 164th Light Afrika Division lost most of its weapons and vehicles. The 80th Infantry Division "La Spezia" suffered losses of nearly 50 percent and the 16th Infantry Division "Pistoia" was almost annihilated; several Italian divisions were amalgamated. The 1st Army withdrew in good order to Wadi Akarit.
caption: A captured German and a wounded British soldier share a cigarette after the battle
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