Tunis Field Battalions Tunis Field Battalions were German provisional infantry battalions active in 1942 - 43 in North Africa . Five Tunis Field Battalions were created between 9 November and 15 November 1942 by renaming a like number of " Afrika Marsch - Bataillone " ( Africa Replacement Draft Battalions ) that were originally intended to be used to refill the ranks of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel ' s battered Africa Corps . These five battalions , Tunis Field Battalions T1 , T2 , T3 , T4 and T5 , were instead airlifted from Sicily beginning on 10 November 1942 to help defend the Bizerte and Tunis Bridgeheads in Vichy France - controlled Tunisia . Not originally conceived as combat units , intended only as replacement pools composed of a variety of specialist as well as combat troops , these Tunis Field Battalions lacked heavy weapons , vehicles , field kitchens and communications equipment . Nevertheless , in the days following the Allied Landings in Northwest Africa ( Operation Torch ) that began on 8 November 1942 , these units , joined by Luftwaffe paratroopers , were all the German High Command had available to seize Tunisian bridgeheads before the Allies got there first . Having won the race the Tunis , the Germans then began protracted defensive warfare in the mountains of western Tunisia , where the Tunis Field Battalions found themselves incorporated into other German divisions that were lacking infantry , including the 10th Panzer Division , the 334th Infantry Division , and the Hermann Göring Division . Two Tunis Field Battalions , T3 and T4 , were incorporated into Division von Broich / von Manteuffel , a provisional infantry division formed from a variety of Fallschirmjäger ( paratrooper ) units , Italian infantry , and other units scraped together from Rommel ' s Army . For most of their short service life , these battalions were assigned to Jürgen von Arnim ' s Fifth Panzer Army until all were forced to capitulate in Tunisia by 13 May 1943 . List of Tunis Field Battalions formed from Africa Draft Replacement Battalions . Tunis Field - Battalion T1 , assigned to Division von Broich / von Manteuffel , formed from Africa Draft Replacement Battalion A16 Tunis Field - Battalion T2 , assigned to Kampfgruppe Pfeiffer , Panzergrenadier Regiment 104 , of the 21st Panzer Division , formed from Africa Draft Replacement Battalion A18 Tunis Field - Battalion T3 , assigned to Panzergrenadier Regiment 160 of Division von Broich / von Manteuffel , formed from Africa Draft Replacement Battalion A20 Tunis Field - Battalion T4 , assigned to Panzergrenadier Regiment 160 of Division von Broich / von Manteuffel , formed from Africa Draft Replacement Battalion A21 Tunis Field - Battalion T5 ( aka Battalion Mickley ) , assigned to Grenadier Regiment 756 , of the 334th Infantry Division , later Kampfgruppe Schmid of the Hermann Göring Division , formed from Africa Draft Replacement Battalion A23 Battalion Commanders . Tunis Field Battalion T1 : " Rittmeister " von Willich Tunis Field Battalion T2 : " Oberleutnant " Dieter Krüger - Haye , succeeded by " Major " Knösel February 1943 Tunis Field Battalion T3 : " Hauptmann " Michael Bürgermeister , relieved of command for negligence on 5 March 1943 by " Hauptmann " Lerch , on the direct orders of " Generalmajor " Hasso von Manteuffel Tunis Field Battalion T4 : " Hauptmann " Karl Koch Tunis Field Battalion T5 : " Hauptmann " Karl Mickley Prominent Members of Tunis Field Battalions . There were several members of Tunis Field Battalions that were singled out for high awards for valor and performance of duty in adverse conditions . The list includes : " Hauptmann " ( Captain ) Karl Koch , who was awarded the German Cross in Gold on 10 May 1943 for his service as the commander , Tunis Field - Battalion T4 " Leutnant " ( 2nd Lieutenant ) Wilhelm Herr , commander of 4th Company , Tunis Field - Battalion T5 , who was mentioned in dispatches and awarded the " Ehrenblattspange " ( Honor Roll Clasp ) on 8 April 1943 " Stabsfeldwebel " ( Sergeant Major ) Ewald Mrusek , who was awarded the Knight ’ s Cross for heroism while serving as a platoon leader in 2nd Company , Tunis Field - Battalion T1 on 24 March 1943 " Hauptmann " Eduard - Heinrich Kiefer , a Luftwaffe officer , who was awarded the Knight ’ s Cross on 18 May 1943 for his service as the commander , 4th Armored Reconnaissance Company , Tunis Field - Battalion T5 , although by that time , Kiefer was in a POW camp . Incidentally , after the war Kiefer went into show business in Germany , changed his name to “ Til Kiwe ” and starred in a number of German movies and television shows .