Aspects of the event
Description
On 27 February 1943, Kampfgruppe Lang drove south from their victory at Sidi N'sir toward Beja. They were attacked by artillery and aircraft while travelling along the Hunt's Gap valley, and made slow progress. Meanwhile, the British were hurriedly preparing a defence east of Kzar Mezouar Station.
On Sunday the 28th, about ten Pz.4 got into combat with British Churchills. Tigers waiting further back along the road were bombed. Intense fighting ensued, with the German tanks trapped on the road by rain, mud and minefields.
These photos all show the "Tiger Graveyard" where, according to a British map of the Hunt's Gap area, artillery hit a group of German tanks. A British account of the battle suggests that this happened on the evening of the 28th, with the Germans abandoning these tanks after 30 minutes of bombardment; though one last Tiger became bogged down here on 2 March. 3 more Tigers were destroyed nearby.
British sources state that the Royal Engineers demolished these tanks on 1 March. But the Germans also demolished some of the tanks. On 4 March, a German report stated "The 5 definitely lost Pz.VI are all exploded at the front line, so that the enemy cannot tow them away." They demolished two more Tigers that night.
Some of the German situation reports are still available. The 501 battalion had lost 2 Tigers before the start of Operation Ochsenkopf, therefore they had 18 remaining. They reported their strength on 1 March, saying that they had 15 usable Tigers, one more in the workshop (presumably Tiger 221/821) and two total losses. Those two must be casualties of this battle and must include Tiger 142. But that report was highly optimistic. Tigers were already stuck on this battlefield that would never be recovered.
The battle group was in retreat from Hunt's Gap by the 4th of March, and had apparently taken stock of their Tigers. The report for that day admitted that only 3 Tigers were serviceable. It did not mention losses. Two days later, their superiors (Army Group Africa) were demanding more details of the disaster.
Location
in Google MyMaps
Photos
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The URL of this event
http://tiger1.info/event/4-Tigers-Panzer-graveyard-Hunts-Gap