ARNIM, HANS-JURGEN
ment pouring into the continent, they were
probably doomed anyway.
The attack kicked off as planned on Febru-
ary 14, 1943, with Arnim striking from the
north while Rommel advanced from the
south. In both instances, the green, untrained
Americans were soundly thrashed at Kasser-
ine Pass and elsewhere. But as Allied resis-
tance stiffened, Rommel requested reinforce-
ments from the Fifth Panzer Army, which
could have decisively smashed the Ameri-
cans. Arnim, however, flatly refused to come:
He had no intention of furthering the renown
of a man he detested. In fact, it took a direct
order from Kesselring—who had flown in
from Italy to personally rebuke the recalci-
trant officer—before Arnim would send Rom-
mel any reinforcements or supplies. Conse-
quently, Allied forces in Tunisia were roughly
handled, but they escaped intact. By March,
Rommel’s declining health necessitated his
removal to Italy, and Arnim became com-
mander of a new force, designated Army
Group Africa, with orders from Hitler to hold
out to the last. Arnim, badly outnumbered in
tanks and aircraft and almost totally unsup-
plied, realized his days were numbered. But
like a true Prussian knight, he determined to
make his last stand a valiant one.
Over the next two months the Germans
fought splendidly in the face of superior odds
and dwindling supplies. On several occasions,
units under Arnim and Hasso von Manteuf-
felcaught and severely punished American
and British columns straying too close to Ger-
man lines. But Arnim’s tanks were so low on
fuel that the Germans began distilling
Tunisian wine to obtain some. Eventually, the
general had no recourse but to ensconce his
troops at Tunis and await the Allied on-
slaught. By mid-May, Eisenhower and a new
general, George S. Patton, were hammering
away at paper-thin German defenses while Al-
lied aircraft bombed and strafed every ship in
the harbor. At one point, British warplanes at-
tacked an Italian warship carrying 700 British
prisoners of war. Arnim hastily cabled British
Gen. Harold Alexander, apprised him of the
situation, and the attack was suspended. This
chivalrous intervention spared several hun-
dred British lives, and afterward Alexander
personally thanked the old Prussian. By the
time Arnim surrendered 350,000 men on May
12, 1943, the German presence in North Africa
vanished forever. He had fought exceedingly
well, but, outnumbered and unsupplied by su-
periors too cowardly to reproach Hitler, the
best he could do was to honorably surrender.
Harold subsequently cabled Prime Minister
Winston Churchill, declaring, “We are masters
of the North African shores.”
Arnim was subsequently taken to England,
the highest-ranking German prisoner after
Rudolph Hess. The British were painfully po-
lite to their distinguished captive, housing
him in a comfortable cottage and even letting
the old general congratulate his daughter on
her wedding day by telegram. Arnim was fi-
nally freed in 1947, but his home in Prussia
was in the Soviet sphere and had been confis-
cated by the communists, so he resettled in
West Germany. Crusty, proud “Dieter” died in
Bad Wildungen on September 1, 1962. His
squabble with Rommel was a serious blot on
an otherwise meritorious career, but this gal-
lant anachronism fought with courage and
humanity—to the great credit of German
arms.See also
Hitler, Adolf; Kesselring, Albert; Manteuffel, Hasso von;
Rommel, Erwin;Bibliography
Barnett, Correlli, ed. Hitler’s Generals.New York: Grove
Weidenfield, 1989; Blumenson, Martin. Kasserine
Pass: Rommel’s Bloody, Climactic Battle for
Tunisia. New York: Cooper Square Press, 2000;
Chant, Christopher, ed. Hitler’s Generals and Their
Battles.London: Salamander Books, 1977; Edwards,
Roger. Panzer: A Revolution in Warfare, 1939–1945.
London: Arms and Armour, 1989; Lucas, James S.
Hitler’s Commanders. New York: Cooper Square
Press, 2000; Lucas, James S. Panzer Army Africa.
San Rafael, CA: Presidio Press, 1978; Rolf, David.The