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	==See also==		==See also==
	~~{{Portal\|World War II}}~~
	* [[North African campaign timeline]]		* [[North African campaign timeline]]

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{{Short description|1943 final battles of the Tunisia Campaign in the Second World War}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Operations Vulcan and Strike
| partof = the [[Tunisia Campaign]] of the [[World War II|Second World War]]
| image = The British Army in Tunisia 1943 NA2733.jpg
| image_size = 300px
| caption = British troops advance through Bizerte in the final offensive, 8 May 1943.
| date = Vulcan: 22 April – 6 May 1943 Strike: 6–12 May 1943
| place = [[Tunis]], [[Cap Bon]], and [[Bizerte]], [[Tunisia]]
|coordinates = {{Coord|34|N|09|E|display=INLINE,title}}
| casus =
| territory =
| result = Allied victory
| combatant1 = {{flag|United Kingdom}} {{flag|United States|1912}}
| combatant2 = {{flagcountry|Fascist Italy (1922–1943)}} {{flagcountry|Nazi Germany}}
| commander1 = {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[Kenneth Anderson (British Army officer)|Kenneth Anderson]] {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} [[Brian Horrocks]] {{flagicon|United States|1912}} [[Omar Bradley]]
| commander2 = {{flagicon|Fascist Italy (1922–1943)}} [[Giovanni Messe]] {{flagicon|Nazi Germany}} [[Hans-Jürgen von Arnim]]
| strength1 =
| strength2 =
| casualties1 =
| casualties2 = 240,000 captured
| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Tunisia Campaign}}{{Campaignbox North Africa}}
}}

'''Operation Vulcan''' (22 April – 6 May 1943){{sfn|Chant|1986|loc="Vulcan", p. 326}} and '''Operation Strike''' (6–12 May 1943){{sfn|Chant|1986|loc="Strike", pp. 266–267}} were the final ground attacks by the [[Allies of World War II|Allied forces]] against the [[Kingdom of Italy|Italian]] and [[Wehrmacht|German forces]] in [[Tunis]],{{sfn|Williams|1999|p=105}} [[Cape Bon]], and [[Bizerte]], the last [[Axis powers|Axis]] toeholds in [[North Africa]], during the [[Tunisia Campaign]] of the [[World War II|Second World War]].{{sfn|Chant|1986|loc="Vulcan", p. 326}}

==Background==
''[[Generalfeldmarschall]]'' [[Erwin Rommel]] believed that the Axis position in Tunisia was untenable, and he had recommended the evacuation of all German troops to Italy, where he believed they could be more useful. His advice was rejected by [[Adolf Hitler]]. In April 1943, a major Allied air force effort ([[Operation Flax]]) had cut off Axis supplies to [[North Africa]]. [[II Corps (United States)|U.S. II Corps]], commanded by [[Major general (United States)|Major General]] [[Omar Bradley|Omar Nelson Bradley]], surrounded the last defenders at [[Enfidha|Enfidaville]], ending the Axis effort in North Africa. [[Operation Retribution (1943)|Operation Retribution]] and the control of the air and of the sea prevented any large-scale evacuation of Axis troops to Italy. The initial offensive was codenamed ''Vulcan''.

==Operations==
===Vulcan===
The fighting was costly against German units in well-prepared and dug-in defences. In the advance on Tunis, the British [[4th Infantry Division (United Kingdom)|4th Infantry Division]] ([[IX Corps (United Kingdom)|British IX Corps]], [[Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom)|Lieutenant-General]] [[Brian Horrocks]]) was opposed by German paratroops (''[[Fallschirmjager]]'') of the elite [[Fallschirm-Panzer Division 1 Hermann Göring|Hermann Göring Parachute Division]].{{citation needed|date=December 2022}} At Cactus Far, the British infantry was faced by extensive defensive fire from well-concealed German paratroopers.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}} [[Churchill tank]]s of the [[Royal Tank Regiment|12th Royal Tank Regiment]] ([[21st Army Tank Brigade|21st Tank Brigade]]), advanced without infantry support and the tanks were assaulted by the defenders using [[Molotov cocktail]]s and sticky "teller" anti-tank mines.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}} Twelve tanks were destroyed and in some cases, their crews were rescued from the burning wrecks by the Germans.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

===Strike===
On 30 April it was realized that a revision was necessary to achieve success. The revised final phase of the assault on Tunis was codenamed Strike and launched six days later. On that day, the British [[First Army (United Kingdom)|First Army]] (Lieutenant-General [[Kenneth Anderson (British Army officer)|Kenneth Anderson]]), took Tunis and American troops reached [[Bizerte]]. The German commander, General [[Hans-Jürgen von Arnim]], finally surrendered on 12 May.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.thewarillustrated.info/156/i-was-there-how-von-arnim-surrendered-at-last.asp|title=I Was There! - How Von Arnim Surrendered at Last - The War Illustrated|date=11 June 1943|website=www.thewarillustrated.info|language=en|access-date=2017-07-30}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
On 13 May, all remaining Axis forces in Tunisia, under the command of Marshal [[Giovanni Messe]], surrendered unconditionally. Messe had, with Mussolini's approval, tried to negotiate an "honourable surrender" the previous day, but this had been rejected. Earlier in the morning he was promoted to the rank of field marshal but the Allies would not accept anything but an unconditional surrender and threatened to resume their attacks, which had been halted the day before. At 12:20 hours Messe gave the orders. He and the remaining German commander, [[Kurt Freiherr von Liebenstein|Kurt von Liebenstein]], surrendered late in the day.{{sfn|Rolf|2015|p=279}} By the close of the operation, nearly 240,000 German and Italian troops had been captured.

==See also==
{{Portal|World War II}}
* [[North African campaign timeline]]

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist|30em}}
===Bibliography===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |title=The Encyclopedia of Codenames of World War II |publisher=Routledge |year=1986 |first=Christopher |last=Chant}}
* {{cite book |title=The Bloody Road to Tunis: Destruction of the Axis Forces in North Africa, November 1942–May 1943 |first=David |last=Rolf |year=2015 |publisher=Frontline Books}}
* {{cite book |last=Williams |first=Mary. H |title=Special Studies: Chronology 1941–1945 United States Army in World War II |year=1999 |publisher=Government Printing Office |location=Washington, DC |isbn=978-0-16-001876-3}}
{{refend}}

{{World War II}}

[[Category:Tunisian campaign]]
[[Category:May 1943 events]]
[[Category:1943 in Tunisia]]
[[Category:1943 in military history]]

Operations Vulcan and Strike - Revision history

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