Page 253 - Il Mediterraneo quale elemento del Potere Marittimo - Atti 16-18 settembre 1996

THE NORTH AFRICAN CAMPAIGN, NOVEMBER 1942 · MAY 1943 239

again increased the volume of individuai cargoes, to 2300 tons per ship, compared
with 1300 tons in December, and 60 000 tons of fuel and stores arrived. Only six
outbound ships were sunk, bue elsewhere, at sea and in harbour, 23 ships engaged
in supporting che Tunisian traffic were sunk.
The German commanders in Tunisia were as ready as any generals in history
co fight to che last ship, and could only see che shortfall in what they regarded as
the absolute necessiti es for fighting their campaign. Hitler, no w chat the disaster
of Stalingrad was over, a t las c reacted co what h e sa w as failurres o n the part of
Kesselring and che ltalian Navy. Karl Donicz, recently appoinced CinC of the Ger-
man Navy, was nota deep admirer of the ltalian Navy and meeting Mussolini and
che Chief of Staff of the ltalian Navy in mid-March 1943, he was able to insist
on the creation of a German-led Naval Operations Division in Rome to assume
responsibility for the Tunisian traffic. Vice Admiral Friedrich Ruge, who had con-
siderable experience of directing convoy escort operations in norch-west Europe,
was soon appoinced and quickly realised that the problems in his new theatre were
not those of method or motivation, but of means - the freighters were coo few
in number and were being lost fascer than they could be replaced, as were cheir
escorts - seventeen destroyers and corvettes had been losc to enemy action in four
months and three had been so badly damaged chac they did not return to service
before the Armistice.
In practice, nothing could save che Axis armies in Norch Africa. The Allies
were closing che noose around Tunisia in overwhelming strength and if their mili-
tary talent was perhaps limited, the logistics support most certainly was not, with
nearly half a million tons of stores and fuel arriving every month. The Axis supply
organisation loaded more supplies into more ships during March 1943, bue less
(50 000 cons) got through than in February for thirteen ships were sunk on passage
and two were forced co turn back after sus~aining damage. Greater use was made
of landing craft, which transporced virtually ali vehicles and artillery bound for
Tunisia, and among che 37 ships which sailed during the month were nine une-
scorced German transports which relied on their relatively high speed of 14 knots
co get them across the Narrows under cover of darkness: this boldness was rewar-
ded for only one of them was sunk, by a mine.
The last Allied shipping losses occurred in late March 1943, when four loa-
ded merchant ships were sunk off the Algerian coast by air attack. This brought
the cotal casualties of che campaign co 42 troopships and freighters of 400 000 cons
sunk and 42 ships of 237 000 tons damaged. In Aprii, an average of 13 000 tons
of stores was being unloaded every day to support the final drive on Tunis and
on 17 April, the cargo unloaded reached exceeded 29 000 tons.
lt also exceeded ali Axis deliveries co Tunisia for the month of Aprii. Previous
losses and the intensive Allied bombing of the loading ports reduced che cargo de-
spatched co 48 000 cons and apart from the small German freighters, which conti-
nued to lead charmed lives, only five merchant ships reached Tunisia or Bizerta.