Djebel el Ank Pass - The Matrix Games version of West Front

The 1st US Infantry Division took Gafsa and Allied intelligence reported that Axis troops were at El Guettar and organized in strength at Djebel el Ank. Darby´s 1st Rangers Battalion immediately began moving through Gafsa toward El Guettar and occupied it. The troops of the Italian Centauro Division astride the Gafsa-Gabes road at Djebel el Ank Pass, on the northern branch. The plan developed required the 18th Infantry Regt. to attack along the south branch of the Gafsa-Gabes road and for the Rangers and the 26th Infantry Regt. to attack along the north branch. Djebel el Ank Pass was opened to the west like a funnel with rocky heights on both sides, and the Italians had barred its entrance with mines, barbed wire, and roadblocks and had covered its approaches with automatic weapons and antitank guns. An unsupported frontal attack on the pass would risk heavy casualties and a high likelihood of failure, but a frontal attack combined with a surprise Ranger attack from the rear would be more likely to succeed with fewer losses. The Rangers, had taken the unsuspecting Italians completely by surprise and while the Rangers were overrunning the Centauro Div, the 26th Infantry began moving into the pass. Forty-eight hours later the Germans 21 Pz e 15 Pz Div. launched a counterattack that culminated in the battle of El Guettar.