[British Armed Forces]. The First Divisional Artillery Tunisia 1943 "Banana Ridge".

€ 450,00

Scarce account of the 1943 battle at "Banana Ridge" in Tunisia, involving the German operation "Fliederblüte" (Lilac Blossom), a spoiling attack against British positions. In the early hours of 21 April, the Germans attacked "Banana Ridge" about 8 km to the east of Medjez el Bab on the Medjerde river. However, British intelligence had learned of the plan, and suitable preparations had therefore been made to receive the attack, but nonetheless there was sharp fighting, and some danger to British artillery before the German attack was beaten off after suffering more than 300 casualties.

The present report gives a detailed description of the British response to the German attack, acknowledging that "during the battle, each hour was so packed with incident, each unit faced with so many trials that a coherent description of the sequence of events is almost impossible". Curiously, it claims that many German soldiers readily surrendered without putting up much of a fight: "It appeared that the men of the Division Hermann Goering needed little persuasion to convince them that England was an infinitely better place than Germany" (p. 7).

The plan of Banana Ridge shows the British positions and the First Division Headquarters as well as nearby streets and the Medjez railway station.

Contemporary ownership to front cover ("A. Riley"). Some marginal tears; a little creased. Perforated. Intended for private circulation only, a circumstance adding to the work's rarity. No library copies traceable; a single copy is held at the Imperial War Museum.