US II Corps in North Africa, Relief of Fredendall

do we know who took over command of 2 corps after patton,in tunisia.cheers,lee.

 

thanks jeff,do you happen to know when,because patton would i presume would need quite some time to plan the sicily invasion.yours,lee.

 

does anyone know who took over direectly after fredenhall was given the boot?,what date was fredenhall sacked?,what date did his sucessor take command?,cheers.

 

Patton offcially took over from Fredenhall. Robert Harmmon was the defacto comander during the latter half of the 'Kasserine Pass' battles. Eisenhower sent him to investigate the deteriorating situation and gave him orders to relieve Fredenhall and take over if necessary. Harmmon did not formally releive Fredenhall, but instead issued several key orders to the Corps staff, then reported back to Eisenhower after several days. Ike then appointed Patton commander and Bradley his deputy, making it clear that Patton would soon return to the Operation Husky planning after a few weeks. Pattons 1st Armored Corps HQ had previously been part of the planning staff fpr the US portion of Operation Husky

 

So if Ike relieved fredenhall,that means Ike was in command.is that correct?.

 

In June 1942, Eisenhower was appointed Commanding General, European Theater of Operations United States Army (ETOUSA) and was based in London. Prior to that he was assigned to the US Army General Staff in Washington under General Marshall. In November 1942, he was appointed Supreme Commander Allied Forces of the North African Theater of Operations. In February 1943, his authority was extended as commander of AFHQ in the North African area to include all Allied forces, including the British 8th Army, commanded by General Montgomery. Late in 1943 Ike was appointed by FDR to be Surpreme Commander Allied Expeditionary Forces instead of General Marshall.

So to answer your question if Ike was in command when Fredenhall was fired, I'd have to say yes he was.

Inspired by wiki....

 

Thanks for clearing that up.Most sites put Gen.K.e.n.Anderson in command of the American forces in Tunisia,under the first army.cheers.

 

The US 2nd Corps which comprised the the 1st, 3rd, 9th, and 34th Infantry Divisions and also the 1st and 2nd Armored Divisions (a very big corps!) was assigned to the British 1st Army under General Anderson. In turn, 1st Army was under Ike, including Fredenhall. Ike obviously stepped out of the chain of command when he sacked Fredenhall, but being the HMFIC has it's priviledges. Otherwise it would've ruffled feathers and complicated the matter if Anderson did it don't you think? I think the right thing was done, although a bit late.

 

I think I'll go along with that man,but I wish the web sites should make it clear that Ike did command an all be it large u.s corps in Tunisia,before patton,Bradley and Alexander .

 

It is a not too clear set-up. Seems that on paper that it belonged to Anderson and 1st Army, but with some degree of control of Ike (after Kasserine). That's my assessment anyways.

 

I read pretty much the same thing in the past, but couldn't place it. An Army at Dawn does sound familiar though. It's been awhile since I read it, the early 90s or so.

 

Cheers Gents,I reckon your assessment is smack on.I think this is a very good discussion that I've enjoyed very much,Lee.

 

Same here friend, glad to help. Now I'll be heading for Barnes and Noble to see if I can track down a copy of An Army at Dawn on my next stretch of days off.

 

okie dokie

 

I think I'll get that book too,cheers for the info and heads up.lee.

 

After February 16, the OOB was:

AFHY (Eisenhower)
15th Army Group (Alexander)
1st British Army (Anderson)
II U.S. Corps (Fredendall (till 6 March), Patton (till 16 April) and Bradley (till 2 September - he commanded it in Sicily as well)

II U.S. Corps answered directly to Alexander during Patton's and Bradley's tenures. Above is correct - Alexander suggested to Ike that Fredendall should have been fired, but he didn't officially ask for Fredendall's relief. Ernest Harmon recommended the relief of Fredendall, and Patton took over. Bradley was AFHQ's "eyes and ears" at II Corps HQ, but Patton would not countenance Ike's spy so he called AFHQ and got Bradley reassigned as his deputy commander. (Truscott I think took over Bradley's "official spy" role; Everett Hughes and John Lucas did this at times as well.)