Operation Strike
| Operation Strike | |||||||||
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| Part of the Tunisian campaign of the Second World War | |||||||||
Map showing Operation Strike 20 April to 13 May 1943 | |||||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 240,000 captured | |||||||||
Operation Strike (6–13 May 1943) was the last ground attack by the Allied forces of the First Army against the Italian and German forces in Tunis, Cape Bon and Bizerte, the last Axis bridgeheads in North Africa, during the Tunisian campaign of the Second World War. The offensive was launched only a week after the end of Operation Vulcan, in which the Axis forces had been severely weakened and hemmed in against the coast, but the allies were unable to break out.
Operation Strike was the follow up attack launched on 6 May. This time the Axis line was broken within 24 hours. Allied forces then streamed through and cut off various units. For the Axis, escape was impossible - on the following day Tunis fell to British forces and Bizerte fell to US troops. Axis forces were destroyed piecemeal, with massed surrenders taking place. Some fighting continued until the last Axis forces surrendered on 13 May 1943 bringing the total to around 250,000. Strike ended the North African campaign.