British preparatory attack on the Mareth Line

16th March 1943: A vivid account from an Artillery officer going forward with the infantry for a night attack

The British were preparing for a major attack in Tunisia. A Valentine tank carries infantry during an exercise, 12 March 1943

Infantry and Valentine tanks advance during an exercise, 12 March 1943.

In Tunisia the Mareth line was hotting up as the 8th Army made preparations for their biggest attack since el Alamein. A series of raids and probing attacks were being mounted, mainly at night.

General Montgomery with Lt-Col A C Clive of the Grenadier Guards in a turretless Stuart command tank, 8 March 1943.

For the gunners in the Artillery such attacks meant long hours of hard physical labour feeding the guns. Then the main hazard was counter-battery fire from the German guns or possibly a bombing attack. For the infantry going forward there were all these dangers plus plenty more.

Then the fun really started. They were shelling that valley quite hard. Once we were lying flat and if you imagine we were the centre dot of a domino 5, we had 4 all round us about 20-25 yards away. They don't whistle when they get close but make a kind of screaming hiss which is very frightening.