Allied armored casualties in Tunisia in early 1943

0:00 M3 Lee tank on fire with its side blown out

0:03 A pair of Churchill Mk III tanks of C Squadron North Irish Horse that got lost in the dark at Sedjenane on March 3rd 1943 and went over a cliff. A contemporary report by a Temporary Major Paul Welch describes the action:

"At 1900 hours, 1st March, three Troops C Squadron was ordered to support the 138th Brigade at Sedjenane. They ar­rived at Tamara at 0400 hours Tuesday morning. I had made a reconnaissance with the officer commanding Lincolnshires the night before, being under his command. His orders were to hold Sedjenane as a firm base. The enemy had infiltrated through the positions of the Forresters, 1st Commandos and the Durham Light Infantry and had driven them from their positions during Monday's fighting. The Colonel of the Lincolns asked me to dominate Sedjenane at first light and to support his infantry. I moved two Troops to the village and one Troop on to the Mansour Ridge to watch the left flank. All were in position by 0900 hours. The Troop dominating on the right of the road was in a bad position due to difficult ground and the Germans managed to infiltrate right up to this Troop. On the whole, however, the day was quiet and the Germans were held. At dusk the Squadron was ordered to withdraw to harbour. The right-hand Troop when retiring got caught by the dark owing to pulling out a carrier. As a result two tanks, after taking a wrong turning, went over a small cliff by a mine pit shaft."

0:08 M3 Lee tank that appears to have been shot on the move and came to a halt after losing its left track. This is possibly the same vehicle at the start of the clip after it suffered an internal explosion when its own ammunition cooked off. Of note is the counterweight visible on the barrel of the 75mm gun, indicating it was armed with the earlier M2 model.

0:13 A pair of M4 Sherman tanks of 2nd Battalion 1st Armored Regiment knocked out at Sidi bou Zid in February 1943 with #17 closest to the camera and #9 in the background. While seemingly undamaged from this angle, both have been knocked out by German gunfire. #9 appears to have been shot through the mantlet with a 5cm shell.

0:16 M4 Sherman tank 3015037 "BIGGIN" with turret blown off and hull blown open. There is evidence of two impacts to the right side of the hull as well as a penetrating hit to the turret. In other views of the vehicle it also appears to have been shot through the bow gunner's hatch and transmission housing This level of damage was almost certainly the result of the use of demolition charges to prevent the tank from being recovered and repaired. The fluid nature of the fighting in North Africa meant that it was not always possible to retain control of the battlefield even if one was nominally victorious.

0:22 M4 Sherman tank struck by an armor piercing shell that went clean through the the side of the turret. German 5cm tank and anti-tank gun would have comfortably defeated the armor at this point from ranges beyond 1000 meters, while the long-barreled KwK 40 then arming current Panzer IV models could do the same from double that distance.