Stalemate at Maknassy Pass - The Matrix Games version of West Front

Maknassy Pass, 260km SSW of Tunis, Tunisia: [Best played as Allied] After the poor American performance during the February battles around Kasserine, Eisenhower looked for a new commander to energize the US II Corps. That man was General George S. Patton Jr. By mid-March, Patton had "fired up" the various units of his new command and II Corps had recovered the ground lost and pushed east to El Guettar and Maknassy. While Montgomery and the British 8th Army continued to pound the Mareth Line in late March, Patton was given permission to prepare a raiding force to drive through the Axis rear from Maknassy and seize the enemy supply dumps along the coast near Mahares. Patton was eager but first he had to deal with the German blocking force holding the hills above Maknassy Pass, which controlled the roads east. Colonel Stack's Combat Command C/1st Armored Division and portions of Combat Team 60 made an initial attempt to clear the pass on 23 March but were repulsed by elements of Kampfgruppe Lang. On the 24th an even larger attack was made to break the stalemate and open the vital route to the sea.