ABSTRACT
Mcquillin tried to pick up the pieces. At six o’clock on Sunday evening, February 14, he instructed all units to recover during the hours of darkness as many vehicles as possible from the battle area. Though the Americans had every expectation that the Germans would press their advantage, Ziegler stayed at Sidi bou Zid. Arnim, who preferred to press farther north against Fondouk and Pichon and who was thinking of recovering the 10th Panzer Division, approved Ziegler’s caution. Fredendall objected because the absence of the French would make the remaining Americans too weak to resist a German attack. The retirement from Gafsa seemed to bear out the wild stories of catastrophe, and some troops who anticipated a continuing pullback to Tebessa began to destroy stockpiles of materiel in the Feriana-Thelepte area. The withdrawal from Gafsa strengthened Fredendall’s right flank, but the loss of Sidi bou Zid prompted Anderson to consider the possible loss of Sbeitla.
