ABSTRACT
Rommel’s long wait on Thursday, the 18th, for authority to continue the attack gave the Allied forces an important day of respite, a lull that was used to good advantage on all echelons. Many commanders lacked specific missions, and some felt their troops slipping out of control. Everyone was extremely fatigued. The relaxation of the German pressure gave time to restore some kind of personal order that spread cohesion among the men. The 9th US infantry division would follow from Oran as quickly as transportation could be found. And logisticians were scheduling shipments totaling almost one hundred tanks from dispersed locations in Algeria. Brand-new American tanks had recently arrived to re-equip the British 6th armoured division, which was to turn over its Valentines to the French. A total of 241 Shermans had reached North Africa late in January, and fifty-four diesel-powered tanks came during the second week of February.
