Fought by 50 men of the Faughs and three Churchills of the North Irish Horse, if this battle had not been won it may well have altered the course of the war. . View attachment Tangoucha.doc Cheers, Gerry
As the article points out - Longstop was indeed followed by an armoured onslaught of nearly 400 heavy Tanks of 21st and 25th Tank bdes plus two Armoured divisions of 6th and 7th AD's with another 400 Lighter Tanks so it's not too surprising that the jaws of the Germans dropped while having breakfast at the outdoor Tunis cafe's - to be rounded up by Two Infantry divisions and a Guards Bde - pretty scary stuff... Cheers
Gerry, Excellent...the NIH at their best. The Faughs and Skins did a pretty decent job too.. I attach a photo of Tanngoucha looking down towards the Medjerda valley from last year... best
Remembering today the exploits of 38th (Irish) Brigade and the North Irish Horse (and many other units) that led to the capture of Tanngoucha (Skins), Pt 622 (Faughs) and the village of Heidous (London Irish Rifles) 75 year ago (25th April 1943) and helped finally to open the road to Tunis... My father, CQMS Edmund O'Sullivan (2 LIR), remembered going into Heidous on the afternoon of 25th April 1943: “The Faughs and Skins had with difficulty and great bravery attained their objectives. In the early evening, E Company scrambled down from Bettiour and I followed immediately with my mules. It was eerie making our way by the light of the fires still burning in Heidous. As we entered it, all was silent and we passed lines of three or four dead London Irishmen led by an NCO with their weapons in front of them. I saw a sergeant leaning back against the wall of a hut. I did not recognise him. He had no head. We had taken Heidous, home to villagers who had scratched a living from the bare soil. It could not have been strategically important as it was only a small mound on the rear slope of Bettiour. Tanngoucha and Le Kefs had also all been taken. Longstop Hill, which commanded the road from Medjez el-Bab to Tebourba would be captured the next day after a hard fight.” Faugh a Ballagh ! A resend of a few photos taken recently from the area in March.. .