LTG Patton in North Africa, 30 March 1943

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This is a photo of Lt. General George S. Patton, Jr., Commander, II Corps, viewing troops south of El Guettar, Tunisia, 30 March 1943. Following Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa in November 1942, Patton was made Lieutenant General and placed in command of II Corps in Tunisia on 6 March 1943, after the American disaster at Kasserine Pass. He rapidly improved the performance of II Corps which then joined the British 1st Army in attacking the German Afrika Korps from the west. Patton's revitalized II Corps drove east into their flank, drawing enemy units from the south, thereby weakening the opposition to the simultaneous push by Montgomery's British Eighth Army from the east.

Maj. Gen. Omar N. Bradley, Patton's deputy at II Corps, succeeded Patton as commander on 15 April 1943 when Patton was moved to the upcoming Operation Husky, the campaign for Sicily.

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