After the fall of Tunis and Bizerte, Axis troops began surrendering in such large numbers that they clogged roads, impeding the Allies’ mopping-up operations. In the second week of May enemy prisoners totaled over 275,000, many winding up at the Gromalia POW camp (shown here), four miles outside Tunis. When Axis generals began surrendering on May 9, 1943, the six-month Tunisia Campaign entered its final days. Victory in Tunisia did not come cheaply. Of 70,000 Allied casualties, the US Army lost 2,715 dead, 8,978 wounded, and 6,528 missing. At the same time, however, the Army gained thousands of seasoned officers, noncommissioned officers, and troops whose experience would prove decisive in subsequent campaigns. These seasoned soldiers would not have long to wait or far to go, for the next test was only two months and 150 miles away, the Italian island of Sicily and Operation HUSKY.
