Profiles of American Equipment: The M10 Helps Hold the Line in North Africa

Written by Will Armstrong, History Associates Incorporated

The M10 crews of the 899th Tank Destroyer Battalion had experienced a tough morning.  Before dawn, the veteran 10th Panzer Division began pummeling American positions around the Tunisian town of El Guettar, and as the advancing 899th hurried to join the fight, a forward group of panzers caught them by surprise.  Facing combat for the first time, the 899th paid a heavy price in the engagement that followed—seven of its M10s were lost.  Brig. Gen. Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., watching from his command post, lamented the 899th’s charge: “gallant but green.”

Yet on this day—March 23, 1943, just one month after the disastrous and morale-breaking American defeat at Kasserine Pass—the U.S. Army, including the green 899th, held the line.  The 10th Panzer never got past the 899th’s M10s, and as the smoke cleared it was the surviving German panzers that were pulling back.  The battle would continue until late afternoon, but the Germans were unable to break the American lines.  By nightfall the Germans were in retreat, and Americans celebrated their first American victory over Hitler’s army.

The 899th was the first to use the M10 tank destroyer in combat.  With its 3-inch gun, the General Motors-built M10 was designed to be faster and cheaper than a tank, yet able to take on any enemy armored vehicle.  Its true capabilities were more modest.  The M10 was mismatched against heavier German armor such as the Tiger tank, and its speed and low cost came at the price of limited armor protection.  Even so, the M10 was far superior to the Army’s other front-line tank destroyer in 1943, an M3 half-track converted to carry a 75mm cannon.  At El Guettar, in a defiant stand to the east of where the 899th fought, the 601st Tank Destroyer Battalion lost two thirds of its M3s. It soon received new M10s to replace its half-tracks.

The 601st and 899th together played a major role in the German defeat at El Guettar, and both would serve with distinction through the remainder of the war.  The M10 became the primary U.S. tank destroyer for most of World War II, and also saw service with the British, Canadians, and French.  Later in the war the M36 Jackson, an improved version with a 90mm gun, began to replace the older variant in U.S. service.

An M10 in Tunisia, March 1943. NARA, Photo 208-N-9126