The fight for Tunisia in 42

So in reading an article on German Replacement Battalions (link below) for North Africa, I realized, very belatedly, that the French General Barre could have changed the course of the war considerably by stationing troops in numbers (battalion strength, or greater) around the Tunisian airfields. This pre-supposes that he decides that the Germans will almost certainly take Vichy France now that the Allies are in Morocco and heading for Tunisia, leaving him with the choice of fighting the Germans to keep them out or doing nothing, which was his OTL course.
I can see him putting men around the airfields because of the known danger of German airborne attacks, re-activating whatever aircraft he can and sending troops to the border to delay an German advances into Tunisia. He had very limited resources, but OTOH, its a long way for German airborne units to fly over.
Doing this will greatly crimp the Axis efforts in N. Africa, with Allied air and surface units being able to interdict any efforts to make the run to N. Africa. The Axis armies there will be destroyed sooner, OTOH, US units get less combat experience, and it might mean a smaller haul of Axis prisoners.
How would his deciding to fight affect the course of the war?
 
One of the problems Barre was saddled with were contradictory orders from Darlans HQ. They changed multiple times from the 6th through 10th Nov.

That said Barre was if not pro Allied then sufficiently anti German. He did not want the Axis on his turf, he had prepared his command (the Tunis Division) as best he could. He had even stashed food and ammunition in the towns west of Tunis, and his staff had planned and exercised fighting withdraws in case the Axis came in strength.

How successful Barre might have been really depends on how swiftly the Axis could put together a air assault on Tunis. They were preparing for yet another try at Malta, so some of the wherewithal was in place. Barres defense problem is complicated by the presence of several semi paved and unpaved satellite airfields to the all weather air base adjacent to Tunis. His 'division' was not large enough to cover everything. A larger problem was Barres counterpart commanding the Bizerte Division rolled over and surrendered his armory, ammunition depot, and comm center to the first arriving Axis soldiers flying into the airfields. His soldiers were ordered to their barracks & a few days later disarmed by the Axis occupiers. This left Barres position in Tunis outflanked, tho not 100% untenable

OTL Barre withdrew his ground force in stages from the airfields, port, & then from the Tunis suburbs to the hills. He finally decided to make a stand at Medjeb al Bab, a critical crossroads, and crossing of the Medjeb River. The arrival of 'Blade Force' a mixed US British brigade assisted his decision, and there were some small US/Brit parachute ops seizing the small airfields in the Tunisian interior. Barres force defended the Medjeb River position for over a day, but lost the critical bridge & town center to a surprise night assault by a combined group of crack Italian and German battalions.

I don't have the exact dates here but will try to work out a time line when I get back to my library.
 
Thats one version. Admiral Esteva was the senior commander in Tunisia & ordered withdrawal from the airfields on the 10 November, a day after the Axis airborne started disembarking. Barre ignored orders that would have disarmed his soldiers. The Naval and Air Force personnel and some Army not under Barres command surrendered control of their weapons and went back to their barracks. According to Atkinson 'Army At Dawn' communications with Darlans HQ had become problematic and Esteva was getting contradicting orders from Vichy as well. 11 November Operation ANTON was ordered and on the 12th meaningful orders from France effectively ceased. The Axis OB on the ground was changing hourly but it appears to me a brigade group of some Italians and a lot of Germans were in and around Tunis by the end of the 12th. Those were mostly Paras but some field artillery had arrived by aircraft.

Admiral Derrien, commander of the Bizerte naval base recorded four changes of orders in 40 hours spanning the 9th through 11th November.

Barre stalled the Axis on the coastal plain for fifteen days. On the 19th the advance companies of Blade Force reached Beja and Oued Zarga around the 19th. When the Axis attacked at Mediez al Bab on the 25th there was US artillery supporting the French battalion in the town. Its not clear how involved the rest of Blade Force was in that fight. After the 25th there was regular fighting around Mediez al Bab. That town sits in a wide pass opening the Easter Dorsal ridge to the Tunis plain. Its about 50 km to the Tunis suburbs.

Also on the 25th Nov the first battle between Germans and Lt Col Waters 1/1 tank battalion occurred. The M3 light tanks got through the AT defense. Major Siglins company over ran a airfield at Djedeida about 20 km from Tunis.
 
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