He is best known for his leadership failure during the Battle of Kasserine Pass, leading to one of America's worst defeats of World War II, for which he was relieved of his command.

[1] He was in command of the Central Task Force landings during Operation Torch in North Africa, and led II Corps during the early stages of the Tunisian Campaign.

Described by a classmate as "a very soldierly little fellow, but extremely goaty in mathematics," Fredendall performed poorly in math as well as in general deportment, and was dismissed after just one semester.

[3] After service in the Philippines and other overseas and stateside assignments, Fredendall shipped out to the Western Front with the 28th Infantry Regiment in August 1917, four months after the American entry into World War I.

[3] In December 1939, during World War II (although the United States was still neutral at this stage), Fredendall was promoted to the one-star rank of brigadier general, serving with the 5th Infantry Division.

Marshall, in turn, had recommended the swaggering Fredendall to Lieutenant General Dwight D. Eisenhower for a major command in the Allied invasion of North Africa, codenamed Operation Torch.

General Marshall was especially fond of the youthful-looking, cocky Fredendall, describing him as "one of the best" and remarking in a staff meeting when his name was mentioned, "I like that man; you can see determination all over his face."

[3] Fredendall was described by General Lucian Truscott as: Small in stature, loud and rough in speech, he was outspoken in his opinions and critical of superiors and subordinates alike.

Orders from his headquarters in the Grand Hotel of Oran were headed with "II Corps – In the Field," which prompted derision from his troops, who were living in spartan conditions.

II Corps served under the British First Army, whose commander, Lieutenant General Kenneth Anderson, considered Fredendall incompetent well before the loss at Kasserine.

[12] He split up units and scattered them widely,[13] and at critical defense points had positioned U.S. forces (against advice) too far apart for mutual support or effective employment of artillery, the strongest American arm.

[19] On March 5, 1943, after the American rout at Kasserine Pass, Eisenhower visited II Corps headquarters and conferred with Brigadier General Bradley.

[20] Eisenhower offered the II Corps command to Harmon, who declined on the grounds that it would be unethical to appear to personally benefit from his negative assessment of Fredendall.

In a letter to his wife Beatrice that day, Patton even wrote that "Fredendall is a great sport, and I feel sure, is a victim largely due to circumstances beyond his control."

In his after-action report for the Kasserine battles, the 2nd Armored Division commander, Major General Ernest N. Harmon, called Fredendall both a moral and physical coward and later said he was "a son of a bitch".

Because he had not been formally reprimanded by Eisenhower, he was eligible for appointment to lieutenant general and three-star assignment, which he duly received, along with a hero's welcome on his return to the United States.

However, after a sarcastic comment on his generalship by a Time magazine reporter, Fredendall changed his mind, and largely blocked further press coverage of his command.

Historian Carlo D'Este has described Fredendall as "one of the most inept senior officers to hold a high command during World War II.

He is interred at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery Officers Sections, Site 52-A, along with his wife Crystal Daphne Chant (July 23, 1890 – April 30, 1972).