[7] In the central west, north of Medjez el Bab and some 30 miles (48 km) from Tunis, the First Army continued to fight for the dominating, German-held peaks, in the Medjerda Valley.

[8] On the night of 22/23 December 1942, the 2nd Battalion, Coldstream Guards mounted an attack in heavy rain, capturing what they thought to be the whole massif, before being relieved by the U.S. 18th Regimental Combat Team.

[9] By mid-April 1943, because of increasing German pressure the British had withdrawn and had lost possession of "Longstop" and all of the higher ground to the north-west, culminating in the Djebel et Tanngoucha.

[12] The 78th Division commander, Vyvyan Evelegh, ordered the 36th Infantry Brigade (Brigadier Bernard Howlett) to seize Longstop Hill by an attack from the south-west.

Defending the position was the 999th Light Afrika Division (Generalmajor Ernst-Günther Baade) which was composed of the 962nd Afrika-Schützen-Regiment and the III/754th Grenadier Regiment.

[1] On 22 April, the Surreys, Buffs, West Kents and Argylls dug in, using shallow gullies and depressions wherever they could find them in the open ground, in preparation for the attack.

[10] At 11:30 am the next morning the Surreys and the Argylls advanced but German machine guns and mortars began to inflict casualties on the start line.

The West Kents had moved closer up in reserve but an attempt during the night to capture the next higher peak of Djebel Rhar failed, owing to heavy mortar fire on their forming-up place.

[10] On 24 April, an attempt was made by the Surreys, the 5th (Huntingdonshire) Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment and a squadron of tanks, to clear Sidi Ahmed ridge just north of Longstop Hill, which contained a white mosque occupied and used as a defensive position by the Germans.

[10] During 25 April, no further advance was made by the British but the troops on Djebel Ahmera strengthened their positions and the tanks remained upon the southern slopes.

[10] The tanks then reached the defensive rim, eliminating the surprised German strong points one-by-one with Besa machine guns and 6-pounder fire.

[10] The rest of the regiment arrived and headed up the slopes and with the Buffs eliminated more strong points and cut off escape routes, completing the capture of Longstop and by 11:00 am the battle was over.

[1] The Buffs had lost nine killed and 83 wounded but between them and the North Irish Horse they had captured over 300 prisoners making the total 650, including all of the III/754th Grenadier Regiment's senior officers.