His available force, at this stage barely a division strong, was engaged in late 1942 in a race to capture Tunis before the Axis were able to build up their forces and launch a counterattack.
Hans tilgængelige styrke, som på dette tidspunkt ikke udgjorde meget mere end en division, blev i slutningen af 1942 involveret i et kapløb om at nå Tunis inden aksemagterne kunne nå at opbygge deres styrker og indlede et modangreb.