The first detailed account of the battle in which the world’s most famous tank, Tiger 131, was captured has finally been told.
Dale Oscroft has researched the Battle of Gueriat el Atach in April 1943, which was one of the most important actions in the fall of Tunisia and the Nazi surrender in North Africa. During intense fighting, his father John fired his anti-tank PIAT weapon at the side of the feared Tiger tank which was advancing on positions held by John’s battalion, the 2nd Sherwood Foresters. To his dismay, the projectile bounced off harmlessly.
Fearing the worst as the turret began to turn towards him, he was relieved to see the tank disabled by an armour piercing round which jammed the turret. Abandoned by its crew, the tank proved to be a massive intelligence prize - it was the first time an intact Tiger had been captured in the West.
The story of the battle has never been told in detail, but now Dale’s book ‘Tiger 131: The Forgotten Battle’ is available.
It has been published by The Tank Museum in Dorset, where Tiger 131 – the world’s only working Tiger I - is on display. The book is available from The Tank Museum Shop and describes the astonishing fight to take the Tunisian ridge. Dale said:
“My father had mentioned an action in which the Foresters captured a Tiger tank in Tunisia after its turret had been jammed. But it was only when I was on holiday in Dorset in 2012 and saw Tiger 131 on a visit to the Tank Museum that I thought it might be connected."
“The Tiger had been captured in Tunisia after sustaining a jammed turret but the account of the action placed it some ten miles away from where the Foresters had fought. Subsequently, my research revealed the true circumstances of its capture, confirming that it was indeed the same tank my father had tried to knock-out."
“Its capture following the lucky shell strike was so important that Prime Minister Winston Churchill and King George VI were pictured with the tank when they visited Tunisia following the Axis surrender. The Battle of Gueriat el Atach began on St George’s Day, Good Friday, in April 1943. The objective was a ridge with a number of peaks."
“It was one of the last battles in Tunisia and a key part in the final expulsion of the enemy. The Germans had the ridge well defended when the 1st British Infantry Division attacked it with six infantry battalions and five squadrons of tanks."
“On the first day, casualties were about 50 per cent and on the second day over 30 per cent. In total there were around 1,000 Allied soldiers killed, wounded or missing. Almost 50 tanks were also lost. Not only was the ridge well defended by German infantry and tanks, but the latter included at least two Tiger tanks which were far more powerful than anything we had."
“The terrain was difficult too, with rock just below the surface making the digging of trenches near impossible. There were also fields of crops in which the enemy hid, and the area was mined. Another issue the attackers faced was appalling radio communications which meant for much of the fighting over two days those managing the battle had little idea of what was going on."
“It fell to those doing the actual fighting to make life and death decisions and for many, like my father, it was their first taste of action. It took enormous courage and sacrifice to capture the ridge and the Germans too showed enormous bravery."
“The Foresters were attacking Point 174 - the highest point on the ridge - and it was there that Tiger 131 came within five yards of their positions. After my father’s PIAT had failed to knock out the tank it all looked grim."
“Desperately, a number of Foresters turned around an anti-tank gun which they had captured in the fighting and they fired it at the Tiger just as a number of tanks supporting the attack also opened fire."
“A shot from either a British tank or the Foresters sent a shell ricocheting down the underside of the Tiger’s gun barrel to wedge itself in the traversing mechanism, disabling the turret. It was a significant moment in the battle and in the North African campaign. The ridge was captured and, having been pushed off what was basically their last line of defence, the Axis forces in Tunisia surrendered a few weeks afterwards."
“My account of the battle for the ridge draws on the recollections of the men who fought there and the narrative describes the fighting from their perspective.”
The units who took part in the battle were the 6th Gordon Highlanders, 1st Loyal Regiment, 2nd North Staffordshires, 1st Duke of Wellington’s, 142 and 145 Royal Armoured Corps, 48 Royal Tank Regiment, 1st King’s Shropshire Light Infantry and the 2nd Sherwood Foresters.
A Victoria Cross was awarded to Lt Willward Sandys-Clarke of the 1st Loyals, and there were also six DSOs, twelve Military Crosses, two DSMs and twenty Military Medals awarded.
Senior Historian Stuart Wheeler of The Tank Museum said: “The story of Tiger 131 has changed over the years as more details were discovered.
“Dale, with meticulous research, has now contextualised the capture of this tank, which is the most famous in the world. He has shown the importance of the engagement in the battle for Tunisia. This incredible story underpins our Tiger Day events, and with the next event on 18 April 2026, we are just weeks away from telling this story alongside Tiger 131 live in our arena.“
After the fall of Tunisia, John Oscroft went on to serve with the Foresters in Italy. There, he participated in the intense fighting for the Anzio beachhead after which he fought from Rome to the Gothic line in the Apennine Mountains where he was frostbitten.
In January 1945, John and the Foresters were moved to Palestine, the battalion having by then sustained 200 percent casualties during its war service.
After being demobbed in 1946 he returned to his job in a hosiery factory in Sutton in Ashfield, married Violet, had son Dale and died aged 59 in 1982.
Tiger 131: The Forgotten Battle is available exclusively from The Tank Museum Shop for £12.99. Visit tankmuseumshop.org.
