Oran. In the initial push into Oran, A Company (under CPT Thomas Hoban), as well as the Battalion cannon platoon for 1-6 IN supported TF Green's attack. Oran was secured by 1215 after French hold-outs and snipers were cleared from the city. At this point, many of the Vichy French soldiers joined the Free French and the Allied cause, and the Vichy government was dissolved by the Germans. The Vichy soldiers fought halfheartedly against an erstwhile enemy they didn't hate, but the 6th Armored Infantry Regiment's next enemy would not be so easy. Tunisia After the Vichy French forces were defeated in Algeria, Allied efforts moved east, toward Tunisia. In a series of rapid thrusts beginning on 24 November, elements of the 1st Armored Division and other Allied units began advancing on Tunis. Despite early American success, a German-Italian force under General Wolfgang Fischer counterattacked on 1 December, driving Allied units back. LTC McGinness' 2-6 Infantry arrived in the area that afternoon and began staging for an Allied counterattack. The next day, 2 December, Axis units began harassing Allied lines of communication along the Medjez-el-Bab-Tebourba road, so LTC Kern's 1-6 Infantry was sent to destroy them, which they did with the help of C Bty, 27th Armored Field Artillery Battalion. By 4 December, the enemy had retaken the town of Tebourba, and the Allied forces rushed to get into defensive positions after plans for a counterattack were abandoned. 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 6th Armored Infantry formed the main body of this defensive line, supported by elements of the 1st Armored Regiment, 13th Armored Regiment, 27th Field Artillery, and 701st Tank Destroyer Battalion. LTC Kern's 1-6 Infantry, supported by B and C Bty, 27th Artillery, occupied the most exposed position of the Allied line at Djebel el Guessa and Djebel bou Aoukaz. Between these two hill masses, there lies an east–west pass that enemy forces would need to seize if they were to pierce the Allied line. The Battalion was strung out over five miles and the platoons were separated by deep ravines and would have difficulty supporting each other. On the morning of 5 December, a clear cool day, 1-6 IN came under enemy observation and endured heavy mortar and artillery fire, a sign that the enemy was soon to attack. A Co, under CPT Hoban, spotted enemy digging in to the north of Djebel el Guessa, so