In the early hours of February 19, Rommel ordered the Afrika Korps Assault Group from Feriana to attack the Kasserine Pass.
An attempt to surprise the Kasserine defenses by the 33rd Reconnaissance Unit into the pass failed and a battalion of Panzer grenadiers was ordered into the floor of the pass and another onto Djebel Semmama, the hill on its eastern flank and slow progress was made against artillery fire.