Visit World War II Sites in Tunisia

Tunisia was the final battleground of the North Africa Campaign, where Allied and Axis forces fought the Tunisia Campaign (also called the Battle of Tunisia) from 17 November 1942 to 13 May 1943. The country still holds some of the most significant, and least crowded, WWII sites in the world, from the cemetery in Carthage to the fortified Mareth Line in the south. Here are four worth building into a Tunisia itinerary.

The Tunisia Campaign, in Brief

By late 1942, the war in North Africa had narrowed to a single, decisive question: who would control Tunisia. Axis forces under German command, alongside Italian troops, dug in across the country while Allied forces, made up of British, American and Free French units, pushed in from Algeria in the west and Libya in the east. The fighting that followed was brutal and, for the still-inexperienced US Army, a hard education. It ended with a complete Axis surrender in May 1943, a victory Winston Churchill famously called not the beginning of the end, but the end of the beginning.

For history buffs, what makes Tunisia unusual is how much remains. Unlike better-known European battlefields, many of Tunisia’s WWII sites, the bunkers, the cemeteries, the pass itself, are largely as they were left, with little of the reconstruction or heavy tourism infrastructure found elsewhere.

The North Africa American Cemetery and Memorial (Carthage)

Set on 27 acres just outside Tunis, the North Africa American Cemetery and Memorial is the final resting place of 2,841 American service members who died during the North African campaign, with a Wall of the Missing listing a further 3,724 names. It’s the only American WWII cemetery on the African continent, and one of the most moving sites on this list, rows of white marble crosses and Stars of David overlooking the Mediterranean.

The cemetery is open to visitors from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, closed on Tunisian public holidays as well as Christmas and New Year’s Day. Staff at the Visitor Building can answer questions, and there’s a small chapel on-site for quiet reflection. Full visiting information, including directions from Tunis, is available on the American Battle Monuments Commission’s official site.

Medjez-el-Bab Commonwealth War Cemetery

About 60 km west of Tunis, Medjez-el-Bab is the largest Commonwealth war cemetery in Tunisia, holding 2,903 graves along with a memorial bearing the names of almost 2,000 soldiers of the First and Eighth Armies who died in Tunisia and Algeria between November 1942 and May 1943 and have no known grave. Medjez-el-Bab itself sat at the edge of the Allied advance for much of the campaign and remained a front-line town until the final push in the spring of 1943, which is part of why the surrounding valley holds so many of the campaign’s most fought-over hills.

The cemetery gates are unlocked and open at all times. Full details are available through the Commonwealth War Graves site.

German War Cemetery at Bordj Cedria

About 25 km southeast of Tunis, near the town of Bordj Cedria, lies the only German military cemetery in Africa. It holds the remains of 8,562 German service members who died during the Tunisia Campaign or as prisoners of war, more than either the American or Commonwealth cemeteries in the country, and its terraced, stone-walled design set into a hillside gives it a very different character from the rows of crosses elsewhere on this list. It’s a striking reminder that all sides of this campaign are still remembered in Tunisia, not just the Allied side. Maintained by the German War Graves Commission (Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge), the site is described on their official cemetery page.

Enfidaville War Cemetery

About 100 km south of Tunis, Enfidaville War Cemetery holds the graves of 1,551 Commonwealth soldiers, 88 of whom remain unidentified. Most died between March and May 1943, during the final, hard-fought weeks of the campaign, when the surrounding area around Enfidaville and Takrouna saw some of the fiercest fighting of the entire North Africa campaign before Allied forces captured the town.

Unlike the American cemetery, Enfidaville is open at all hours, including weekends, making it an easy stop if you’re travelling between Tunis and the south. Cemetery details and access notes are maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Military Museum of Mareth Line

The Mareth Line was a 45 km fortification system built by the French between 1936 and 1940 to guard Tunisia against a possible Italian invasion from Libya, consisting of eight artillery bunkers and forty infantry bunkers. Demilitarised after France’s 1940 armistice with Germany, it was rearmed by Rommel’s forces following the Allied landings of Operation Torch in November 1942, and became the site of the Battle of Mareth in March 1943, when Allied troops attempted to break through the Axis defensive line before outflanking it through the Matmata Hills, a manoeuvre led in part by the 2nd New Zealand Division.

The Military Museum of Mareth Line sits just outside the town of Mareth itself, in Gabes Governorate, about 40 km south of Gabes city. A guided tour led by a Tunisian army officer walks you through battle plans, period uniforms and weaponry, along with a short film on the battle. Outside, the original bunkers, trenches and artillery emplacements are still in place, giving a rare, tangible sense of a WWII defensive line largely untouched since 1943.

Kasserine Pass (With a Safety Note)

For anyone with a serious interest in American military history, Kasserine Pass is one of the most significant sites of the entire campaign.

In February 1943, German and Italian forces under Rommel attacked US positions holding this roughly two-mile-wide gap in the Dorsal Mountains, aiming to break through to Allied supply lines beyond.

The fighting, which ran from 19 to 25 February 1943, ended in a costly retreat for the still-green American forces, their first major defeat of the war, and a turning point that reshaped how the US Army trained and fought for the remainder of the conflict.

A note on current safety: Kasserine Pass sits at the foot of Mount Chaambi, in Kasserine Governorate near the Algerian border, and current government travel advisories flag this specific area due to ongoing counter-terrorism operations. As of this writing:

• The US State Department lists the Mount Chaambi National Park area in Kasserine Governorate as Level 4, Do Not Travel.
• The UK FCDO advises against all travel to the Chaambi Mountains National Park, and against all but essential travel to the rest of Kasserine Governorate, including the town of Sbeitla.
• Global Affairs Canada advises against all travel to Kasserine Governorate, including its mountain ranges and surrounding forests.

Given this, we don’t currently include Kasserine Pass in our Tunisia itineraries, and we’d recommend checking these official sources yourself before making any plans involving this area. Advisories do change, so it’s worth confirming the current status closer to your travel dates. In the meantime, the cemetery, the Enfidaville site and the Mareth Line museum below remain accessible ways to engage with this same chapter of history in person.

Planning a WWII History Trip in Tunisia

The accessible sites on this list are spread across the country, from Carthage in the north to Mareth in the south, and some sit well off the main tourist routes with limited signage. It’s the kind of trip that rewards careful planning and local knowledge more than most, and it’s one of the areas where we hear from history-minded travellers most often, including descendants of veterans retracing a father’s or grandfather’s route through the campaign.

Since our team lives in Tunisia year-round, we’re able to build a private WWII itinerary that links these sites efficiently, with a driver and guide who know the roads, the access hours, and the history behind each stop, so you can focus on the places themselves rather than the logistics of reaching them, and who stay current on which areas are and aren’t advisable to visit.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you’re planning to retrace a piece of WWII history, or simply want to see these sites for yourself, our Tunisia tours can be tailored around them. Get in touch with our travel experts to start planning.

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