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How did the New Zealand Corps help force the Axis withdrawal from the Mareth Line?

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Map showing the British and Axis military campaigns in North Africa during World War II, with labeled troop movements, key battles, and shifting front lines from Egypt across Libya to Tunisia along the Mediterranean coast. The map includes arrows and dates marking advances and retreats by both sides, and highlights major turning points and defensive lines. — North Africa campaigns Military drives, defensive lines, and key battles during the North Africa campaigns of World War II, 1940–43.

During the North Africa campaigns, the New Zealand Corps played a pivotal role in forcing the Axis withdrawal from the Mareth Line in March 1943.12

While the Eighth Army launched a frontal assault on the line on the night of March 20, the New Zealand Corps simultaneously executed a wide outflanking march toward el-Hamma, located in the German rear. The primary objective of this maneuver was to pin down enemy reserves.12

When the initial frontal attack failed to create a sufficient breach, Bernard Law Montgomery shifted the main weight of his offensive to the flank by sending the 1st Armoured Division to bolster the New Zealanders' threat. Although German defenses at el-Hamma initially checked these attacks, the strategic pressure created by the outflanking movement forced the Axis forces to abandon the Mareth Line to avoid total encirclement.12