Mareth

Mareth is a town in southern Tunisia. It lies inland in the arid to semi-arid landscape of the Maghreb and is associated with the historical Mareth Line, a system of French fortifications built in the late 1930s to defend Tunisia before World War II.

The Mareth Line became a focal point of the Tunisian Campaign in 1943, when Allied forces advanced into southern Tunisia and breached the defenses. The battles around Mareth contributed to the collapse of Axis defenses in Tunisia and helped set the stage for the Allied drive toward Tunis and the eventual surrender of Axis forces in North Africa.

In the contemporary period, Mareth is a modest settlement whose economy centers on agriculture and local commerce in the surrounding region. The area generally relies on irrigation for crop production in an otherwise dry climate. The town and its surroundings attract interest from historians and visitors studying World War II, desert warfare, and the broader history of Tunisia.