Robinett had been placed under the French Algiers Division's command for an attack in the Ousseltia Valley, but balked at his orders, insisting that he must have reinforcements and assistance from British units. The French division and corps commanders reitierated his instructions, but Lloyd Fredendall of II Corps insisted on sticking his fingers into the mix, adding more confusion to what should have been a straightforward situation.

Just what happened in the Ousseltia Valley is hard to determine more than eight decades later. Fighting definitely took place, and most likely it involved the Germans advancing while Robinett used Fredendall's interference as an excuse to dodge the direct orders from his French superiors to attack. According to the U.S. Official History, Fredendall sent a staff officer to "straighten out this tangle," but if any tangle existed, it came from Fredendall's stupefyingly idiotic method of issuing orders:

Move your command, i.e., the walking boys, pop guns, Baker's outfit and the outfit which is the reverse of Baker's outfit and the big fellows to M, which is due north of where you are now, as soon as possible. Have your boss report to the French gentleman whose name begins with J at a place which begins with D.

This was not some elaborate code, though Fredendall justified it as such; this was raging incompetence in action. The "French gentleman" would be Alphonse Juin commanding French forces in Tunisia, whose subordinates' orders Robinett would ignore since Fredendall only said "report to" among his inane babble when First Army had clearly told both Fredendall and Juin that Combat Command B would be attached to XIX Corps and under French command. The Americans did not attack, but they did hold most of their positions after the Germans drove in their outposts.