148th Reserve Division (Wehrmacht)
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The German 148th Reserve Division (German: ''148. Reserve-Division'') was a German reserve
infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...
formation Formation may refer to: Linguistics * Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes * Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes Mathematics and science * Cave formation or speleothem, a secondar ...
during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. It was made up of three infantry
regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...
s (the 281st, 285th, and 286th) and an
artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...
regiment. Initially an occupation force in
southern France Southern France, also known as the South of France or colloquially in French language, French as , is a defined geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi ...
, serving as a depot for rest and rifitting, it was activated as an infantry division and fought in
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
from 1944 to 1945. Redesignated the 148th Infantry Division (German: ''148. Infanterie-Division'') in September 1944 to fight the allied invasion during
Operation Dragoon Operation Dragoon (initially Operation Anvil) was the code name for the landing operation of the Allied invasion of Provence (Southern France) on 15August 1944. Despite initially designed to be executed in conjunction with Operation Overlord, th ...
, it later fought in the Po River battles, surrendering to the Brazilian Expeditionary Force on April 28, 1945, after being encircled in the
Battle of Collecchio The Battle of Collecchio-Fornovo (26–29 April 1945) was a battle of the Second World War between the Brazilian Expeditionary Force (''Força Expedicionária Brasileira'' – FEB), along with Italian partisans and units from the American 1st Ar ...
, near the city of Fornovo di Taro at Galano.


History

During
Operation Dragoon Operation Dragoon (initially Operation Anvil) was the code name for the landing operation of the Allied invasion of Provence (Southern France) on 15August 1944. Despite initially designed to be executed in conjunction with Operation Overlord, th ...
, the 148th was ordered to counterattack against the beaches at Le Muy, where the US 45th Infantry Division had landed. The German plan was to throw the Allies in the Le Muy – Saint-Raphaël region back into the sea unilaterally. With almost no mobile reserves to react against the beach landings, the commander of the 189th Infantry Division,
Richard von Schwerin Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...
, was ordered to establish an ''ad hoc'' battle group (''Kampfgruppe'') from all nearby units to counterattack the Allied bridgeheads in this area. While Schwerin assembled all the men he could find, the 148th Infantry Division near Draguignan encountered heavy resistance from the FFI, which had been reinforced by British paratroopers, upsetting the plan for a swift counterattack toward the beaches. After heavy fighting throughout the day, Schwerin ordered his troops to retreat under cover of night. At the same time, heavy fighting occurred at Saint-Raphaël. Mobile units of the 148th Infantry Division finally had arrived there and encountered the US 3rd Infantry Division, which was trying to take Saint-Raphaël. This attack, however, was fruitless. By 17 August, the German counter-attacks had been largely defeated, Saint-Raphaël was secured together with a large bridgehead along the coastline, and mobile forces had linked up with the airborne troops in Le Muy. French troops had been pouring ashore since 16 August, passing to the left of the American troops with the objective of
Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...
and
Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
. By the night of 16/17 August,
Army Group G Army Group G (''Heeresgruppe G'') fought on the Western Front of World War II and was a component of OB West. History When the Allied invasion of Southern France took place, Army Group G had eleven divisions with which to hold France south of ...
headquarters realized that it could not drive the Allies back into the sea. Simultaneously in northern France, the encirclement of the Falaise pocket threatened the loss of large numbers of German forces. Given the precarious situation,
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
moved away from his "no step backwards" agenda and agreed to an OKW plan for the complete withdrawal of Army Groups G and B. The OKW plan was for all German forces (except the stationary fortress troops) in southern France to move north to link up with
Army Group B Army Group B (German: ') was the title of three German Army Groups that saw action during World War II. Operational history Army Group B first took part in the Battle of France in 1940 in Belgium and the Netherlands. The second formation of Ar ...
to form a new defensive line from Sens through Dijon to the Swiss frontier. Two German divisions (the 148th and 157th) were to retreat into the French-Italian
Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
. The Allies were privy to the German plan through
Ultra adopted by British military intelligence in June 1941 for wartime signals intelligence obtained by breaking high-level encrypted enemy radio and teleprinter communications at the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park. ' ...
interception. The Germans started the withdrawal, while the motorized Allied forces broke out from their bridgeheads and pursued the German units from behind. The rapid Allied advance posed a major threat for the Germans, who could not retreat fast enough. The Germans tried to establish a defense line at the Rhône to shield the withdrawal of several valuable units there. The US 45th and 3rd Divisions were pressing to the north-west with uncontested speed, undermining Wiese's plan for a new defense line. Barjols and
Brignoles Brignoles (; oc, Brinhòla) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of Southeastern France. Alongside Draguignan, it is one of two subprefectures in Var. It was the summer residence of the counts of Pro ...
were taken by the two American divisions on 19 August, which also were about to envelop Toulon, as well as Marseille from the north, cutting off the German units there. On 18 August Neuling's surrounded LXII Corps headquarters attempted an unsuccessful breakout and was finally captured with the rest of the city after some fighting. The German troops in this area were exhausted and demoralized from the fighting against the FFI, so Taskforce Butler was also able to advance at high speed.
Digne Digne-les-Bains (; Occitan: ''Dinha dei Banhs''), or simply and historically Digne (''Dinha'' in the classical norm or ''Digno'' in the Mistralian norm), is the prefecture of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in the Provence-Alpes-Cô ...
was liberated on 18 August. At
Grenoble lat, Gratianopolis , commune status = Prefecture and commune , image = Panorama grenoble.png , image size = , caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...
, the 157th Reserve Infantry Division faced the Allied advance, and its commander decided to retreat on 21 August toward the Alps. This decision would prove to be fatal for the Germans, as it left a large gap in the eastern flank of the retreating Army Group G. Blaskowitz now decided to sacrifice the 242nd Infantry Division in Toulon, as well as the 244th Infantry Division in Marseille, to buy time for the rest of Army Group G to retreat through the Rhône Valley, while the 11th Panzer Division and the 198th Infantry Division would shield the retreat in several defense lines. In Italy, the 148th Infantry Division would first be used in anti-partisan warfare. On April 28, the 148th Infantry Division's forces were concentrated near the Po river. Trying to stop the Germans crossing, Lieutenant Pitaluga's squadron, equipped with
M8 Greyhound The M8 light armored car is a 6×6 armored car produced by the Ford Motor Company during World War II. It was used from 1943 by United States and British forces in Europe and the Pacific until the end of the war. The vehicle was widely exporte ...
armored reconnaissance cars, opened fire against German troops who almost immediately blew the bridge behind them. Supported by a few Shermans of the 760th American tank battalion, Brazilian 3rd artillery howitzer groups with 105 mm and 155 mm guns, of the Brazilian 1st Company of the 6th Infantry Regiment (this regiment was commanded by Colonel Nelson de Mello), attacked under heavy German artillery and machinegun fire and set up a defensive line four miles from Fornovo, on the line Gaiano–Segalora–Talignano. Near 9 PM a furious German attack was launched against Segalora, trying to break the siege to get to the city of Parma, where other German forces were concentrating, having been repelled by 3rd company, also of the 6th Infantry Regiment. On April 29, the Germans made another try to break the siege. At this moment men of the 2nd Company of the 6th Infantry Regiment, (Major Oest), supported by American tanks, advanced to capture Felegara, which was already occupied by 3rd Company of the 6th Infantry Regiment and Pitaluga's squadron. With Felegara surrounded, the siege was complete and the German forces retreated to Fornovo Di Taro's downtown. Besieged, the Germans started negotiations to surrender all their forces to Brazilian command. These forces were from the 148th German Infantry Division, the remnants of an Italian Bersaglieri Division and the 90th Panzer Grenadier Division. On April 29, 1945, the 1st Company of the 6th Infantry Regiment command post were located at Fornovo-Ponte Dogna; also present was the four-star General Mascarenhas de Moraes, Commander-in-Chief of the Brazilian forces. Representatives of the German forces showed up to start surrender negotiations. Colonel Floriano de Lima Brayner, represented the Brazilian's forces; at 1 PM, 13 ambulances with 400 wounded German officers and soldiers arrived. They were immediately removed to the Brazilian campaign hospital at Modena. An hour and half later, another eight ambulances arrived with more wounded men. The first fighting unit to surrender was the 36th Regiment of the 9th motorized division. The troops laid down their arms beside the Collechio-Fornovo-Berceto Road. There were infantry weapons(PACs) of several calibers, 75 and 150 mm
mortars Mortar may refer to: * Mortar (weapon), an indirect-fire infantry weapon * Mortar (masonry), a material used to fill the gaps between blocks and bind them together * Mortar and pestle, a tool pair used to crush or grind * Mortar, Bihar, a villag ...
, many kinds of vehicles, a column of 105 mm artillery pieces, 88 mm guns mounted on halftracks, 80 in total. There was also much ammunition of all types. Over the next 20 hours, 14,779 men surrendered to Brazilian forces, almost all of them Germans. Also captured were 4,000 horses, 2,500 vehicles and 1,000 motor cycles. Italian general Mario Carloni and Lieutenant General Otto Fretter-Pico with all his staff capitulated. The 5th Army commander, General Mark Clark, said: " A magnificent end to a magnificent campaign!"


War crimes

The division has been implicated in one recorded war crime, the Regnano Castello massacre (
Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...
), on 23 November 1944, when 14 civilians were executed.


Commanding officers

*''
Generalleutnant is the Germanic variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO rank of O ...
'' Hermann Böttcher, October 1942 – 1 April 1943 *''Generalleutnant''
Friedrich-Wilhelm von Rothkirch und Panthen __NOTOC__ Friedrich-Wilhelm von Rothkirch und Panthen (16 February 1884 – 24 December 1953) was a German general during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross of Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "Natio ...
, 1 April 1943 – 25 September 1943 *''Generalleutnant''
Otto Fretter-Pico __NOTOC__ Otto Fretter-Pico (2 February 1893 – 30 July 1966) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II. A veteran of WWI and the younger brother of General Maximilian Fretter-Pico, he took part in operations from Poland to Franc ...
, 25 September 1943 – 20 March 1944 *''Generalleutnant'' Otto Schönherr, 20 March 1944 – 18 September 1944 148th Infantry Division *''Generalleutnant''
Otto Fretter-Pico __NOTOC__ Otto Fretter-Pico (2 February 1893 – 30 July 1966) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II. A veteran of WWI and the younger brother of General Maximilian Fretter-Pico, he took part in operations from Poland to Franc ...
, 18 September 1944 – 28 April 1945


Notes


Sources

* * *http://gassend.net/JL/division148.html
Timelapse - World War II on the French Riviera: video depictings numerous photos of soldiers of Reserve Division 148 in southern France
{{Subject bar , portal1=Military of Germany , portal2=World War II Infantry divisions of Germany during World War II Military units and formations established in 1944 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945