The 278th Infantry Division was a

German Army The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...

infantry division in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Formed in 1940 from older personnel, the first 278th never saw combat and was dissolved after the fall to France. The second 278th was formed in mid 1942 in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and was sent to Army Group C

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

in late 1943.

Operational history

Serving on coastal defense duties and taking part in

anti-partisan operations During the Second World War, resistance movements that bore any resemblance to irregular warfare were frequently dealt with by the German occupying forces under the auspices of anti-partisan warfare. In many cases, the Nazis euphemistically used ...

Istria Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; ; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian: ; ; ) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. Located at th ...

while continuing its training. In mid-May 1944, the 278th division received orders to move to the battle area on the Adriatic for operational assignment to the 10th German Army. Facing Lieutenant General Wladyslaw Anders’ Polish II Corps, Hoppe's division fought a ferocious defensive battle for the port city of

Ancona Ancona (, also ; ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region of central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona, homonymous province and of the region. The city is located northeast of Ro ...

from mid-June until early July 1944. After halting the Polish attack early in July the 278th Infantry Division faced a renewed attack by the Polish II Corps on July 17. Pushing the Germans beyond the

Esino River The Esino (; ) is a river in the Marche region of central Italy. Geography The source of the river is east of Monte Penna, in the province of Macerata, near the border with the province of Ancona. The river flows east past Esanatoglia and curves ...

, Ancona fell to the Poles on the 18th. It was then assigned to

LXXVI Panzer Corps The LXXVI Panzer Corps (''LXXVI Panzerkorps'', 76th Armoured Corps) was a panzer corps of Nazi Germany during World War II. The headquarters were formed in France under Army Group D on 29 June 1943 as LXXVI Army Corps but renamed a month later. I ...

defending the

Gothic Line The Gothic Line (; ) was a German and Italian defensive line of the Italian Campaign of World War II. It formed Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's last major line of defence along the summits of the northern part of the Apennine Mountains du ...

. After heavy losses the 278th was formed into a Volksgrenadier Division in early 1945. Later it was transferred to the 1st Parachute Corps defending the

Brenner Pass The Brenner Pass ( , shortly ; ) is a mountain pass over the Alps which forms the Austria-Italy border, border between Italy and Austria. It is one of the principal passes of the Alps, major passes of the Eastern Alpine range and has the lowes ...

where most of the division was encircled, the remainder later surrendered on the May 2, 1945

War crimes

The division has been implicated in a number of war crimes in Italy between March and July 1944, with up to seven civilians executed in each incident.

Organization

1944 * ''Grenadier-Regiment 992'' * ''Grenadier-Regiment 993'' * ''Grenadier-Regiment 994'' * ''Artillerie-Regiment 278'', * ''Divisions-Füsilier-Kompanie 278'' * ''Panzer-Jäger-Abteilung 278'' * ''Engineer-Battalion 278'' * ''Signals Battalion 278'' * ''I° Battaglione d'assalto 'Forlì

References

* Mitcham, W, Samuel. Hitlers Legions {{DEFAULTSORT:278th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) Infantry divisions of Germany during World War II Military units and formations established in 1940 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945