Battle Of Collecchio
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The Battle of Collecchio-Fornovo (26–29 April 1945) was a battle of the
Second World War 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 ...
between the Brazilian Expeditionary Force (''Força Expedicionária Brasileira'' – FEB), along with Italian partisans and units from the American 1st Armored and 92nd Infantry Divisions, against the ''
Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...
''s 148th Infantry Division, 90th Panzergrenadier Divisions and the fascist National Republican Army's 1st Bersaglieri "Italia" and the 4th Alpini "Monte Rosa" Divisions. The battle was fought around the town of Fornovo di Taro, about to the southwest of
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, Italy. The Allies defeated the
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forces, which were attempting to break through to the north. On 28 April, the Brazilian 6th RCT followed up with an attack on Fornovo, with German General
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 Invasion of Pola ...
surrendering the 148th Division, with almost 15,000 German and
Fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...
Italian troops at the morning of 29 April.


Background of main forces


1st Brazilian (Expeditionary) Infantry Division

The Brazilian Expeditionary Division was commanded by General João Baptista Mascarenhas de Morais. The FEB arrived in Italy in the latter part of 1944, at a time when Allied troops were being transferred from Italy to take part in operations in southern France. On 16 July 1944, the 6th RCT reached Naples, the first of five contingents sent by Brazil. These troops were formed into a RCT under Brigadier General Euclides Zenóbio da Costa. With three U.S. tank companies as reinforcements, the 6th RCT moved to the front in September 1944, pursuing German units that were making a tactical retreat to the Gothic Line. In October–November 1944, the 6th RCT fought several engagements, but were unable to break through the Gothic line positions before the winter snows. The 1st and 11th RCT arrived in November, bringing the FEB up to division strength. At its peak, the Brazilian division had a total of 25,334 men in the 1st, 6th and 11th RCTs. Each RCT had three
battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...
s of four
companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether natural, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specifi ...
. In February 1945, as part of the Battle of Mount Belvedere the Brazilians overcame the German defenders of the strong Monte Castello position. They then moved eastward, fighting at Roncovecchio, Seneveglio and Castelnuovo. The Brazilian division fought a tough four-day battle for Montese, which was taken on 16 April. Turning north, in the early morning of 21 April Brazilian forces conquered and occupied Zocca, an important rail terminal in the region, and by 22 April the FEB had broken into the
Po Valley The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain (, , or ) is a major geographical feature of northern Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of including its Venetian Plain, Venetic extension not actu ...
, pursuing the fleeing German forces. General Zenóbio da Costa took the vehicles from 10 of his 12 artillery batteries for use in infantry transport, creating a mobile force with 606 jeeps and 676 trucks of different types. On the morning of 26 April, Brazilian forces were consolidating the defenses of Parma, when they heard that German units were approaching from the south.


German 148th Infantry Division

On 25 September 1943, General
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 Invasion of Pola ...
took command of the 148th Infantry Division and led it for the rest of the war. In August 1944, the division was in action against the Allied Operation Dragoon, the invasion of southern France. In late October 1944, the division was transferred to northern Italy. In December 1944, the 148th Division struck decisively against the Americans in the
Apennine Mountains The Apennines or Apennine Mountains ( ; or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; or – a singular with plural meaning; )Latin ''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which would be segmented ''Apenn-inus'', often used with nouns s ...
in Operation Wintergewitter (Winter storm), causing serious disruption despite being out-numbered and inferior in weapons to the allies. However, by the end of March the German army was in an impossible situation. It suffered from an acute lack of supplies, total domination of the skies by the Americans, and large and rapidly growing partisan forces. By 23 April, the situation for German forces in Italy was desperate. The partisans had taken Parma,
Fiume Rijeka (; Fiume ( fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Bay, an inlet of the Adriatic Sea and in 2021 had a po ...
had been occupied by Tito's Yugoslav forces and French units had entered Italy from the west. The 148th Division, which had been based around the Gulf of Genoa, made a last effort to break out to the north across the Po Valley.


Battle


Collecchio

On news of the German-Italian forces approach, retreating from
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-
La Spezia La Spezia (, or ; ; , in the local ) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second-largest city in the Liguria ...
region, which had been liberated by the US 92nd Division, a Brazilian armored
reconnaissance In military operations, military reconnaissance () or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, the terrain, and civil activities in the area of operations. In military jargon, reconnai ...
squadron moved south from
Parma Parma (; ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmesan, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,986 inhabitants as of 2025, ...
, meeting leading units of the Axis forces in Collecchio. They first met armored cars from the 90th Panzergrenadier Division's reconnaissance unit, and then tanks (of the same division) with infantry from the 281st regimental of the 148th Infantry Division. The reconnaissance squadron called for reinforcements. According to Captain Pitaluga of the reconnaissance troop, "I arrived in Collecchio at noon, and I was alone until 6 pm. I had already occupied almost half the town when the infantry arrived." Pitaluga's unit of M8 cars fought it out against more lightly armored German vehicles, which only had 20 mm cannons. However, the Brazilian armored cars were vulnerable to tanks and anti-tank weapons; Pitaluga said of his vehicles, "The M8 is for recon, not (for heavy) combat.". Like the M10 (another vehicle used then by Brazilian supporting units of Cavalry), M8 had open-topped turrets, which made them more vulnerable (than fully enclosed tanks) to anti-tank infantry close attacks, especially in urban combat, as was the case at Collecchio. Also, in this first day of the battle, the Brazilians were outnumbered by a German battalion with two or three squadrons. A force of Brazilian infantry was hastily ferried to the town in jeeps, trucks (like M3s), and the transport sent back for more. By 18:30 on 26 April, the Brazilian infantry was in place and prepared for action. This included 5th Company, II Battalion, 11th Infantry; a machine gun platoon from 8th Company, 11th Infantry; and 9th Company, III Battalion, 6th RCT. Major Orlando Gomez Ramagem, commander of II Battalion, 11th Infantry was given command of the Brazilian forces. With the war clearly drawing to a close, the troops may have been reluctant to take unnecessary risks. At first, Major Ramagem was in favor of encamping for the night, but he was dissuaded by the Brazilian divisional commander, General Mascarenhas de Moraes. According to one source, "The old general acted with the enthusiasm of a lieutenant." Ramagem ordered some of his troops, supported by the machine guns, to dig in to block Highway 62, which led north to Parma. The 5th company of the 11th RCT was ordered to attack at 19:30. The first attacks were made from the southeast by this company, which quickly captured the church. This was followed by attacks from the northeast by a company of the 6th RCT. German infantry defending the outskirts of the town, supported by mortars, responded to the attacks with intense fire. Neither the Brazilians nor the Germans had any regular artillery. The Germans had only mortar and rifle fire. The church was used to hold German prisoners, and the church tower as an observation post. Lt. Jairo Junqueira da Silva of the 11th Infantry recounts an incident when General Zenóbio da Costa appeared unexpectedly at the church: More Brazilian troops from 2nd Company, I Battalion, 6th RCT arrived at 21:00, some riding on American and Brazilian, M10 and M4 tanks, to enter the fight. The Axis troops made several unsuccessful attempts to break through to the north, but by 02:00 on 27 April, Allied forces had penetrated into the town. The Axis forces, reinforced by artillery and some tanks made a final desperate assault just before dawn. When this failed, their resistance collapsed. By noon Allied forces, with Brazilians ahead, had full control of the town, forcing the Germans and Fascist Italians south toward Fornovo by late afternoon on 27 April.


Fornovo di Taro

Prisoners taken in the battle at Collecchio confirmed partisans and Rebels' reports that the 148th Division had come from the Gulf of Genoa and was in the area surrounding Fornovo di Taro about to the southwest of Collecchio on Highway 62. The German 148th Infantry Division made an attempt to halt the allies at Fornovo di Taro. The Allied forces attacked this position at 18:00 on 28 April. The defeat at Collecchio and follow-up attacks in Fornovo, convinced the German commander that defeat was inevitable. At 22:00, General Otto Fretter-Pico sent emissaries seeking a cease fire while terms were discussed. On 29 April, he surrendered the 148th Division intact.


Aftermath

The Brazilian commander, General Mascarenhas de Moraes, received the surrender of the ''Wehrmacht'' and ENR Divisions on 29 April 1945. In one week the Brazilians had taken 14,700 troops, 800 officers and two generals. The Brazilians also took 1,500 vehicles and 80 guns. All Axis forces in Italy capitulated on 2 May 1945. File:Força Expedicionária Brasileira - Aprisionamento da 148ª Divisão Alemã, comandada pelo major general Otto Fretter Pico, pela Força Expedicionária Brasileira (3).jpg,
Generalleutnant () is the German-language 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 ...
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 Invasion of Pola ...
(left) surrendering to General Olímpio Falconière da Cunha (center). File:Força Expedicionária Brasileira - Aprisionamento da 148ª Divisão Alemã, comandada pelo major general Otto Fretter Pico, pela Força Expedicionária Brasileira (1).jpg, German soldier of the 148th during the surrender. File:Força Expedicionária Brasileira - Aprisionamento da 148ª Divisão Alemã, comandada pelo major general Otto Fretter Pico, pela Força Expedicionária Brasileira (2).jpg, German soldiers loading a vehicle during the surrender.


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Collecchio 1945 in Italy Collecchio Collecchio Military history of Emilia-Romagna Province of Parma Collecchio Collecchio Collecchio Collecchio April 1945 in Europe