| Operation Grapeshot | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theItalian campaign of theSecond World War | |||||||
 British troops of the5th (Huntingdonshire) Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment, part of11th Brigade of78th Division, pick their way through the ruins ofArgenta, 18 April 1945. | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 United States Poland Italy Brazil New Zealand South Africa Italian Resistance |  Germany Italian Social Republic | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Harold AlexanderMark ClarkLucian TruscottRichard McCreery | H. von Vietinghoff  Traugott Herr J. Lemelsen Benito Mussolini  Rodolfo Graziani | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Total: 1,333,856[2][nb 1] 5th Army: 266,883 fighting strength[2] Eighth Army: 632,980 fighting strength[3] | Total: 585,000[4] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 16,258 casualties[nb 2] incl. 2,860 killed[5] | 30,000–32,000 casualties[nb 3] | ||||||
TheSpring 1945 offensive in Italy, codenamedOperation Grapeshot, was the finalAllied attack during theItalian Campaign in the final stages of theSecond World War.[6] The attack in theLombard Plain by the15th Allied Army Group started on 6 April 1945 and ended on 2 May with thesurrender of all Axis forces in Italy.
TheAllies had launched their last major offensive on theGothic Line in August 1944, with the BritishEighth Army (Lieutenant-GeneralOliver Leese) attacking up the coastal plain of theAdriatic and the U.S.Fifth Army (Lieutenant GeneralMark Clark) attacking through the centralApennine Mountains. Although they managed to breach the formidable Gothic Line defenses, the Allies failed to break into thePo Valley before the winter weather made further attempts impossible. The Allied forward formations spent the rest of the winter of 1944 in inhospitable conditions while preparations were being made for a spring offensive in 1945.
WhenField MarshalSirJohn Dill, the head of the British Mission inWashington, D.C., died on 5 November, Field Marshal SirHenry Maitland Wilson was appointed his replacement.GeneralHarold Alexander, having been promoted to Field Marshal, replaced Wilson as Allied Supreme Commander Mediterranean on 12 December. Clark succeeded Alexander as commander of theAllied forces in Italy (renamed15th Army Group), but without promotion. Lieutenant GeneralLucian Truscott, the commander of the U.S.VI Corps from theBattle of Anzio and the capture ofRome toAlsace, landed in the South of France duringOperation Dragoon and returned to Italy to assume command of the Fifth Army.[citation needed]
On 23 March,Albert Kesselring was appointedCommander-in-Chief West, replacing General-Field MarshalGerd von Rundstedt.Heinrich von Vietinghoff returned from the Baltic to take over from Kesselring andTraugott Herr, the experienced commander of theLXXVI Panzer Corps, took over the10th Army.Joachim Lemelsen, who had temporarily commanded the 10th Army, returned to command the14th Army.[citation needed]
Allied manpower shortages continued in October 1944. The4th Indian Infantry Division had been sent toGreece and the British4th Infantry Division had followed them in November along with the139th Brigade of the British46th Infantry Division. The rest of the division followed in December along with the3rd Greek Mountain Brigade. In early January 1945, the British1st Infantry Division was sent toPalestine and at the end of the month theI Canadian Corps and the British5th Infantry Division were ordered to theNorth West Europe Campaign. This reduced the Eighth Army, now commanded by Lieutenant-GeneralRichard McCreery, to seven divisions. Two other British divisions were to follow them to North-Western Europe, but Alexander kept them in Italy.
The U.S. Fifth Army had been reinforced between September and November 1944 with the1st Brazilian Division, and in January 1945, with the specialist U.S.10th Mountain Division.[7] Allied strength amounted to 17 divisions and eight independent brigades, including 4 Italian groups of volunteers from theItalian Co-Belligerent Army which were equipped and trained by the British. TheJewish Brigade, a formation of the British Army composed of Jews from Mandatory Palestine led by British-Jewish officers, was also deployed to take part in the offensive. Total Allied strength was equivalent to just under 20 divisions. The 15th Army Group ration strength was 1,334,000 men, the Eighth Army having an effective strength of 632,980 men, and the Fifth Army 266,883.[3][2]
As of 9 April, the Axis in Italy had 21 much weaker German divisions and four ItalianNational Republican Army (ENR) divisions, with about 349,000 German and 45,000 Italian troops. There were another 91,000 German troops on the lines of communication, and Germans commanded about 100,000 Italian police.[8][4] Three of the Italian divisions were allocated to the Ligurian Army underRodolfo Graziani which guarded the western flank facing France. Finally, the fourth division was with the 14th Army in a sector thought less likely to be attacked.[9]
On 18 March, Clark set out his battle plan. Its objective was "to destroy the maximum number of enemy forces south of the Po, force crossings of the Po and capture Verona".[10] InPhase I, the Eighth Army would cross theSenio andSanterno rivers and then make a dual thrust, one towards Budrio parallel to the Bologna road, Route 9 (the Via Emilia) and the other northwest along Route 16, theVia Adriatica, towards Bastia and the Argenta Gap which was a narrow strip of dry terrain through the flooded land west of Lake Comacchio.
An amphibious operation across the lake and parachute drop would bring pressure to bear on the flank and help to break the Argenta position. Depending on the relative success of these actions, a decision would be made on whether the Eighth Army's prime objective would become Ferrara on theVia Adriatica or remain Budrio. The U.S. Fifth Army was to launch the Army Group's main effort at 24 hours notice from two days after the Eighth Army attack, and break into the Po valley. The capture of Bologna was looked upon as a secondary task.[10]
InPhase II, the Eighth Army was to drive northwest to capture Ferrara and Bondeno, blocking routes of potential retreat across the Po. The U.S. Fifth Army was to push past Bologna, north to link with Eighth Army in the Bondeno region, to complete an encirclement of German forces south of the Po. The Fifth Army was to make a secondary thrust further west towards Ostiglia, the crossing point on the Po of the main route to Verona.[11]Phase III involved the establishment of bridgeheads across the Po and exploitation north.
The Eighth Army plan (Operation Buckland) had to deal with the difficult task of getting across the Senio, with its raised artificial banks varying between 6 m (20 ft) and 12 m (40 ft) in height and honeycombed with tunnels and bunkers front and rear. V Corps was ordered to make an attack on the salient formed by the river into the Allied line at Cotignola. On the right of the river's salient was8th Indian Infantry Division, reprising the role they played crossing the Rapido in the finalBattle of Monte Cassino. To the left of the 8th Indian Division, on the left of the salient, the2nd New Zealand Division would attack across the river to form a pincer. To the left of V Corps, on Route 9, theII Polish Corps would widen the front further by attacking across the Senio towards Bologna. The Poles had been desperately under strength in the autumn of 1944, but had received 11,000 reinforcements during the early months of 1945, mainly from Polish conscripts in the German Army taken prisoner in theBattle of Normandy .[12]
Once across the Senio, the assault divisions were to advance to cross the Santerno. Once the Santerno was crossed, the British78th Infantry Division would reprise their Cassino role and pass through the bridgehead established by the Indians and New Zealanders and drive for Bastia and the Argenta gap, 23 km (14 mi) behind the Senio, where the dry land narrowed to a front of only 5 km (3 mi), bounded on the right byLake Comacchio, a huge lagoon running to the Adriatic coast and on the left by a marshland. At the same time, the British56th (London) Infantry Division would launch the amphibious flank attack along Lake Comacchio. On the left flank ofV Corps, the New Zealand Division would advance to the left of the marshland on the west side of Argenta while the 8th Indian Infantry Division would pass in army reserve.[13]
The Fifth Army plan (Operation Craftsman) envisaged an initial thrust byIV Corps alongStrada statale 64 Porrettana [it] to straighten the army front and to draw German reserves away fromStrada statale 65 della Futa [it].II Corps would then attack along Strada statale 65 towards Bologna. The weight of the attack would then switch westward again to break into the Po valley skirting Bologna.[14]
In the first week of April, diversionary attacks were launched on the extreme right and left of the Allied front to draw German reserves away from the main assaults.Operation Roast was an assault by2nd Commando Brigade and tanks to capture the seaward isthmus of land bordering Lake Comacchio and seize Port Garibaldi on the lake's north side. Damage to other transport infrastructure forced Axis forces to use sea, canal, and river routes for supply. During this time, Axis shipping was being attacked in bombing raids such asOperation Bowler.
The build-up to the main assault started on 6 April with heavy artillery bombardment of the Senio defenses. On 9 April, early in the afternoon, 825 heavy bombers dropped fragmentation bombs on the support zone behind the Senio followed by medium and fighter bombers. From 15:20 to 19:10, five heavy artillery barrages were fired each lasting 30 minutes, interspersed with fighter bomber attacks. In support of the New Zealand operations, 28Churchill Crocodiles and 127Wasp flamethrower vehicles were deployed along the front.[15][16] The 8th Indian Infantry Division, 2nd New Zealand Division, and3rd Carpathian Division (on the Polish Corps front at Route 9) attacked at dusk. In the fight there were twoVictoria Crosses won by the 8th Indian Infantry Division. They had reached the Santerno, 5.6 km (3.5 mi) beyond, by dawn on 11 April. The New Zealanders had reached the Santerno at nightfall on 10 April and succeeded in making a crossing at dawn on 11 April. The Poles had also closed on the Santerno by the night of 11 April.[17]
By late morning of 12 April, after an all-night assault, the 8th Indian Infantry Division was established on the far side of the Santerno and the 78th Infantry Division started their pass through to make the assault on Argenta. In the meantime, the24th Guards Brigade, part of the 56th (London) Infantry Division, had launched an amphibious flanking attack from the water to the right of the Argenta Gap. Although they gained a foothold, they were still held up at positions on the Fossa Marina on the night of 14 April. The 78th Infantry Division was also held up that same day on theReno River at Bastia.
The Fifth Army began its assault on 14 April after a bombardment by 2,000 heavy bombers and 2,000 guns along with attacks by IV Corps (1st Brazilian, 10th Mountain and1st Armored Divisions) on the left. This was followed on the night of 15 April by II Corps attacking with 6th South African Armoured Division and the 88th Infantry Division advancing towards Bologna between Highway 64 and 65 and the 91st and 34th Infantry Divisions along Highway 65.[18]
Progress against a determined German defense was slow, but ultimately the superior Allied firepower and lack of German reserves allowed the Allies to reach the plains of the Po valley. The 10th Mountain Division broke out of the mountains on 20 April. Directed to bypass Bologna on the right, elements of the 10th Mountain were organized into a mobile force under Brigadier GeneralRobinson Duff which made a thunder run to the Po, bypassing the increasingly disorganized German units, and reached the river 22 April.[19]
By 19 April, on the Eighth Army front, theArgenta Gap had been forced and the6th Armoured Division was released through the left wing of the advancing 78th Infantry Division to swing left to race northwest along the line of the river Reno toBondeno and link up with the Fifth Army to complete the encirclement of the German armies defending Bologna.[20]
On the same day, the ItalianNational Liberation Committee for Northern Italy, in command of theItalian resistance movement, ordered a general insurrection; in the following days, fighting between Italian partisan and the German and RSI forces broke out inTurin andGenoa (as well as in many other towns across Northern Italy), while German forces prepared to withdraw fromMilan.[21] On all fronts, the German defense continued to be strong and effective, but Bondeno was captured on 23 April. The 6th Armoured Division linked with the 10th Mountain Division the next day atFinale some 5 mi (8.0 km) upstream along the riverPanaro from Bondeno.Bologna was entered in the morning of 21 April by the 3rd Carpathian Infantry Division of the II Polish Corps and theFriuli Combat Group of theItalian Co-belligerent Army advancing up the line of Route 9, followed two hours later by II US Corps from the south.[22] On 24 April,Parma andReggio Emilia were liberated by the partisans.[21]
IV Corps had continued its northwards advance and reached the Po river atSan Benedetto on 22 April. The river was crossed the next day and they advanced north toVerona which they entered on 26 April. To the right of Fifth Army on Eighth Army's left wing,XIII Corps crossed the Po atFicarolo on 22 April, while V Corps were crossing the Po by 25 April, heading towards theVenetian Line, a defensive line built behind the line of the riverAdige.[citation needed]
As Allied forces pushed across the Po, on the left flank, the Brazilian Division, 34th Infantry Division, and 1st Armored Division of IV Corps were pushed west and northwest along the line of Highway 9 towardsPiacenza and across the Po to seal possible escape routes into Austria and Switzerland viaLake Garda.[23][24] On 27 April, the 1st Armored Division entered Milan which had been liberated by the partisans on 25 April and the IV Corps commanderWillis D. Crittenberger entered the city on 30 April.[21] Turin was also liberated by partisan forces on 25 April, after five days of fighting. On 27 April, General Günther Meinhold surrendered his 14,000 troops to the partisans in Genoa.[21] To the south of Milan, atCollecchio-Fornovo, the Brazilian Division bottled up the remaining German and RSI units, taking 13,500 prisoners on 28 April.[25] On the Allied far right flank, V Corps, met by lessened resistance, traversed the Venetian Line and enteredPadua in the early hours of 29 April to find that partisans had locked up the German garrison of 5,000.[26]
Secret surrender negotiations between representatives of the Germans and Western Allies had taken place in Switzerland (Operation Crossword) in March, but had resulted only in protests from the Soviets that the Western Allies were attempting to negotiate a separate peace. On 28 April, Vietinghoff sent emissaries to the Allied Army headquarters. On 29 April, they signed an instrument of surrender at theRoyal Palace of Caserta stating that hostilities would formally end on 2 May.[26] Confirmation from Vietinghoff, did not reach the 15th Army Group headquarters until the morning of 2 May. It emerged that Kesselring had his authority as Commander of the West extended to include Italy and had replaced Vietinghoff with GeneralFriedrich Schulz fromArmy Group G on hearing of the plans. After a period of confusion, during which the news ofHitler's death arrived, Schulz obtained Kesselring's agreement to the surrender and Vietinghoff was reinstated to see it through.[27]
On 1 May 1945, the Chief of Staff of the National Republican Army, Marshal Rodolfo Graziani, announced the unconditional surrender of theItalian Social Republic and ordered the forces under his command to lay down their arms. Lieutenant generalMax-Josef Pemsel, Chief of General Staff of theArmy Liguria, consisting of three German and three Italian divisions, followed Graziani's orders and declared in a broadcast message: "I confirm without reserve the words of my Commander, Marshal Graziani. You must obey his orders."[28]
