Operation Grapeshot order of battle

Operation Grapeshot order of battle is a listing of the significant formations that were involved in the Spring 1945 offensive in the Apennine Mountains and the Po valley in northern Italy, April 1945 – May 1945.

Allied Forces Headquarters Mediterranean

Supreme Allied Commander, Mediterranean Theatre: Field Marshal Sir Harold Alexander
Deputy Supreme Allied Commander-in-Chief:: Lieutenant General Joseph T. McNarney
Chief of Staff: Lieutenant-General William Morgan^[1]
Air Commander-in Chief Mediterranean Allied Air Forces: Lieutenant General John K. Cannon

Allied 15th Army Group

Commander: General Mark Wayne Clark

Chief of Staff: Major General Alfred M. Gruenther

U.S. Fifth Army

Commander:

Lieutenant General Lucian K. Truscott

Army Troops

• U.S. 85th Infantry Division (Major General John B. Coulter)
  • 337th Regimental Combat Team
  • 338th Regimental Combat Team
  • 339th Regimental Combat Team
• U.S. 92nd Infantry Division (Major General Edward M. Almond)
  • 370th Regimental Combat Team
  • 442nd (Japanese-American) Regimental Combat Team (attached)
  • 473rd Regimental Combat Team (attached)
• 758th Light Tank Battalion
• 760th Tank Battalion (less two companies)
• 679th Tank Destroyer Battalion
• 894th Tank Destroyer Battalion (less two companies)

U.S. II Corps

Major General Geoffrey Keyes

• Corps Troops
  • Italian Legnano Combat Group
    • 68th Italian Infantry Regiment
    • 69th Italian Infantry Regiment
  • 752nd Tank Battalion
  • 757th Tank Battalion
  • 804th Tank Destroyer Battalion
  • 805th Tank Destroyer Battalion
• U.S. 34th Infantry Division (Major General Charles Bolté)
  • 133rd Regimental Combat Team
  • 135th Regimental Combat Team
  • 168th Regimental Combat Team
• U.S. 88th Infantry Division (Major General Paul W. Kendall)
  • 349th Regimental Combat Team
  • 350th Regimental Combat Team
  • 351st Regimental Combat Team
• U.S. 91st Infantry Division (Major General William G. Livesay)
  • 361st Regimental Combat Team
  • 362nd Regimental Combat Team
  • 363rd Regimental Combat Team
• 6th South African Armoured Division (Major-General Evered Poole)
  • 11th South African Armoured Brigade
  • 12th South African Motorised Brigade
  • 13th South African Motorised Brigade

U.S. IV Corps

Lieutenant General Willis D. Crittenberger

• Corps Troops
  • 365th Infantry Regiment (detached from 92nd Infantry Division)
  • 371st Infantry Regiment (detached from 92nd Infantry Division)
  • 751st Tank Battalion (plus one company 760th Tank Battalion)
  • 701st Tank Destroyer Battalion (plus elements 894th Tank Destroyer Battalion)
• U.S. 1st Armored Division (Major General Vernon Prichard)
  • 6th Armored Infantry Battalion
  • 11th Armored Infantry Battalion
  • 14th Armored Infantry Battalion
  • 1st Tank Battalion
  • 4th Tank Battalion
  • 13th Tank Battalion
• U.S. 10th Mountain Division (Major General George Price Hays
  • 85th Infantry Regiment
  • 86th Infantry Regiment
  • 87th Infantry Regiment
• 1st Brazilian Division (General Mascarenhas de Morais)
  • 1st Brazilian Infantry Regiment
  • 6th Brazilian Infantry Regiment
  • 11th Brazilian Infantry Regiment

British 8th Army

Commander:

Lieutenant-General Sir Richard McCreery

Army Troops

• 7th Hussars (amphibious tanks)
• 12th Lancers (armoured cars)
• 16th Army Group Royal Engineers
• 20th Army Group Royal Engineers
• 22nd Army Group Royal Engineers

British V Corps

Lieutenant-General Charles Keightley

• Corps Troops
  • 1st Army Group Royal Artillery (Five medium regiments)
  • 2nd Army Group Royal Artillery (Five medium regiments)
  • 6th Armoured Division Artillery
  • 54th Super Heavy Regiment, Royal Artillery (less two batteries)
• Special Forces
  • Two squadrons Special Boat Service
  • Two troops Raiding Support Regiment
  • Italian 28th Garibaldi Brigade (Partisans)

• British 56th Infantry Division (Major-General John Yeldham Whitfield)
  • 24th Guards Brigade
  • 167th Infantry Brigade
  • 169th Infantry Brigade
  • 2nd Commando Brigade (under command)
  • 9th Armoured Brigade (under command)
  • 27th Lancers (armoured cars) (under command)
  • 4th Hussars (Kangaroo armoured personnel carriers)
• British 78th Infantry Division (Major-General Keith Arbuthnott)
  • 11th Infantry Brigade
  • 36th Infantry Brigade
  • 38th (Irish) Infantry Brigade
  • 2nd Armoured Brigade (under command)
• 8th Indian Infantry Division (Major-General Dudley Russell)
  • 17th Indian Infantry Brigade
  • 19th Indian Infantry Brigade
  • 21st Indian Infantry Brigade
  • 21st Army Tank Brigade (under command)
• 2nd New Zealand Division (Lieutenant-General Sir Bernard Freyberg VC)
  • 4th New Zealand Armoured Brigade
  • 5th New Zealand Infantry Brigade
  • 6th New Zealand Infantry Brigade
  • 9th New Zealand Infantry Brigade
• Italian Cremona Combat Group (Italian Co-Belligerent Army)
  • 21st Italian Infantry Regiment
  • 22nd Italian Infantry Regiment

British X Corps

Lieutenant-General John Hawkesworth

• Jewish Brigade (from March 1945)
  • Palestine Regiment
• Italian Fruili Combat Group
  • 87th Italian Infantry Regiment
  • 88th Italian Infantry Regiment

British XIII Corps

Lieutenant-General Sir John Harding

• 6th Army Group Royal Artillery (under command)
• Indian 10th Infantry Division (Major-General Denys Reid)
  • 10th Indian Infantry Brigade
  • 20th Indian Infantry Brigade
  • 25th Indian Infantry Brigade
  • 2nd Battalion, Lovat Scouts (under command)
  • 2nd Battalion, Highland Light Infantry (under command)
• Italian Folgore Combat Group (Italian Co-Belligerent Army)
  • Nembo Regiment
  • San Marco Regiment

Polish II Corps

Major-General Zygmunt Bohusz-Szyszko (acting commander)

• Corps Troops
  • Army Group Polish Artillery
  • 54th Super Heavy Regiment Royal Artillery (one battery)
  • British 7th Armoured Brigade (under command)
  • 43rd Gurkha Lorried Infantry Brigade (under command)
  • 14th/20th Hussars (Kangaroo armoured personnel carriers) (under command)

• Polish 3rd Carpathian Rifle Division (Major-General Bolesław Bronisław Duch)
  • 1st Carpathian Rifle Brigade
  • 2nd Carpathian Rifle Brigade
  • 3rd Carpathian Rifle Brigade
• Polish 5th Kresowa Infantry Division (Major-General Nikodem Sulik)
  • 5th Wilenska Infantry Brigade
  • 6th Lwowska Infantry Brigade
  • 4th Wolwyn Infantry Brigade
• Polish 2nd Armoured Brigade (Brigadier-General Bronislaw Rakowski)

Army Reserve

• 6th British Armoured Division (Major-General Horatius Murray)
  • 26th British Armoured Brigade
  • 1st Guards Brigade
  • 61st British Infantry Brigade
• 25th British Armoured Engineer Brigade (less detachments with assault divisions)
• 2nd British Parachute Brigade

German Army Group C

Commander:

General Heinrich von Vietinghoff (to 29 April)

Lieutenant-General Friedrich Schulz (from 29 April to 2 May)

General Heinrich von Vietinghoff (from 2 May)

German Tenth Army

Commander:

Lieutenant-General Traugott Herr

German LXXVI Panzer Corps

Lieutenant-General Graff Gerhard von Schwerin (to 25 April 1945)

Major-General Karl von Graffen (from 25 April 1945)

• German 162nd (Turkestan) Infantry Division (Major-General Ralph von Heygendorff)
• 42nd Jäger Division (Major-General Walter Jost)
• German 362nd Infantry Division (Brigadier-General Alois Weber)
• 98th Volksgrenadier Division (Major-General Alfred-Hermann Reinhardt to 11 April 1945 then Brigadier-General Otto Schiel)

German I Parachute Corps

Lieutenant-General Richard Heidrich

• German 26th Panzer Division (Brigadier-General Alfred Kuhnert to 19 April 1945 then Major-General Viktor Linnarz)
• German 1st Parachute Division (Brigadier-General Karl-Lothar Schulz)
• German 4th Parachute Division (Major-General Heinrich Trettner)
• German 278th Infantry Division (Major-General Harry Hoppe)
  • 1st Italian Assault Company "Forlì"(Pier Vittorio Riccardi)
• German 305th Infantry Division (Brigadier-General Friedrich von Schellwitz)

German LXXIII Corps

Lieutenant-General Anton Dostler

• Minor units coast watching between the Po and Venice.

German LXXXXVII Corps (transferred to Army Group E on 10 April)

General of the Mountain Troops Ludwig Kübler

• German 237th Infantry Division (Major-General Hans von Grävenitz until late April then Colonel Karl Falkner)
• German 188th Mountain Division (Major-General Hans von Hößlin)

Army Reserve

• German 29th Panzergrenadier Division (Major-General Fritz Polack)
• German 155th Infantry Division (Brigadier-General Georg Zwade)

German Fourteenth Army

Commander:

Lieutenant-General Joachim Lemelsen

German XIV Panzer Corps

Lieutenant-General Frido von Senger und Etterlin

• German 65th Infantry Division (Major-General Hellmuth Pfeifer)
• German 8th Mountain Division (Major-General Paul Schricker)
• German 94th Infantry Division (Major-General Bernhard Steinmetz)

German LI Mountain Corps

Lieutenant-General Valentin Feurstein until March 1945 and then Lieutenant-General Friedrich-Wilhelm Hauck

• German 114th Jäger Division (Brigadier-General Hans-Joachim Ehlert to 15 April 1945 then Brigadier-General Martin Strahammer)
• German 334th Volksgrenadier Division (Major-General Hellmuth Böhlke)
• German 232nd Infantry Division (Major-General Eccard Freiherr von Gablenz)
• German 148th Infantry Division (Major-General Otto Fretter-Pico)
• 1st Bersaglieri "Italia" Division (Major-General Mario Carloni)

Army Group Liguria

Commander: Marshal Alfredo Guzzoni

Corps Lombardia

Lieutenant-General Kurt Jahn

• 3rd Italian "San Marco" Marine Infantry Division (Major-General Amilcare Farina)
  • 3rd Marine Infantry Regiment
  • 5th Marine Infantry Regiment
• Battle Group Meinhold
  • Fortress Brigade 135
  • 4th Italian "Monte Rosa" Alpine Division (elements)

German LXXV Corps

Lieutenant-General Hans Schlemmer

• 2nd Italian "Littorio" Infantry Division (Major-General Tito Agosti)
  • 3rd Infantry Regiment
  • 4th Alpine Regiment
• German 5th Mountain Division (Brigadier-General Hans Steets)
• German 34th Infantry Division (Major-General Theobald Lieb)
• 4th Italian "Monterosa" Alpine Division (bulk of) (Colonel Giorgio Milazzo)
  • 7th Alpine Regiment
  • 8th Alpine Regiment

Army Group Reserve

• German 90th Panzergrenadier Division (Brigadier-General Heinrich Baron von Behr)

Notes

1. Jackson (1988), p. 196.

References

• Blaxland, Gregory (1979). Alexander's Generals (the Italian Campaign 1944-1945). London: William Kimber & Co. ISBN 0-7183-0386-5.
• Carver, Field Marshal Lord (2001). The Imperial War Museum Book of the War in Italy 1943-1945. London: Sidgwick & Jackson. ISBN 0-330-48230-0.
• Houterman, Hans; Koppes, Jeroen. "World War II unit histories and officers". Retrieved 2007-07-23.
• Jackson, General Sir William & Gleave, Group Captain T.P. (2004) [1st. pub. HMSO:1987]. Butler, Sir James, ed. The Mediterranean and Middle East, Volume VI: Victory in the Mediterranean, Part 2 - June to October 1944. History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series. Uckfield, UK: Naval & Military Press. ISBN 1-84574-071-8.
• Jackson, General Sir William & Gleave, Group Captain T.P. (2004) [1st. pub. HMSO:1988]. Butler, Sir James, ed. The Mediterranean and Middle East, Volume VI: Victory in the Mediterranean, Part 3 - November 1944 to May 1945. History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series. Uckfield, UK: Naval & Military Press. ISBN 1-84574-072-6.
• Kay, Robin (1967). "Appendix VII — Fifteenth Army Group — Order of Battle as at 9 April 1945". Italy Volume II : From Cassino to Trieste. The Official History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939–1945. Wellington, New Zealand: Historical Publications Branch.
• "Orders of Battle.com". Retrieved 2007-07-23.
• Wendell, Marcus. "Axis History Factbook: German army order of battle". Retrieved 2007-07-23.