German infantryman seeking protection from desert dust: Western Desert: 1942.
On 26 June 1941, the OKH ordered the creation of a Division HQ staff for Kommando zbV Afrika in Germany. The planned division was intended for deployment to Africa to re-balance, and add infantry troops to the DAK deployed in the Western Desert. The formation headquarters was sent to Africa between late August and mid-September 1941 and deployed to command the Sollum area with the first units (347th Infantry Regiment and 300th Special Services "Oasis" Battalion) being attached on 15 October 1941.[1] On 20 October more units were attached (155th Inf Regt, 900th Engineer Battalion and 605th Anti Tank battalion) and the division troops were expanded to full strength with the division becoming known as Division z.b.V. Afrika[1][Note 1]
The subordinated 288th Special Service Unit, originally known as Sonderverband 288 was a regimental sized, special operations unit consisting of sub-units with various combat specialties including mountain and desert warfare, night operations and infiltration. This unit was formed in Potsdam in 1941 from specialist soldiers with previous experience in the deserts of the Middle East and North Africa.[2] Two battalions from Sonderverbande 288 and one locally recruited Arab battalion were later amalgamated to form the 155th Rifle (later 155th Infantry and then Panzergrenadier) Regiment within the division.[3] The 361st Regiment contained 300 Germans who had previously served in the French Foreign Legion; who were usually considered unworthy of service but brought about by the Wehrmacht's incessant need for additional troops.[2][4]
Training was completed in the Bardia area and the division was earmarked by Rommel to lead the attack on Tobruk. On 28 November 1941, the formation was renamed 90. leichte Afrika Division (90th Light Africa Division).[5] Through its five-year existence, it was re-designated several times, although always known colloquially as the Africa Division, being the only German combat division to have been largely raised in Africa itself.
The Germans combed the French Foreign Legion in French North Africa and press-ganged some 2,000 German légionnaires into the Wehrmacht.[6] Germans had been urged by the Nazi regime not to join the Legion and these recalcitrants were given a rough reception as unpatriotic elements, being classified Wehrunwürdig/999. The 999 units were made up of men seen as not "worthy to serve" (Wehrunwürdig), so they were not condemned in a court; these men were assigned mainly for political reasons.[7] The bulk of these légionnaires would be formed into the 361st Infantry Regiment as part of the 90th Afrika Division.[8][7][9][10]
Afrika Korps infantrymen enter Tobruk after the Allied collapse in June 1942
North African campaign
The 90th was involved in the battles related to Operation Crusader in 1942 and later in the battles of Bir Hakeim as well as the First and Second battles of El Alamein.
Final battles in Tunisia
In Tunisia, the 90th were initially involved in the Battle of El Guettar. The 90th Light was regarded by the 2nd New Zealand Division, commanded by Lieutenant-GeneralSir Bernard C. Freyberg VC, as their special foe and as the two formations had faced each other on several occasions.[11] In the final confrontation with the 90th Light in May 1943, Freyberg had sent a message to the German Division stating "..your position is hopeless. We have fought you for two years and have no wish to annihilate you." The reply was "..We appreciate your message and we realise our position is hopeless; but we have our duty to perform." A direct assault by the New Zealand Division was checked and a later attack by the 167th Bde of 56th (London) Infantry Division was also halted by the 90th Light with British casualties being 63 dead, 221 wounded and 104 missing.[12] The 90th Light continued to resist attacks by the 56th Division but finally succumbed to attack by the 6th Armoured Division as well as immense air attacks from the South African and Royal Air Forces. The Division was finally overrun at 18:45 on 12 May 1943 and was granted an honourable surrender at 12:30 on 13 May 1943 together with all remaining Axis forces at Cap Bon,[13] marking the end of the Tunisia Campaign.[14]
Italian Campaign
Reconstitution
As with the other units of the Panzer Army Africa, replacement units were quickly raised from available troops stationed in Western Europe. As such, the Africa Division was reconstituted as the 90th Panzergrenadier Division in Sardinia during July 1943 drawing an experienced nucleus of troops from the Division Sardinia. The division was then transferred to Corsica where it absorbed the ground organisation of the Luftwaffe command on Corsica and added regulars coming from Volksdeutsche recruits. The reconstituted division was deployed along the Bonifacio - Bastia coastal road on 9 September 1943 where it was involved battles against Italians, the maquis and French troops for the liberation of Corsica. The division was transferred to the Italian mainland from the Bastia bridgehead on 3 October 1943[15] and assigned to LXXXVII Corps of Army Group C.[16]
Panzer IV of the 90th Panzergrenadier Division in the marina of Palau on their withdrawal from Sardinia.
Southern Italy
On arrival in Italy, the 90th was deployed in Tuscany close to Pisa and then moved to Gatteo a Mare on the Adriatic coast and in mid November to the Abruzzo region, as part of the Gustav Line defences. It was here that the division faced its first damaging battle in Italy during the bitter fighting with the 1st Canadian Infantry Division during the Moro River Campaign in late November 1943 and the Battle of Ortona in December.[17] In late December the division was moved to the south of Rome in order to replenish and recover from these battles under LXXVI Panzer Corps.[18]
Remnants of the town of Ortona in which the 90th fought in November 1943
Monte Cassino
The 29th and 90th Divisions had been moved from the Rome defences to Monte Cassino to bolster the southern defensive Gustav Line in January 1944 as a division assigned to I Parachute Corps.[19] This move was encouraged by Adm Wilhelm Canaris assuring Field Marshal Kesselring that there was no possibility of any Allied landings close to Rome (The virtually unopposed Anzio landings took place two weeks later on 22 January 1944). The 90th thus remained in the Casino defence lines and didn't participate in the Anzio battles.[20] On 3 February, Kesselring instructed the whole 1st Parachute Division to be moved from the Adriatic to Cassino to relieve the 90th Division. The 90th would then move to the Adriatic to fill the gap in the 51st Mountain Corps left by the relocation of the parachute division. This proposed move was strongly opposed by the Corps generals who insisted that the 90th was just beginning to make itself felt at Cassino. The Corps staff prevailed and the 90th went into battle to following day. [21] The 90th was involved in the defence of Monte Cassino during the first Battle of Monte Casino and lead the recapture of Monte Calvari from the American 2nd Brigade of 168th Infantry Division on 7 February 1944.[Note 2][22] During the second Battle of Monte Casino on 17 February 1944, the 90th was attacked by New Zealand Corps and defended their positions against the Indian 4th Division. Close hand-to-hand combat ensued and the Indian Division launched three attacks against the 90th defences. Battles raged around the abbey for an additional three days after which Gen Freyberg called off the corps attack.[23] The 90th was relieved in the Cassino line after the second battle for Cassino by the 1st Parachute Division and were moved to join the 51st Mountain Corps after refitting at Frosinone.[24] On 18 May, when the 90th reached the Hitler Line, it was transferred from 51st Mountain Corps to fall under the command of 14th Panzer Corps and deployed in the Pignataro - Pontecorvo area.[25] This was done to allow one Corps commander to command forces on both sides of the Liri River and prevailed until 21 May, when the 90th reverted to the command of 51st Mountain Corps. The 90th was then involved in the fourth battle for Monte Cassino.[26]
Defense of Rome
By 1 June, Kesselring tried to concentrate the 90th, the 1st Parachute, 305th Infantry and 94th Infantry divisions into a defensive line between Piglio and Paliano. But by then, these units were very weak and were constantly in contact with Allied forces, making relocation extremely difficult.[27] By 4 June, the 90th were again fighting rear-guard actions on the line Ponte Orsino - Trevi[28] and had retreated further north. At the end of July 1944, the division was again relocated into the Po Valley between Modena and Parma and then to Liguria north of Genoa to re-group.[29] After the Allied landings in southern France, the division was relocated to Piedmont to secure the border of the Alpine crossings from France into Italy.[citation needed]
German forces surrendering to the Brazilian Expeditionary Force: April 1945
Bologna and the Po Valley
By 15 October the division had been withdrawn from Piedmont in orchestrated disengagement manoeuvres and was deployed as part of a defensive line in the Abruzzi Mountains as part of 10. Armee.[30] By November 1944 the division had withdrawn north and formed part of the defensive lines covering the advances to Bologna.[31][32] By this time, the division’s infantry battalions were considered fortunate if they had more than 200 men.[33] After a series of retreating battles into March 1945, the 90th was assigned as Field Army Group reserve under command of Heeresgruppe C.[34] and put into reserve for rebuilding.[citation needed] The reserve was committed to battle in April 1945 to attempt to halt a breakthrough by the US 10th Mountain Division on the Po defence line[35] but were unable to hold the advancing Allied forces.[36]
Surrender
By 25 April the US 5th Army had five divisions over the Po River and IV (US) Corps crossed Lake Garda using Fantails and Duplex Drive tanks to push west to close the Brenner Pass escape road and to secure Milan. By 28 April all passes providing a possibility of escape into Austria had been closed and the 90th made a last great effort to keep these escape routes open for the divisions in the west.[37] The 90th was forced to surrender on 28 April 1945 after the divisional commander and his staff had been captured earlier in the day,[37] with the remnants of the division surrendering to the Brazilian Expeditionary Force (FEB)[citation needed] on the Via Emilia south of Lake Garda.[38][39]
General Sir W Jackson, the government historian responsible for documenting the British official history of the War in Italy, considered the 90th Panzergrenadier Division a "worthy opponent."[40]
War crimes
The division has been implicated in a number of war crimes in Italy between August 1944 and April 1945, with up to five civilians executed in each incident.[41]
Lineage and organisation
The division formed part of the Panzer Army Africa during its deployment to North Africa.
↑ Marco Belogi, Daniele Guglielmi: Spring 1945 on the Italian front: a 25 Day Atlas from the Apennines to the Po River. Primavera 1945 sul fronte italiano: Atlante dei 25 giorni dall’Appennino al fiume Po. Mattioli 1885, Fidenza 2011 ISBN978-88-6261-198-5. S. 61, 209
Battistelli, Pier Paulo (2006). Rommel's Africa Korps. Oxford: Osprey. ISBN9781841769011.
Brown, James Ambrose (1974). Eagles Strike: South African Forces in World War II: Volume IV. Johannesburg: Purnell.
Jackson, Gen. Sir William (2004). The Mediterranean and Middle East: Volume VI: Victory in the Mediterranean Part II: June-October 1944. Uckfield: Naval & Military Press Ltd.
Jackson (III), Gen. Sir William (2004). The Mediterranean and Middle East: Volume VI: Victory in the Mediterranean Part III: November 1944 - May 1945. Uckfield: Naval & Military Press Ltd.
Jackson, W.G.F (1967). The Battle for Italy. New York: Harper & Row.
Kurowski, Franz (2003). Battleground Italy 1943-1945: The German Armed Forces in the battle for the "Boot". J.J. Fedorowicz Publishing, Winnipeg. ISBN0-921991-77-0.
Littlejohn, David (1979). Foreign Legions of the Third Reich: Volume 1: Norway, Denmark and France. San Jose: R. James Bender. ISBN0912138173.
Mehner, Kurt (1993). Die Deutsche Wehrmacht 1939–1945 (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Militair-Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall.
Molony, Brig. C.J.C. (2004). The Mediterranean and Middle East: Volume V: The Campaign in Sicily (1943) and the Campaign in Italy (3rd September 1943 to 31st March 1944). Uckfield: Naval & Military Press Ltd.
Molony (VI), Brig. C.J.C. (2004). The Mediterranean and Middle East: Volume VI: Victory in the Mediterranean Part I: 1st April to 4th June 1944). Uckfield: Naval & Military Press Ltd.
Morris, Eric (1993). Circles of Hell: The War in Italy 1943-1945. London: Random House.
Shores, Christopher F. (1972). Pictorial History of the Mediterranean Air War: Volume I: RAF 1940-43. London: Ian Allan. ISBN0-7110-0382-3.
Windrow, Martin (1986). Uniforms of the French Foreign Legion 1831–1981. illustrated by Mike Chappell (rev.ed.). Poole: Blandford. ISBN0-7137-1914-1.
Windrow, Martin (1999). French Foreign Legion, 1914–1945. Men at Arms 325. illustrated by Mike Chappell. Oxford: Osprey Military. ISBN1-85532-761-9.
The Afrika Korps or German Africa Corps was the German expeditionary force in Africa during the North African campaign of World War II. First sent as a holding force to shore up the Italian defense of its African colonies, the formation fought on in Africa, under various appellations, from March 1941 until its surrender in May 1943. The unit's best known commander was Field Marshal Erwin Rommel.
The Battle of Bir Hakeim took place at Bir Hakeim, an oasis in the Libyan desert south and west of Tobruk, during the Battle of Gazala. The 1st Free French Brigade under Général de brigade Marie-Pierre Kœnig defended the position from 26 May – 11 June against Axis forces of Panzerarmee Afrika commanded by Generaloberst Erwin Rommel. The Panzerarmee captured Tobruk ten days later.
The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as the Battle of Sicily and Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis powers. It began with a large amphibious and airborne operation, followed by a six-week land campaign, and initiated the Italian campaign.
The Allied invasion of Italy was the Allied amphibious landing on mainland Italy that took place from 3 September 1943, during the Italian campaign of World War II. The operation was undertaken by General Sir Harold Alexander's 15th Army Group and followed the successful Allied invasion of Sicily. The main invasion force landed on the west coast of Italy at Salerno on September 9 as part of Operation Avalanche, while two supporting operations took place in Calabria and Taranto.
The 2nd New Zealand Division, initially the New Zealand Division, was an infantry division of the New Zealand Military Forces during the Second World War. The division was commanded for most of its existence by Lieutenant-General Bernard C. Freyberg. It fought in Greece, Crete, the Western Desert and Italy. In the Western Desert Campaign, the division played a prominent role in the defeat of German and Italian forces in the Second Battle of El Alamein and the British Eighth Army's advance to Tunisia.
The 6th South African Armoured Division was the second armoured division of the South African Army and was formed during World War II. Established in early 1943, it was based on a nucleus of men from the former 1st South African Infantry Division who had returned to South Africa after the Second Battle of El Alamein in late 1942. The division was initially transferred to Egypt for training, after which it served in the Allied campaign in Italy during 1944 and 1945. In Italy, the division was initially deployed as part of the British Eighth Army, under command of Lieutenant-General Oliver Leese, and was then transferred to the U.S. Fifth Army, under Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark, for the remainder of the Italian Campaign. The division operated as a strongly reinforced division and was frequently used to spearhead the advance of the Corps and Army to which it was attached. They returned home after the end of the war in Italy and were disbanded in 1946. The division was also briefly active after the war from 1 July 1948 to 1 November 1949.
The 21st Panzer Division was a German armoured division best known for its role in the battles of the North African Campaign from 1941 to 1943 during World War II when it was one of the two armoured divisions making up the Deutsches Afrikakorps (DAK).
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As the number of German troops committed to the North African Campaign of World War II grew from the initial commitment of a small corps, the Germans developed a more elaborate command structure and placed the enlarged Afrika Korps, with Italian units under this new Italian and German command and a succession of commands were created to manage Axis forces in Africa:
The 6th Armoured Division was an armoured division of the British Army, created in September 1940 during the Second World War and re-formed in May 1951 in the UK.
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The Battle of Mersa Matruh was fought from 26 to 29 June 1942, following the defeat of the Eighth Army at the Battle of Gazala and was part of the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. The battle was fought with the German–Italian Panzer Army Afrika (Panzerarmee Afrika. The Eighth Army comprised X Corps and XIII Corps.
The 46th Infantry Division was a British Army infantry division formed during the Second World War that fought during the Battle of France, the Tunisian Campaign, and the Italian Campaign. In March 1939, after Germany re-emerged as a significant military power and occupied Czechoslovakia, the British Army increased the number of divisions in the Territorial Army (TA) by duplicating existing units. The 46th Infantry Division was formed in October 1939, as a second-line duplicate of the 49th Infantry Division. The division's battalions were drawn largely from men living in the English North Midlands.
The Spring 1945 offensive in Italy, codenamed Operation Grapeshot, was the final Allied attack during the Italian Campaign in the final stages of the Second World War. The attack into the Lombard Plain by the Allied 15th Army Group started on 6 April 1945 and ended on 2 May with the surrender of German forces in Italy.
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The Battle of Wadi Akarit was an Allied attack from 6 to 7 April 1943, to dislodge Axis forces from positions along the Wadi Akarit in Tunisia during the Tunisia Campaign of the Second World War. The Gabès Gap, north of the towns of Gabès and El Hamma, is a passage between the sea and impassable salt marshes. The 51st (Highland) Infantry Division breached the defences and held a bridgehead, allowing the passage of their main force to roll up the Axis defences. After several determined counter-attacks, the Axis forces withdrew and the Eighth Army, under General Bernard Montgomery, pursued toward Tunis, until reaching Axis defensive positions at Enfidaville.
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