3 Panzer- Grenadier Division- 3 Infanterie Division( mot.)

To be honest I've put it to bed for the time being. Can you please show the content pages on the two volumes? Also, have you purchased these books, & what do you think of them? If possible, can you show the content pages in ( Full Image) instead of thumbnail? Others may appreciate the heads-up, but until i see the contents pages then i will stay away from them.

Regards,
Stu.

 

I have Armored Bears II. Kharkov 42 to Enns 45

 

Is this of any intrest.
Graham.

 

Thank you for showing the content page on Armoured Bears II.

Regards,
Stu.

 

Graham,
you have not said which book it is from & (It would help!) I'm more interested in the Italian Campaign. It looks to me that you have shown the contents page of Armoured Bears II ?

 

Hi Stu,
No it wasn't 'Armoured Bears 11.
Sent you a PM.
Graham.

 

With regard to translating German regimental histories and war diaries to English I have found various automated apps less than useful. German military abbreviations, as previously mentioned are problematic. Also German Officer names and German town names with an English equivalent can also produce confusing results. In addition typed German war diaries are especially tricky as invariably they have faded hard to decipher text. See the example attached WD from AR 19 of 19 ID for may 1940. I would agree with Owens approach. If you can narrow down your interest areas in the document by using date ranges, Officer names or locations then small manageable sections can be identified. These can then be transcribed and copy pasted to Google Translate with minimal effort. Just my two cents' worth.

 

Thank you for your two cents' & its appreciated. I think its going to be a case of trying different apps etc. When I get the chance i will give it ago & come back for the advise of those who are in the know.

Regards,
Stu.

 

Gary,
you may be interested to know that I've finally got the pages scanned above.

It will take some time to resize the pages before i can post them! I think i will have a problem with some of the maps?They have not been done to any scale which is shame.

I will need your help with the maps in time.

Stu.

 

Has time goes by..

Managed to buy a copy from a book seller in Germany for about €20.00 ish.
No point the German text being a barrier for anyone buying a book.

Thanks for the heads-up.

Stu.

 

From time to time, a certain German forum member would also be willing to provide assistance
I've just joined a long-term archaeological research project, but when it's not a complete book chapter I always find time for something like that

Grüße aus den Elbtalauen
Olli

 

Thank you to the above for all of your advise.

I'm hoping that stolpi will translate the pages for me in time. Has the saying goes, you should never rush a tradesmen (or a women!)

The pages will follow in time. They are the worst maps that one has seen.

Regards,
Stu.

 

Here are the pages 242-259. When i say that they are the worst maps that one as seen, I should have said that they are shown in a different lay-out. Not seen (four) maps shown on a page before ( see page 256!) Map d) Kampf um die Bernard-Stellung covers a huge area. The only map that i have that covers most of that area is; ITALY 1:25,000 SHEET 161 III N.W. VENAFRO.1943.
VERZEICHNIS DER KARTEN Italien 1943/44. I'm guessing this means the titles of the maps? Edit: click on all files.
a) Angriff auf Rom. Seite (page 256.)
b) Von Neapal bis zum Volturno.256
c) Vom Volturno bis zur Bernard-Stellung.256.
d) Kamp um die Bernard-Stellung. 256. It's @ this point that i must thank Pieter Stolte, aka forum member stolpi, for translating the pages that I've sent to him. It had not crossed my my mind how long it takes to translate (a page) using Google translate. Blimey.
If anyone has the map of (Mignano) of the same scale has the one above then that would fab?
More to follow when i get the chance. Charley, i think the 44 Infantry Division may be of use to you when it comes to Cassino?
Stu.

 

Here we go ... this certainly will be a long slog :

Translation of the above pp. 243 - 259

Reestablishment as 3.Panzer-Grenadier-Division

a) deployment in France

Like other units that perished at Stalingrad our division is set up again on March 1st, 1943 under the former commander of the Regt. 29 Gen.Lt. Gräser.
The basis of the new division constitutes the 386. Inf. Div. (mot), to which many of the former members of the division have been transferred via the replacement units. To that are added the parts of the division that managed to escape from Stalingrad and many former members, who had joined other units as a result of being wounded or being transferred, and who are now happily returning to the 'old group'. At the end of March the 368.Inf.Div.(Mot) was renamed the 3. Panzer-Grenadier-Division, and the regiments and independent battalions take over the corresponding designations of the old 3rd Inf. Div (mot); Inf.Rgt (mot) 146 becomes Gren.Rgt. (mot) 8, Inf.Rgt (mot) 163 is the new Gren.Rgt. (mot) 29. As far as possible, commanding officers are former members of the old division and the ranking will be the same as it had been in the old division. For some members of the 386.Inf. Div (mot) this means a painful step back. But the new division can rightly bear the number of the division that went down at Stalingrad. The G.R. 8, for example, at the end of the formation, has 26 officers, 160 non-commissioned officers and 167 other ranks, who already participated in the Polish campaign with the regiment; of the new Flak-Abt. 200 soldiers were part of the old Flak-Abt. 312, and of the wounded and supply units, the percentage of the former members is 30 to 75 percent. Until May 43, former members of the division continue to arrive.

The difficulties of setting up the unit in the fourth year of the war are enormous. Among the replacements there are many members of the so-called Volksliste 3 and 4, whose German awareness is not strong and whose family in the East are not treated as family members of soldiers, quite a few of them will not be able to cope with the protracted struggle in Italy. The vehicle situation remains difficult. By mid-September, of each Gren.Rgt. only one battalion and of the artillery only four batteries are mobilized; the supply troops are completely immobile and a standard equipment of the units is not possible. The new title of Panzer-Grenadier-Division means no improvement in structure compared to the old Inf.Div.(Mot), just as little as the name Panzer-Grenadiers in 1944 was for the previous Grenadiers. There are small changes in composition of the units: in each of the Rgts. the 13.Kp. the s.Zug (heavy platoon) is equipped with SFL (selbstfahrlafette = self propelled gun), the 14.Kp. is again a Pz.Jäger.Kp. equipped with 7.5 cm anti-tank gun (mot.Zug). The I. Abt. of the Art.Regt. is converted on to SFL (Pz.II "Wespe") at the SFL-Lehrabteilung in Jüterborg. The Pz.Abt. (Hptm.v.Stüntzner, then Hptm. Haen) is equipped with assault guns (7.5 cm long). The division will not have a Pz.Jäger-Abt. until the end of the Italian campaign, as a Heeres-Flak-Abt. (Maj. Pinkall) has been attached again. A Feld-Ersatz-Battalion (FEB) is planned, but will only arrive when the division is in Italy (Major Dannenberg). The new formation takes place in the Basque Country on the northern edge of the Pyrenees: the Div.-Stab in the thermal-bath Salies del Bearn, G.R. 8 in St.Palais, G.R. 29 in Peyrehorade and A.R. 3 in Sauverette. The surnames of the Basques show that they are descendants of a pre-Indo-European group, and the relationship to them is more cordial than correct [sic]; a raid on a messenger in May shows the existence of a resistance movement. On Sundays, quite a few soldiers like to watch the young Basques' Pilota'-game indoors or outdoors. The supply of food in this area, which has only been occupied by our troops since the autumn 1942, is better than in our homeland.

The training is geared towards mechanized warfare and enemy air superiority. The Map-games take into account American or English opponents. One company (7./G.R. 8, Hptm. Dr. Schütze) trains in the area of the picturesque St. Pied de Port, not far from the Spanish border, in mountain warfare. The Hossegor military training ground is available for practices, and during terrain studies many get to know the Atlantic coast in the Biarritz area, where the Flak-Abt. takes up anti-aircraft positions. After a good three months (from June 10th, 1943) the division is transferred by rail transport via Lourdes and Sètes in the area of the Armeegruppe Felber to the east and north of Lyon: Div. Staff to Charbonièrres les Bains, G.R. 8 to Genas, G.R. 29 to Trevoux and the A.R. 3 to Champs de Valbonne.

(...)

b) Transfer to Italy

At the end of July and beginning of August, the division moves to Italy. The train journey leads via Avignon, Marseille, Nice and Genoa to the old Etruscan country: Chiusi (the old Clusium), Lake Bolsana, which is reminiscent of the Volscians (Pi.Btl. and Pz. Aufkl.Abt. on the north side of the lake, G.R. 8 in Martha on the south side), Radicfani (G.R. 29), Aquapendente (Pz.-Abt). The artillery is accomodated in the area San Casciano - Citta delle Pieve and the Div Staff in S.Abadia San Salvatore. The Flak-Abt. takes up air defense positions at Fagiolo, from mid-July at the airfield Castelgiorgio and at the start of August at the airport of Viterbo.
(...)
The voyage leads to an allied Italy that has lost its best Divisions and therefore has asked for reinforcements by motorized German troops. So two more Pz.Divs and one Pz.Gren.Division are transferred with us. Accordingly our division is put under command of the 4th Italian Army in Viterbo as a mobile reserve. In reality, however, Field Marshal Kesselring, based in Frascati, is our superior. In order not to burden the Italians, the troops are mostly billeted in tents and it is forbidden to send parcels home. Correct relations are maintained with the Italian garrisons, although a certain aloofness on both sides. The training continues. The focus is on unit training, motorized marches and exercises in shooting with live ammunition.
*
While the division is here, the Allies land in Sicily (10.7) and occupy the island by mid-August. Thus begins the struggle for "Fortress Europe". On July 25th, just as general Von Rintelen, general at the Italian headquarters, was visiting the division, Mussolini was overthrown. As a result mutual relations with the Italians cool down. In response to this, without obtaining the consent of the Italians, the H.Gr.B (Feld.M. Rommel) was moved to Northern Italy to secure the Alpine passes and the 2nd FJD (Gen. Ramcke) jumps at the airfields south of Rome, which, at the same time as us, is subordinated to the XI. Fliegerkorps (Gen.Ob. Student). Now Italian authorities are trying to pull the division away from the Arezzo - Rome railway line and relocate it to the impassable terrain west of Lake Bolsena. With the reasoning that the area does not offer any air protection or accommodation, the plan can be rejected. Higher agencies also prevent requests from Italian agencies to move us to southern Italy or Sardinia. To protect the HQ of Ob.Süd, our division is now sending one Gren.Btl, one Bttr. and one Pi. Kp. to Frascati. The suspicion increased when the Italians gathered five divisions, including the Pz.Div "Centauro" equipped with German tanks, under the anti-German General Carboni around Rome. These troops erect tank barriers and field fortifications on all access roads, which even individual vehicles are only allowed to pass, if a higher authority has given permission by telephone. The explanation that these barriers are erected against Allied attacks is not believed by anyone.
In the meantime we are preparing for a confrontation with these divisions under the codename "Achse" ("Axis"). The troops have been on the alert since August 24th, as the allies are expected to cross over to the mainland. For this purpose, on the eastern edge of Lake Bolsena, parts of the 26. Pz. Div., K.Gr. Büsing (CO Pz.Art. Regt 93), are subordinated to the division. Today we know that Badoglio had been negotiating with the Allies since August 8th and suggested them to land with several divisions north of Rome, an air landing division south of the city and a tank division at the mouth of the Tiber and with the Corps Carboni to bring central Italy into Allied hands. Even on the day before the surrender, negotiations in Rome were held to drop the 82nd US Airborne Division (Gen. Ridgeway) in the Rome area so that they could occupy Rome together with Gen. Carboni until the Allies land and occupy the city (Clark 217). Fortunately for us, these negotiations fail on the night to the 9th, as the Italians are not yet finished with their preparations. In any case, these negotiations show how endangered our situation in Italy was, especially since the Führer Headquarters also had written off the divisions in central and southern Italy and had a new line of defense built up by H.Gr. Rommel in northern Italy.

c) action against Rome

On the evening of 8th September Badoglio's surrender is announced through the radio. On the afternoon of the same day the Allies bombed Frascati, and in the early hours of the following day (9th) they land in Salerno and Taranto. Then on the evening of 8th September the codeword "Axis" triggered the measures that were planned for an attack by the XI. Fliegerkorps on Rome which is to be opened from the south by the 2. Fallschirmjäger Division and from the north by our division. At the same time the Italian units in western central Italy are to be disarmed; at last the vital stretch of coast with the important port of Civitavecchia can be secured against landings and the Arezzo - Orvieto - Rome railway against sabotage. Thereby contact will be kept open with the HGr.B near Florence as well as with the German units in southern Italy. Our division has to fulfill these orders, even though it is partly mobile (see above) and other units are detached: a l.FH.Bttr. as well as a Batt. of the Regt 29 are subordinated to the Oberbefelshaber Süd in Frascati. The Flak Abt. 312 secures the Viterbo airfield; KGr Pz.Aufkl.Abt.103 will also carry out its order outside of the division. Therefore the division is reinforced by K.Gr. Büsing (II./Pz.Gren.Regt. 26, II./Pz.Gren.Regt 67, a Kp. Pz.Pi.Batt. 93).

That same night, 9th September, the Pz.Aukl. Abt 103 (Hauptman von Ziethen) advances with two Kp. of I./G.R. (mot) 29 on Civitavecchia and protects it together with small units of the Navy against enemy attacks. The Italian garrison is disarmed, and 14,000 tons of shipping with valuable cargo is secured. When on the 10th, the Pz. Aufkl.Abt. is pulled out for other use, the K.Gr Borchert (two Kp. I./29; two reconnaissance troops of the 1./Pz.Aufl.Abt.) takes over the security of an 83 kilometer wide strip on both sides of the harbour. Acting skillfully, K.Gr. Borchert, together with the navy, succeeds in disarming around 6,000 soldiers from two Italian coastal divisions. The Flak Abt. takes upon its actual task, the disarming of the Italian garrisons of Montefiascone, Viterbo, Orte and Orvieto, where 4,000 pilot trainees lay down their weapons; it also intervenes in Terni further to the east.
The 3./Art.Rgt. (mot) 3 secures with two groups of the F.E.B.3 Perugia, where Maj. Dannenberg forces 3,000 soldiers from a replacement division to side with us. The other immobile units of I./Art.R. (mot) 3 adopt an all-round defense in Citta della Piave and secure this important traffic node. Particularly vulnerable are the division's immobile supply units to the north with large supply dumps and the important Chiusi train station. Strong forces of the Italian "Ravenna" Division can be obliged to return to Siena. Here they are forced to lay down their arms in the following days. The garrisons in the important locations on the railway, in Castiglione and Arezzo, also are disbanded. Elements of the division move further north and make contact in the area of Florence with the 24. Pz.Div., coming from the north, thus contact with the H.Gr Rommel is established. More difficult is it to secure the POW camps, released by the Italian guards, and to bring back the English prisoners who have escaped in the meantime. Thus the units of the division that were left behind secured essential parts of central Italy, established a link with northern Italy and saved valuable stocks.

The division sets out at midnight from the southern edge of the Bolsena Lake, 140 kilometers north of Rome, and moves in two marching groups towards Lake Bracciano: to the right the K.Gr Oberst Grosser (CO Gr.Rgt. (mot) 8) consisting of the III. and II./Gr.Rgt (mot) 8 (Hptm. Luckow, Maj. Haeckel), Pz.Abt 103 (Hptm. Haen), 1./Pi.Btn.(mot.) 3 (Oblt. Mende), and three batteries of Art.Rgt (mot) 3 (Oberstlt. Scheffer); to the left K.Gr. Büsing. It is uncertain how the Italians will behave. K.Gr. Grosser was ordered to first head for the area on the western edge of Lake Bracianno. The march out of the Martha area is slow, because the vanguard repeatedly encounters guarded roadblocks, which are only opened after negotiations. At dawn the advance guard (III./8) meets Italian troops near Oriolo, with a strength of several hundred soldiers. They can be disarmed without resistance. But at around 8:00 a.m., two kilometers south of the village, the battalion comes across a roadblock of the 'Sassari' Division, whose removal was refused; this roadblock is overwatched by favorable positions and well camouflaged nests. Hptm. Luckow engages the Italians, from march column formation, by deploying his battalion on either side of the road, while the II. battalion makes an outflanking move to the right. After several hours the resistance is broken; the opponent pulls back to positions on either side of the town of Bracciano. Afterwards the II. Battalion no longer meets enemy resistance. Opposition, encountered by K.Gr Grosser to the north of Bracciano in the afternoon, is engaged by the III. Battalion with support of the Pz.Abt.103 and eliminated. Around 8 p.m., the KGr. reaches the southern edge of the lake near Crocicchie. Regt. 8 has 4 men killed and 31 wounded.
At the same time, K.Gr. Büsing proceeded south on the Via Cassia. Around 7:00 a.m. (9th September) the vanguard encountered a roadblock defended by the 'Ariete' Division at Monterossi (on the northern edge of Lake Bracciano). Colonel Büsing, who conducts the negotiations with the Italians himself, cannot persuade them to clear the barrier and lay down their arms. Immediately after the negotiations fail, the Italians detonate a road mine and take the point of the column under fire with AT guns and artillery, and inflict losses to the vanguard. By a flank attack by two Pz.Kp.'s from the east the road block is opened. Resuming the advance, with the tanks in the lead, the K.Gr. at several instances encounters more Italian troops ready to fight, but nowhere do they offer resolute opposition. Thus the K.Gr. also reaches the southern edge of Lake Bracciano at Cesano - Formella, where it establishes contact with K.Gr. Grosser.

The road to Rome looks clear, and a further advance and attack are being prepared. But the consideration of negotiations between Ob.d.Süd and Italian authorities, prevents us from taking advantage of the situation. The division must go to rest.

On the morning of September 10th, Lt. Semrau (I./G.R. (Mot.) 29) received the order to recce as far as possible to Rome with the motorcycle platoon 29 and, if necessary, to break light resistance. In his report it says:
"An unguarded road block was cleared. At the second the Italians evaded when we appeared. A German air force soldier, who had fled Rome to escape captivity, rendered us valuable service. He was able to inform us about the positions of an advanced Italian battalion and spoke fluent Italian. We took up position in front of the aforementioned positions of the Italian Battalion and established its course and strength. The road block was secured by mines and was covered by four AT guns. After reporting to the division, I drove with a motorcycle with sidecar and driver and the Air Force soldier as interpreter, to the Italian position waving my hat. We were warmly received by the Italian battalion headquarters. We were told that we were reluctant to fight us, but it was their military duty to carry out their order: to prevent us from marching through Rome. The Italian major did not feel empowered to negotiate about a surrender and referred me to his division commander. He gave me a Lt.Col. to accompany me, who drove in front of us on a motorcycle. Before that, I drove back to our lines and reported the K.Gr. about what had been achieved. Past the 'Ariete' division, which was in position on both sides of the road, and through the Italian frontline we drove to as far as the Tiber. To the south of the Tiber bridge, artillery and mortars were in position in a square, ready for action. We drove north of the Tiber in a large complex of buildings. A motorized infantry battalion was lined up in the courtyard and there were many officers in the long corridors of the building. apparently commanders and chiefs of the nearby units. Here I spoke to two generals, the commanders of the division 'Il Re' and 'Sassari'. After lengthy negotiations they agreed to allow us to pass through the main defensive line and the eastern outskirts of Rome next morning (11.9). Escort officers would be ready at the forward Battalion around 8:00 a.m. The generals indicated that negotiations with the C-in-C had started; however results were as yet unknown."

During these negotiations, the division moves only a little closer to Rome. In the course of the afternoon, K.Gr Büsing was released from division control and marched south. The same day, two companies of our Pz.Abt. make contact with the 2nd FJD in Rome. The Pz. Aufkl.Abt. hands over their task in the Civitavecchia area to K.Gr Borchert (G.R. 29) and marches south to the Naples area, where they come under command of the XIV. Panzer Korps. The following day (11.9) the II./G.R. (mot.) 29 (Major Mollenhauer), with the attached 2./Pi.Btl.(mot) 3, is ordered south to the Salerno area.

The bulk of the division moves forward in the early morning of the 11th, according to Lt Semraus' agreements. General Gräser leads the K.Gr. 29 through the Italian positions to the Tiber. The Italian troops on both sides of the advance route surrender: two regiments of the 'Sassari' Division and four battalions of the 'Il Re' Division. On the coast, the 'Lupi di Toscana' Division agrees to withdraw four battalions. Overall, in the battle area of Rome - not counting the troops in the former accommodation sector - 850 officers and 23,000 soldiers were ordered to lay down their weapons and withdraw. The agreement of a honorable withdrawal becomes irrelevant, since the soldiers go home in a disorderly manner, a shocking image of an army that did not know the purpose of its mission.

Immediately after reaching the Tiber, on the afternoon of the 11th, the division took up its new mission to take over the coastal strip between the Tiber and Gaeta (excl.). The right section to Terracina (incl.), with the important port of Anzio, is taken over by the reinforced G.R. 29. For this purpose the K.Gr. Grosser sets out, moving northwest around Rome, while the K.Gr. 29 is guided through the city to reach the Littoria area. Difficulties arise for the K.Gr. Grosser at the cities of Anzio and Nettuno, as the local garrison wants to offer resistance and has taken up defensive positions. But since the Military School takes our side, a fight is avoided. Thus, in the early hours of the 12th, the twin cities are completely occupied.

Gen.Oberst Student and Feldm. Kesselring express their appreciation. The division, in its advance on Rome, captured 158 guns, 162 anti-aircraft guns, 2 assault guns, 79 tanks and 1250 motor vehicles. To us the motor vehicles are important. Because with these all units of the division now can be made mobile and unusable vehicles - in some units one third - can be replaced. However, it must be accepted that the units now have a large number of different vehicle types.

The troops immediately start to organize the defense of their large sector. Already on the 13th the III./G.R. 29 sounds the alarm, 40 to 50 ships are reported to be sailing on Terracina, so too the G.R. 8, when ships want to enter the port. It soon turns out that these are German Schnellboote that are moored in Anzio. The division staff is in Littoria; the staff of Rgt. 8 first in Torre di Padiglione, later in Borgo di Carso near Littoria. Because soon a defense in depth is organized.
After the division at the beginning of October was withdrawn to the south, to the Volturno-Calore position, Rgt.8 remained behind in the area until October 27th, under command of the XI. Fliegerkorps. Ultimately, the regiment only has the III. Battalion, plus an additional K.Gr. and is located in the coastal sector of Formi - Gaeta - Minturno.

Fight up to the Bernhard Line

a) from Salerno to the Volturno

With the landings at Salerno and Taranto, the second phase of the Italian campaign begins. The Allies' objectives are Foggia on the east coast of Italy with its large airfields and the good port of Naples on the west coast. The Allies landed at Salerno with 450 ships and 53,000 men, the British in the north of the bay and the Americans in the east. Against these forces, the 10.Armee (Gen.d.Pz.Tr. Vietinghoff) is deployed with the XIV. Pz.Korps (Gen.d.Pz.Tr. Hube, later Gen.d.Pz.Tr. von Senger- Etterlin), with the 15. Pz.Gren.Div on the right and Fs.Pz.Div "Herman Göring" on the left, and the LXXXI. Pz.Korps (Gen.d.Pz.Tr. Herr) on the Adriatic.
During these battles our division is deployed in coastal defense on both sides of Littoria. Only two combat groups are thrown south, the combat group Mollenhauer (II./29) participates in the battle for Salerno, where it is attached to the "Hermann Göring" Division. On the night of the 14th, it thrusts towards Salerno from the north, in an area that has already been occupied by the British. The battalion suffers heavy losses in personnel and material. More detailed reports of the action are not available.

Two days later (September 16th), Gen.Feldm. Kesselring decided to break off the fighting and orders a delaying action over defined resistance lines (Alarich - Totile - Teja lines) to the Volturno. Accordingly, the 10. Armee regroups and occupies a line north of Salerno. This means that the Pz.Aufkl.Abt.103 also is committed, which arrives in Gugliano (north of Naples) on September 12 and is attached to the "Hermann Göring" division. Its first action is at the western foot of the Vesuvius near Torre del Greco against paratroopers who allegedly jumped here, a report that turns out to be false. On the 20th, the Abteilung is relocated to downtown Naples and on the following day (21.9), under K.Gr. Meyer (CO of Flak-Rgt "HG"), the order is given to take over the right section of the coastal defenses.
One week later (September 27th) the K.Gr. Ziethen (CO Pz. Aufkl.Abt.103), under codeword "Stromboli", leaves Naples and builds a defensive line at Torre Annunziata (2 km west of Pompei on the southern slope of the Vesuvius). This line is to be held until Naples is cleared of supplies and the port is demolished. For this purpose, the Flak-Abt.I./49 and the 6./Art.Rgt "Hermann Göring", are attached to the Pz.Aufkl.Abt. From now on, rain and low temperatures replace the good weather. Already next day (September 28th) the left neighbor (K.Gr. Becker east of the Vesuvius) has combat contact with the British who advance up to the Sarno. The enemy (82nd US Airborne Division) is also pushing north along the coastal road to the west of the Vesuvius, as the Sarno bridge at Scarfati has not been blown. The Neapolitans are getting restless, so that messengers can only move through the city in the company of scout cars.

On September 29th, the Pz.Aufkl.Abt. has its first contact with the enemy, who had been strengthened by a landing hard south of our position near Castellamare and now thrusts forward with tanks, armored vehicles and infantry. Since Italian civilians guided him behind our lines along roundabout routes, the position cannot be held in spite of many demolitions. In the morning hours of the following day (30th), the enemy again strikes northward along the coastal road with tanks and armored vehicles. But the K.Gr. Ziethen with the attached artillery manages to repel the attack and knocks out a Sherman. A second attack, carried out in the afternoon, drives us back 500 meters and then is stopped. On the evening of that same day (30th) the codeword "Etna" is given, which means that Naples should be vacated by the early morning of October 1st and the troops must retreat to line D, ten kilometers north of the city, conducting a fighting withdrawal. Thus the troops arrive in the densely populated Campania, one of the most fertile stretches of land in Europe which yields three harvests a year. The K.Gr Ziethen manages to disengage and, without being followed, occupies the D - Line between Villarica and Trattomaggiore. In this 8-kilometer-wide sector, the K.Gr. has contact to the left and right and is reinforced by two Flak-troops and the 6./A.R. "Hermann Goering". On the following day (October 2nd) six more tanks were attached and deployed in the left sector, as armoured concentrations were observed here. Early on October 3rd, out of 30 attacking enemy tanks (British 7 Armoured Div) four were knocked out. Now the enemy is shifting his focus to the east. Around noon he strikes at the center of our line at Gugliano with two battalions; the attack is intercepted and a break-in is sealed off. In the afternoon the enemy manages to break through with tanks, to the east of us. As a result, Hptm. Von Ziethen bends back his open left wing. On the evening of October 3rd, the codeword "Achse" is issued, which provides for a withdrawal to the Volturno Line. The K.Gr. Ziethen was ordered to form the rear guard of the "HG" Division. In the evening the K.Gr. breaks contact, unnoticed by the enemy, and falls back to Aversa. In the morning of the following day (4.10) the enemy attacks on either side of the city. Thereupon, the K.Gr. around 10:00 a.m. moves back to the 10 kilometer wide Alba Nova - Marcianese line. An attack on this line is beaten back, but our Aufkl.Abt. also suffers losses.

On the following day the K.Gr. parries an attack on S.Maria di Fossa, which is carried out with tanks and armored vehicles, with AT-guns and in the evening as ordered crosses the Volturno at Grazzanese. This ended the attachment of the Pz.Aufkl.Abt to the "HG" Division. The division commander, Gen. Conradt, expresses his appreciation.

Thus ends the second phase of the campaign, in which only part of our division was involved. With Naples, the opponent disposes of a fully-fledged port facility, which despite all the demolitions is restored after only four days, and the Foggia airports. With this the conditions for an attack on Rome are met. However, he will be bitterly disappointed in his hope of being in Rome by the end of the month.

b) Volturno - Calore Line

It is Feldm. Kesselrings intention, to force the Allies into a battle of attrition at the narrowest point south of Rome. Accordingly the 130 kilometer Gustav Line is planned and built, the focus of which is to cover the Liri Valley, through which the Via Casilina leads, the shortest route that leads from the south to Rome. On the enemy side of this line General Hube establishes the Reinhard Line, called Bernhard Line by us, and Winter Line by the Allies. The Line creates a cushion of 20 kilometers south of Cassino, offers special protection for the Liri valley and gives the higher command time to construct the Gustav Line. The Berhard Line should not be reached by us until November 1st, fighting a delaying action; the Volturno - Carole Line is to be held until October 15th.

The Volturno flows south from Venafro to Amorosi. Here, at the confluence with the Calore coming from the east, the river takes a westerly course. As far as the Triflisco Narrow, that is, for a length of 22 kilometer, the river flows through mountainous terrain, beyond the Narrow it debouches into the plain of Campania. The river, 60 to 80 meters in width, is swollen and fast flowing since the September rains. But when the water recedes a little, the river with its many shallows is fordable by tanks and soldiers.

(...)

The division sector is 18 kilometers wide and is bounded on the right by the Villa - Cajazzo line and on the left by the Matese Massif, which rises up to 2000 meters. Only just north of the Calore, the roads from the sulfur bath Telese and the pass from Faicchio create connections to the east to Benevento. The river crossings over the Volturno are sensitive points: the one south of Cajazzo at Limatola and that of Squille, as well as to the south of Amarosi that over the Calore. Also important are the north-south roads: on the right the road from Triflisco via Liberi to Dragoni, the road from Cajazzo to Dragoni and on the left the road from Faicchio to Piedimonte. To the right of the division is the "Hermann Göring" Division, while on the left the Matese massif seperates us from the 26. Pz.Div. First of all, the division has to reckon with two centers of gravity, the road from Cajazzo to Dragoni and on the left the roads coming from the Telese - Faicchio area. If the front is shifted to the north, a third focal point will be the road Villa - Liberi - Dragoni, the southern part of which, in the Triflisco area, belongs to the sector of the right neighbor.

Again the division does not have all of its units available. The Rgt. 8 remains in defensive positions along the coast until the end of October; the I.Btl. (Hptm. Preuss) was deployed in the Calore position, the II.Btl. (Major Haeckel) arrives only by the middle of the month. The mass of the Heeres-Flak Abt.312 is deployed in the Venafro area in an anti-aircraft role, where it accounts for several aircrafts. The bulk of the pioneers with the Btl.staff (Major Wegener) remains in the Bernhard position, where they have been constructing positions since mid-September, especially in the Mignano area. On the right, west of the upper Volturno, the division deploys K.Gr. Möller (CO of G.R.(mot.) 29), with whom the II./A.R.(mot) 3 (Hptm. Pengel) works together. Here the I.Btl (Major von Schultzendorff) is located on the right sector up to Cajazzo and the III.Btl. (Hptm. Grün) on the left to the mouth of the Calore. The II./Btl. (Hptm. Kubenke) which has lost many officers and heavy weapons in Salerno and has not yet been fully replenished, forms a reserve. The sector to the left, as far as Telese, is under command of Hptm.Haen (CO Pz.Abt.103), in whose sector the I./AR (mot) 3 (Major Petzel), with their 18 l.FH on SFL and parts of Nebelwerfer-Abt.71 are active. Apart from the 1. and 3. Kp./Pz.Abt.103, are also attached to him on the right the I./G.R.(mot.) 8 and on the left, from October 8th onwards, the Pz.Aufkl.Abt.103. On the left in the Faicchio area, the K.Gr. Viebig (26. Pz.Div.) is in position, which comprizes the Pz.Aufkl.Abt.26, II./Pz.Gren.Rgt. 9, I./Pz.A.R. 93. The unit passes under our command on October 12th. The bulk of our division has been in this position since October 2nd, so it has had about 10 days to settle. Initially, the main line of defense is south of the river. But when the Americans approach, the line is pulled back to the north bank (8.10). There is a lot of reconnaissance activity, almost every day patrols pass on to the south bank. But since the Americans are holding back, the focal points and enemy intentions cannot be determined. Like our right-hand neighbor, the division is subordinated to the XIV. Panzer Korps.

Our division faces the VI. US Corps: in front of our right sector the 3rd US Inf Div, a division that has already been tried and tested in Sicily, a master of infiltration and in outflanking; in the center the 34th US Inf Div with the red bull's head; in front of the left section the 45th US Inf Div (with the stylized bird), which also has experience in campaigning in Italy.
The enemy wants to pass on a broad front. He puts his focus on our division sector and that of our right neighbor, "Hermann Göring". The hilly terrain south of the river allows him a covered approach. The 45th US Inf Div formed bridgeheads at Benevento and Ponte at the beginning of October, from where they tried to push through Telese and Faicchio to the west into our left flank. In order to divert our attention from the Volturno position, the 45th US Inf Div was to seize the heights at Faicchio and S. Salvatore one day before the main Allied Offensive, and thus clear the last barrier before the Volturno. The 3rd US Inf Div is to force a passage over the Volturno with one Rgt (15th), take the two heights south of the road - M.Monticello and M. Mesanirolo - and then seize the dominant heights of the M.Caruso north of the road and from here penetrate along the road to Liberi. The 34th US Inf Div is to proceed with two assault groups: one Rgt is to force the crossing over the Volturno to the north and east of Limatola and then to occupy the highlands to the east of Cajazzo in two wedges. A second Rgt (135th) has to make a crossing near Squille hard south of the mouth of the Calore and then seize the highlands west of Castel Campagnano. As soon as Cajazzo is taken, the 34th US Inf Div is to advance north on both sides of the road to Alvignano and is to switch to the east bank of Volturno south of Dragoni. To oppose them we will conduct a fighting withdrawal, which leads over six resistance lines, Z 1 - 6, to the Bernhard Line.


The loop in the Volturno with the M.Monticello and the higher, cone-shaped M.Mesarinolo visible in the center. All were within the zone of the 3rd US Inf Division. The right wing of this American Division, the 15th Infantry (-), descended from the high ground to the left, the M.Castelone Massif. The small town of Cajazzo is visible in the left background, it was the objective of the 34th US Inf Division, which crossed the Volturno further upstream.


Map of the Volturno Crossing, taken from Blumenson's "Salerno to Cassino", US Army WW2 the Mediterranean Theater of War. Blumenson (p. 208) characterizes the fighting as follows: "The German Tenth Army was to gain time - to fight cheaply, to use troops and material economically, to inflict maximum casualties on Allied forces while withdrawing slowly enough to permit construction of fortifications [in the rear areas]".

The last days prior to the Allied Offensive are more restless. In the night of October 11th, American patrols, who want to explore crossing points, and at noon a strong push on Castel Campagnano were repelled by the III./GR (mot) 29. The harassing fire of the enemy artillery is stronger than usual, and artillery spotter planes are more active. According to plan, the 45th US Inf Div, on October 12th, tries to take the M.Acero, the dominant height south of Faicchio, by striking from the east and south-east over S.Salvatore. They encounter our Pz.Aufkl.Abt. in the area of Telese and S.Salvatore and in the area eastwards Faicchio the K.Gr. Viebig (without II./9, pulled out for flank protection to Piedimonte; reinforced by two forward observers from a Werfer-Bttr. and a platoon from our Pz.Abt.). The K.Gr. Viebig intercepts the enemy attack at Fontana (east of Faicchio); the enemy however captures S. Salvatore and the high ground to the north. In contrast, the M.Acero is held against another American battalion, which is attacking the mountain from the southeast. The enemy suffers heavy losses, but so do we. Hptm. Haen bends his left open flank back. On the night in which the enemy offensive is supposed to start (night to October 13th) a recce patrol of G.R.(mot) 29 enters the south bank of the Volturno, where it notices strong enemy occupation and lively traffic and the presence of enemy listening posts near the riverbank. The night is moonlit; it does not rain, so that the floods of the previous days are receding.

At 1:45 a.m. (13.10) the enemy offensive along the entire Volturno-Calore sector opened with a thunderous barrage, in which in the area of the G.R. (mot) 29 a number of 96 guns and howitzers take part. After 45 minutes the shellfire switches onto the road north of the river and onto the high ground, where the enemy suspects observation posts. At the same time, the enemy intensely targets the crossing points and blankets them with smoke screens. At 3:00 a.m. he starts the river assault. On the right wing, an American battalion (2nd/15th Infantry) suffers considerable losses when moving towards M.Moticello. Further eastwards, another battalion (3rd/15th Infantry) fords the river in the direction of the M. Mesarinolo, but is soon blocked by fire from the east. However, one company manages to outflank the mountain from the east and seizes it. When the battalion presses on it suffers considerable losses from our artillery and from Sturmgeschütze attacking along the road from the east. There are also delays in front of Piana di Cajazzo, caused by two machine gun nests. In the afternoon, the enemy seizes the ridge north of the road.
An attempt by the 34th US Inf Div, to build a bridge south of Cajazzo over the Volturno in the morning, was crushed by our artillery, which controlled all movements from its observation positions on the high ground. When a second attempt in the afternoon fails, the Americans make another try further to the east, near Squille. A bridge over the Volturno is finished on the 14th, one day later than to our right. A bridge capable of carrying tanks south of Cajazzo is not finished until the 15th. In the eastward sector, the enemy strikes at Fontana with tanks and infantry, but is blocked by the 3./Pz.Aufkl.Abt.26, which is supported by strong artillery fire. Another attack on Facchio from the south is fended off by the K.Gr. Haen.
Thus the enemy won a broad, shallow bridgehead on the first day of his offensive. The division has kept its cohesion, but contact to the right neighbour is interrupted for one day, so that now both our flanks are in the open. The withdrawal movements during the night, are going according to plan.

In the early morning of October 14th, the enemy took the heights northeast of Cajazzo and hill 283 (west of Campagnano). With this he took out the artillery observation posts so that his tanks and tank destroyers could cross the river and advance north. Between the right wing of the III./29 and the left wing of the I./29 there exists a gap about two kilometers wide. In it the 8.Kp. (Lt. Wilde) is positioned, but it cannot seal it off, as part of the 11.Kp., members of the Volksliste 3, stayed behind to surrender.
On the left wing of the division the 45th US Inf Div, since the early hours of the morning, attacks the M.Arcero from the east, south-east and south with three battalions, heavily supported by artillery, anti-tank guns and tanks. The enemy seizes the mountain and sets up observation posts on it. Therefore, around noon, while leaving rear guards behind in the Facchio-Lombardi area, our troops move back to the north bank of the Titerno, where they occupy a new line of resistance near Massa Nicolai and Lombardi. In order to cover the retreat, the K.Gr.Haen holds the western slope of the M.Acerno and the K.Gr. Viebig occupies advanced positions along the road east of Faicchio, where a violent American attack at the end of the day is repulsed. In the night to October 15, the K.Gr. Viebig (without II./9) is released and returns to its division; the K.Gr. Haen takes over its positions.

The night of the 15th remains quiet in the division area, but for some regroupings necessitated by the advance of the 3rd US Inf Div to the north which is now affecting our sector. The sector around Villa - Liberi is taken over by the K.Gr. Möller (CO G.R.(mot) 29) with the III./G.R. (mot) 29 in the Villa area, and with III./G.R. (mot) 115 (15th Pz.Gren.Div., Major Haas) in the Liberi area. The K.Gr. is temporarily reinforced by the 6. and 7.Kp./G.R. (mot) 8 (Oblt. Scheffer and Oblt. Dr. Schütze). Advance guards have been put out into the area of Pontaleone, Cisterna and Sasso.
In front of these places the advance of the 3rd US Inf Div is halted. The division can only resume the advance on the afternoon of the 15th, after a battalion (1st/7th Infantry) has outflanked the road to the east; this battalion seizes hills 561 and 565 south of Liberi in the evening. In the center, the G.R. 29 parries several enemy thrusts in company-strength at our line north of Cajazzo. Further to the east the enemy seizes Ruviano with a battalion (2nd/135th Infantry), but until the evening cannot make further progress, as he encounters strong resistance north of the village. There is stiff fighting on the left. In the morning, an assault on Faicchio is repulsed, a break-in west of the M.Arcero is restored by a counter-attack; a simultaneous thrust at Lombardi is repulsed, but our forward troops are withdrawn to the Titerno. The I./AR (mot) 3 targets armoured concentrations near the M.Arcero and the 2./Nebelw.Rgt.71 takes on an enemy battery west of S. Salvatore. In the afternoon, four more attacks on Faicchio, two of which were carried out with tank support, are repulsed, with the enemy, besides prisoners, loosing two tanks and two fighter-bombers. In the evening the Pz.Aufkl.Abt. beats off another attack on Faicchio and the I./G.R.(mot) 8 one to the west of the town, after that they give up the town. With this the enemy has reached the Titerno, up to its confluence with the Volturno, where the 34th and 45th US Inf Div make contact. The Americans now have breached the full width of the Volturno - Calore Line.

On 16.10 the division regroups. To enable the deployment of the Pz.Abt. in the whole sector, it is attached to K.Gr. Möller. Major Haeckel (II./G.R. 8) takes over the command of the division's left from Hptm.Haen, with under command the I./G.R. (mot) 8 (now under Hptm. Von Seebeck, who replaces the fallen Captain Preuss), the II./8 (without 6. and 7.Kp. still with K.Gr. Möller) and the Pz. Aufkl.Abt. The enemy attacks on this 16.10 concentrate on our right. When the enemy tries to penetrate Villa with a battalion (2nd/7th Infantry) around midnight, he encounters tough resistance, and our fire and counter-attacks inflict heavy losses on him. The attempt of a second battalion (3rd/7th Infantry) to seize the high north of the place is repulsed. For the defense against this flanking threat, Colonel Möller expresses his gratitude to the commanders of the III./29 (Hptm. Grün), the 10. and 11. (Oblt Meier and Oblt Dellin), the attached parts of the 8. (Oberfähnrig Wilde) and 2. Kp. (Feldw. Möller) and all of the regimental units. Hptm Grün (III./29) and Ofw.Gluska (11./29) are mentioned in the Ehrenblatt. During the morning, other companies of the III.Btl., reinforced by the 6./G.R.(mot) 8 and supported by the II. Abt., make an attempt to throw the enemy from Hill 561 south of Liberi, which he had taken in the early morning. The counter-attack is halted by the strong defensive fire of the American artillery just in front of the hill. Our units suffer heavy losses. In the afternoon the K.Gr. Moller falls back to Liberi and in the night to Majorano.
In our center, the enemy strikes at the road-fork five kilometers north of Cajazzo. The Sturmgeschütze of our Pz.Abt. assist in the defense in this sector. Losses are suffered by the 1./Flak.Abt.312 (Hptm.Deeg) which in firing position at the bridge eastward of Dragoni, each soldier who shows up is shot at by enemy artillery. To the left, the enemy thrusts into our retreat in the early morning. The situation is redressed in the course of the morning. An attack on Lombardi and east of the town was repulsed in the course of the morning, with great losses for the enemy, who lost three tanks. A penetration by a later attack is immediately redressed by a counter-attack.

In the evening of October 16, under cover of rearguards, the division falls back to a new line: M. Angelo (north-west of Villa), 5 kilometers south-east of Dragoni, south of Goia. When the enemy (7th Infantry) enters Liberi in the early morning of October 17th, he finds the place empty. So he pushes on and occupies the high ground on both sides of the village. Around noon he tries to penetrate Marjorano with a battalion, but is targetted with infantry weapons and artillery in such a way that he is pinned down until the evening. For this reason the Americans engage two more battalions, in an outflanking move towards Dragoni. In the wide valley of Dragoni the enemy pressure eases a little, as the 34th US Inf Div is preparing to cross over to the east bank of the Livorno river. In late afternoon the Americans occupy Alvignano and Hill 220 (eastward of A.).

On the division's left, the II./G.R. (mot) 8 receives its baptism of fire, when its outposts hold up the enemy. Two enemy companies, advancing on the left wing between Auduni and Criscia, are crushed by volleys from our Nebelwerfer. The reconnaissance group Huth (Pz.Aufkl.Abt.) attacks the enemy south of Goia and inflicts losses. In the afternoon, the enemy seizes Hill 226 (northwest of Goia) from our outposts, but in the afternoon, during a second counterattack of the 5./G.R. (mot.) 8 (Oblt. Heublein), has to give it up again. All day long, our positions are harassed by strong enemy fire; enemy air activity is also brisk. That evening, the division retreats to a new line: south of the road to Roccaromagna, south of Dragoni - Criscia (3km north of Goia).

c) On both sides of the Volturno River

October 18th brings an unpleasant fact for us on the right wing, the Americans advanced with stronger forces than expected (15th Infantry) from Villa over the high ground to the north and occupied Hill 330 south of Statigliano. From here, on the 18th and the following day, their attack radiates out to the north, west and east with the objective to block the two roads between Latina and Pietramelara. A scout troop of the I./G.R. (mot) 29 under Lt. Fischer passes Statigliano at 5:00 p.m. still unchallenged; shortly afterwards a patrol under Feldw.Schön (8./29) sent to Roccaromagna is ambushed in Statigliano, whereupon the 8. Kp. blocks the road eastward of Statigliano. In the meantime the Americans attacked westwards toward Roccaromagna and seized the town in the afternoon after heavy fighting. A second battalion, led by Italian civilians, advanced on Statigliano and blocked the road. A third pushes further north towards the road on both sides of Baja e Latina, where it gains Hill 446 (north of Statigliano) on the 19th. The division engages its counter-attack reserve from the east against Statigliano (6. and 8./29, Sturmgeschütz-Zug Lt. Zippel and a platoon of the Pz. Aufkl.Abt.), since there is only one Kanonen-Bttr. available as artillery support, which finds it impossible to pass over the heights, and the assault guns and armored recce vehicles cannot effectively operate on the narrow roads, it is only possible to gain the eastward entrance of the village; there the counter-attack comes to a halt, as a result of heavy machine-gun and mortar fire.
In the division center, on the night of the 18th, an American battalion (3rd/7th Infantry), advancing from Majorano, occupied Hill 371 (south-west of Dragoni). When it is driven off from the hill by the G.R. (mot.) 29, it occupies Hill 507 north of the village and is now in contact on the left with another American battalion which seized the M.Lungo. This gives the enemy control of the Dragoni road. Nevertheless, the G.R. 29 stillholds on to Dragoni. This is felt by an American regiment attacking from the south (168th Infantry ), which is halted south of the town near S.Marco. After our counter attack is crushed by enemy artillery, the forces of the G.R. 29 withdraw on Dragoni and can hold the place; only Hill 371 has to be left to the Americans. An attack on P.Margherita is beaten off.
On the left, the Americans try twice to get hold of Hill 226. Both attempts fail, although the hill is only held by one platoon of the 5./G.R. (mot) 8. In late afternoon, the enemy repeated his attack, with heavy support of mortars, which inconspicuously have registered their fire and now take out the postions one after the other.

For further background on the American operations see this downloadable publication: From Volturno to the Winter Line, 6 October - 15 November 1943 - U.S. Army Center of Military History or Blumenson's "Salerno to Cassino": CMH Publications Catalog - SALERNO TO CASSINO

(text continues here: 3 Panzer- Grenadier Division- 3 Infanterie Division( mot.))

 

stolpi,

many thanks.

Regards,
Stu.

 

Book with unit history of the Panzer Abteilung 103 in Italy:



Combat History of the Panzer-Abteilung 103: September 1943 - August 1944: Számvéber, Norbert: 9786155583018: Amazon.com: Books

 

Hi Stolpi,

Is there much in that book about the fighting in Salerno in September 1943? I might be tempted...

Regards

Tom

 

Anybody got a complete Order of Battle for this Division? 43-44..

This is all that i have from page 456 From Salerno to the Alps A History of the Fifth Army 43-45. Edited by Lt Col Chester G. Starr.

3d Panzer Grenadier Division 1,8. 1 Virtually destroyed at Stalingrad; reformed. 8. Left Italy for France in August 1944.
103d Reconnaissance Battalion.
8th Panzer Grenadier Regiment.
29th Panzer Grenadier Regiment.
103d Panzer Battalion.
3d Artillery Regiment.

It looks cheap to me. I will be tempted.

Regards,
Stu.

 

Depending on your definition of Salerno the division only came into the line once the withdrawal to the Volturno had begun - see the pages above.