Operation Grapeshot order of battle



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.

Allied Forces Headquarters Mediterranean
Supreme Allied Commander, Mediterranean Theatre

Field Marshal Sir Harold Alexander


 * Deputy: Lieutenant General Joseph T. McNarney
 * Chief of Staff: Lieutenant-General William Morgan
 * Air Commander-in Chief Mediterranean Allied Air Forces: Lieutenant General John K. Cannon

Allied 15th Army Group
General Mark Wayne Clark


 * Chief of Staff: Major General Alfred M. Gruenther

US Fifth Army
Lieutenant General Lucian K. Truscott


 * Army troops
 * 85th_Division_SSI.svg 85th Infantry "Custer" Division
 * Major General John B. Coulter
 * Infantry: 337th, 338th, 339th Infantry Regiments
 * Artillery–105mm: 328th, 329th, 910th Field Artillery Battalions
 * Artillery–155mm: 403rd Field Artillery Battalion
 * US_92nd_Infantry_Division_SVG.svg 92nd Infantry "Buffalo Soldiers" Division (Colored)
 * Major General Edward M. Almond
 * Infantry: 370th (Colored), 442nd (Nisei), 473rd Infantry Regiments
 * Artillery–105mm: 597th, 598th, 599th, 600th Field Artillery Battalions (all Colored)
 * Armor–Tank: 758th Light Tank Battalion, 760th Tank Battalion (less two companies)
 * Armor–TD: 679th, 894th Tank Destroyer Battalion (less two companies)

Corps deployed west to east:

IV Corps
Lieutenant General Willis D. Crittenberger
 * Corps troops
 * 365th Infantry Regiment
 * 371st Infantry Regiment
 * 751st Tank Battalion (plus one company 760th Tank Battalion)
 * 701st Tank Destroyer Battalion (plus elements 894th Tank Destroyer Battalion)
 * United_States_Army_1st_Armored_Division_CSIB.svg 1st Armored Division
 * Major General Vernon Prichard
 * Armor: 1st, 4th, 13th Tank Battalions
 * Infantry: 6th, 11th, 14th Armored Infantry Battalions
 * Artillery: 27th, 68th, 91st Armored Field Artillery Battalions
 * Shoulder_sleeve_insignia_of_the_10th_Mountain_Division_%281944-2015%29.svg 10th Mountain Division
 * Major General George Price Hays
 * Infantry: 85th, 86th, 87th Infantry Regiments
 * Artillery: 604th, 605th, 616th Field Artillery Battalions
 * Armor: 10th Mountain Antitank Battalion
 * Brazilian_Expeditionary_Forces_insignia_%28smoking_snake%29.svg Brazilian Expeditionary Force (FEB)
 * General Mascarenhas de Morais
 * 1st Brazilian Infantry Regiment
 * 6th Brazilian Infantry Regiment
 * 11th Brazilian Infantry Regiment
 * Mountain Infantry Battalion

II Corps
Major General Geoffrey Keyes
 * Corps troops
 * Flag_of_Italy.svg Combat Group "Legnano" (Italian Co-Belligerent Army)
 * 68th Infantry Regiment "Legnano"
 * Special Infantry Regiment "Legnano"
 * 752nd, 757th Tank Battalions
 * 804th, 805th Tank Destroyer Battalions
 * 34th_%27Red_Bull%27_Infantry_Division_SSI.svg 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Division
 * Major General Charles L. Bolté
 * Deputy: Brig. Gen. Harry B. Sherman
 * Infantry: 133rd, 135th, 168th Infantry Regiments
 * Artillery–105mm: 125th, 151st, 175th Field Artillery Battalions
 * Artillery–155mm: 185th Field Artillery Battalion
 * 88th_Infantry_Division_SSI.svg 88th Infantry "Cloverleaf" Division
 * Major General Paul W. Kendall
 * Deputy: Brig. Gen. James C. Fry
 * Infantry: 349th, 350th, 351st Infantry Regiments
 * Artillery–105mm: 337th, 338th, 913th Field Artillery Battalions
 * Artillery–155mm: 339th Field Artillery Battalion
 * US_91st_Infantry_Division.svg 91st Infantry "Wild West" Division
 * Major General William G. Livesay
 * Deputy: Brig. Gen. Raymond E. S. Williamson
 * Infantry: 361st, 362nd, 363rd Infantry Regiments
 * Artillery–105mm: 346th, 347th, 916th Field Artillery Battalions
 * Artillery–155mm: 348th Field Artillery Battalion
 * 6TH_SA_ARMD_DIV_FLASH.svg 6th South African Armoured Division
 * Major-General Evered Poole
 * 11th South African Armoured Brigade
 * 12th South African Motorised Brigade
 * 13th South African Motorised Brigade

British Eighth Army
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

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
 * 28th Brigade "Garibaldi" (Italian partisans)
 * WW1_British_56th_%281st_London%29_Division_Shoulder_Patch.svg 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)
 * 78_inf_div_-vector.svg 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.svg 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_NZ.svg 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
 * Flag_of_Italy.svg Combat Group "Cremona" (Italian Co-belligerent Army)
 * Generale di Brigata Clemente Primieri
 * 21st Infantry Regiment "Cremona"
 * 22nd Infantry Regiment "Cremona"

X Corps
Lieutenant-General John Hawkesworth
 * Jewish Brigade (from March 1945)
 * Palestine Regiment
 * Flag_of_Italy.svg Combat Group "Friuli" (Italian Co-belligerent Army)
 * Generale di Brigata Arturo Scattini
 * 87th Infantry Regiment "Friuli"
 * 88th Infantry Regiment "Friuli"

XIII Corps
Lieutenant-General Sir John Harding
 * 6th Army Group Royal Artillery (under command)
 * 10th Indian Infantry Division
 * Major-General Denys Reid
 * 10th Indian Infantry Brigade
 * 20th Indian Infantry Brigade
 * 25th Indian Infantry Brigade
 * Lovat Scouts (under command)
 * 2nd Battalion, Highland Light Infantry (under command)
 * Flag_of_Italy.svg Combat Group "Folgore" (Italian Co-belligerent Army)
 * Generale di Brigata Giorgio Morigi
 * Paratroopers Regiment "Nembo"
 * Navy Regiment "San Marco"

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)
 * Oznaka3dsk.png 3rd Carpathian Rifle Division
 * Major-General Bolesław Bronisław Duch
 * 1st Carpathian Rifle Brigade
 * 2nd Carpathian Rifle Brigade
 * 3rd Carpathian Rifle Brigade
 * Zubr_2.png 5th Kresowa Infantry Division
 * Major-General Nikodem Sulik
 * 5th Wilenska Infantry Brigade
 * 6th Lwowska Infantry Brigade
 * 4th Wolwyn Infantry Brigade
 * 2nd Armoured Brigade (Brigadier-General Bronislaw Rakowski)

Army Reserve

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

Army Group C
Generaloberst Heinrich von Vietinghoff (to 29 April) General der Infanterie Friedrich Schulz (from 29 April to 2 May) Generaloberst Heinrich von Vietinghoff (from 2 May)

West: Army Group Liguria
Marshal Rodolfo Graziani


 * Lombardia Corps
 * Lieutenant-General Kurt Jahn
 * 3rd Marine Infantry Division "San Marco" (Major-General Amilcare Farina)
 * Battle Group Meinhold
 * Fortress Brigade 135
 * Elements of the 4th Alpine Division "Monterosa"


 * LXXV Corps
 * General der Gebirgstruppe Hans Schlemmer
 * 2nd Grenadier Division "Littorio" (Major-General Tito Agosti)
 * 4th Alpine Division "Monterosa" (bulk of) (Colonel Giorgio Milazzo)
 * 5th Mountain Division (Generalmajor Hans Steets)
 * 34th Infantry Division (Generalleutnant Theobald Lieb)

Center: Fourteenth Army
Generalleutnant Joachim Lemelsen


 * XIV Panzer Corps
 * Generalleutnant Frido von Senger und Etterlin
 * 8th Mountain Division (Major-General Paul Schricker)
 * 65th Infantry Division (Major-General Hellmuth Pfeifer)
 * 94th Infantry Division (Major-General Bernhard Steinmetz)


 * LI Mountain Corps
 * Generalleutnant Valentin Feurstein until March 1945 and then Lieutenant-General Friedrich-Wilhelm Hauck
 * 1st Bersaglieri Division "Italia" (Major-General Mario Carloni)
 * 114th Jäger Division (Brigadier-General Hans-Joachim Ehlert to 15 April 1945 then Brigadier-General Martin Strahammer)
 * 148th Reserve Division (Major-General Otto Fretter-Pico)
 * 232nd Infantry Division (Major-General Eccard Freiherr von Gablenz)
 * 334th Infantry Division (Major-General Hellmuth Böhlke)

East: Tenth Army
Generalleutnant Traugott Herr


 * LXXVI Panzer Corps
 * Lieutenant-General Gerhard Graf von Schwerin (to 25 April 1945)
 * Major-General Karl von Graffen (from 25 April 1945)
 * 42nd Jäger Division (Major-General Walter Jost)
 * 98th Infantry Division (Major-General Alfred-Hermann Reinhardt to 11 April 1945 then Brigadier-General Otto Schiel)
 * 162nd Turkoman Division (Major-General Ralph von Heygendorff)
 * 362nd Infantry Division (Brigadier-General Alois Weber)


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


 * LXXIII Corps
 * Lieutenant-General Anton Dostler
 * Minor units watching the coast between the Po and Venice


 * LXXXXVII Corps (transferred to Army Group E in Yugoslavia on 10 April)
 * General of the Mountain Troops Ludwig Kübler
 * 188th Mountain Division (Major-General Hans von Hößlin)
 * 237th Infantry Division (Major-General Hans von Grävenitz until late April then Colonel Karl Falkner)


 * Army Reserve
 * 29th Panzergrenadier Division (Major-General Fritz Polack)
 * 155th Infantry Division (Brigadier-General Georg Zwade)

Army Group Reserve

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