page_title: 44th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
section_title: Italy
hierarchical_section_title: 44th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht) / Combat History / Italy
caption_attribution_description: For documentary purposes the German Federal Archive often retained the original image captions, which may be erroneous, biased, obsolete or politically extreme. II. Weltkrieg 1939 - 1945 Entwaffnete Badoglio-Einheiten in den Straßen der Stadt Bozen. In Norditalien hatte der Verräter, Marschall Badoglio, zahlreiche Verbände des italienischen Heeres stationiert, um im gegebenen Augenblick den im Süden kämpfenden deutschen Truppen in den Rücken fallen zu können. Aber durch das schnelle Handeln der deutschen Führung wurde diese verbrecherische Absicht zunichte gemacht und die italienischen Truppen, die nur kurzen oder meist gar keinen Widerstand leisteten, zur Waffenstreckung gezwungen, so weit sie sich nicht an das deutsche Heer anschlossen. UBz: Die ersten entwaffneten italienischen Einheiten marschieren durch die Straßen der Stadt Bozen, nur von wenigen deutschen Soldaten bewacht, ins Sammellager. PK-Kriegsberichter Rieder, Scherl 11.9.43 [Herausgabedatum]
context_page_description: The 44th Infantry Division was formed on 1 April 1938 in Vienna, about two weeks after the Anschluss of Austria.
  It first saw combat at the start of the war in the Invasion of Poland, and also took part in the Battle of France in 1940. After a 9-month period of coastal defence the division was transferred East. On 22 June 1941, the division took part in the invasion of the Soviet Union, attached to Army Group South. It remained in the east after the failure of "Operation Barbarossa", taking part in defensive actions for the winter against the Soviet Army offensives near Izum and Kharkov. Refurbished, the division participated in the German summer offensive, and was subsequently destroyed with the 6th Army at Stalingrad in January 1943.
  The division was rebuilt as Reichsgrenadier-Division Hoch- und Deutschmeister in Belgium when Hitler ordered the Stalingrad divisions should be reconstructed. By the summer of 1943 it was back up to strength and sent to fight in Italy, where it was heavily engaged at Monte Cassino. It withdrew up the Italian peninsula during 1944 and briefly clashed with American forces attacking the Gothic line.
context_section_description: On 25 July 1943 Mussolini was removed from Office by King Victor Emmanuel and replaced as Prime Minister by Marshal Badoglio Although Badoglio publicly declared a continuation of the war and the pact with Germany Hitler immediately suspected that he would seek to make peace with the Allies. The German military forces in Italy remained weak, most combat capable combat units were fighting in Sicily, with very little on the mainland, capable of dealing with a swift Italian defection.
  Hitler recalled Rommel to Berlin and ordered him to take on the problem of securing German interests in Northern Italy and to use his newly set up Army Group B headquarters to control the new forces that would soon be moved into the area. Orders for these troop movements soon began to be issued, but to get the troops into the theatre, first the vital communications route through the mountains had to be secured. On 26 July, Field Marshal von Rundstedt, at OB West Headquarters was ordered to move 2 divisions immediately to secure the Alpine passes, the 305th went towards Nice and the 44th towards the Brenner pass. Divisional units of the 44th Infantry Division began arriving in Innsbruck, Austria on 27 July, and by the month's end it was on the border at the Brenner pass. Its admission into Italy proper, however, now became a matter of political debate between the higher political and military establishments of Italy and Germany.
  The new Italian leadership did not want more German units to enter the country as that would enable the Germans to take control. However, they were not ready to openly oppose the Germans at this time and they could not deny the logic of the German argument, that more military units would be needed to repel the Allied armies, so eventually permission was granted. The 44th quickly took control of the rail line as far as Bolzano, and by the next day infiltration of Army group B units was in full swing.
  On 8 September Badoglio announced an armistice between the Italian Forces and the Allies on Radio Rome. The Italian defection, had long been foreseen by Hitler who had instructed the OKW to develop contingency plans to deal with it. Operation Achse would see the disarming and disbanding of the military of the former German ally, and the take over of the Italian State by Germany, using force if necessary. But, in the event, little force would be required as the Italian Armed forces, lacking any clear leadership began to dissolve and capitulation ensued. The 44th Division, still in the South Tyrol, quickly seized the Italian XXXV Corps Headquarters in Bolzano, and a huge haul of prisoners, including 1783 officers, amongst which were 18 Generals, and 50,000 men.
  With the Italian military no longer policing its territory, Yugoslavian partisan activity flared up in Istria and Carniola. This area had mixed populations of Italians, Slovenians and Croatians, and Carniola, part of Yugoslavia in 1939, had only recently been annexed by Italy in 1941. OKW ordered Army Group B to safeguard vital interests and communications routes in the area, and Rommel complied. Tasking II SS Panzer Corps to lead, and utilising the considerable forces at the disposal of Army Group B, several sweeps were conducted from late September to mid November, claiming success and the killing or capturing of thousands of partisans and capturing of much materiel.
caption: Captured Italian soldiers parade through Bolzano.
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