148th Reserve Division ( Wehrmacht ) The German 148th Reserve Division ( German : " 148 . Reserve - Division " ) was a German reserve infantry division during the Second World War , made up of three infantry regiment s ( 281st , 285th , and 286th ) and an artillery regiment . History . The division was used as an occupation force in southern France and fought in Italy in 1944 and 1945 . Redesignated 148th Infantry Division in September 1944 , it fought in the Po River battles and surrendering to the Infantry Expeditionary Division on April 28 , 1945 near the city of Fornovo at Galano . On April 28 , 1945 , 148th Infantry Division´s forces were concentrated near Po river . Trying to stop the Germans ' river crossing , Lieutenant Pitaluga´s squadron , equipped with M8 Greyhound armored recon cars , opened fire against German troops which , in sequence , blew the bridge behind them . Supported by a few Shermans of 760th American tank battalion , Brazilian 3rd artillery howitzer groups 105 mm and 155 mm , the Brazilian 1st Company / 6th Infantry Regiment ( the 6th Infantry Regiment was commanded by Col Nelson de Mello ) attacked under heavy German artillery and machinegun fire and assembled a defense line 4 miles from Fornovo , on the line Gaiano – Segalora – Talignano . Near 0900 pm a furious German attack was launched against Segalora , trying to open a hole in the siege to get way to the city of Parma , where other Germans forces were concentrating , having been repelled by 3rd company / 6th Infantry Regiment . On rise of April 29 , Germans made another try to break the siege . At this moment the 2nd Company / 6th IR , major Oest , supported by North American tanks , advanced toward Felegara , occupied by 3rd Company / 6thIR and Pitaluga´s squadron . With Felegara dominated , the siege was complete and Germans forces retreated to Fornovo Di Taro´s downtown . Besieged , German started negotiations to surrender all forces to Brazilian command . These forces were composed by 148th German Infantry Division , remains of Italian Bersaglieri Division and 90th Panzer Grenadier Division . On April 29 , 1945 , at Fornovo - Ponte Dogna were situated 1st Company / 6thIR command post , present four - star General Mascarenhas de Moraes , Chief Commander of Brazilian forces , parliamentars of German forces showed up to start 148th ID surrendering talks . Brazilian Colonel Floriano de Lima Brayner representing Brazilian´s forces and , at 0100PM , 13 ambulances with 400 injured Germans officers and troops started surrendering . They were removed immediately to Brazilian campaign hospital at Modena . An hour and half later another eight ambulances arrived with more injured men . The next first fighting unit to present to surrender was the 36th regiment of 9th motorized division . The troops laid their guns beside Collechio - Fornovo - Berceto Road . There were infantry guns ( PACs ) of several calibers , 75 and 150 mm mortar all remoqueds , many kinds of recon vehicles , a column of 105 mm artillery guns , 88 mm guns all remoqued by halftrack vehicles , 80 pieces in total . Much ammunition of all types and usages . Along 20 hours , 14 , 779 men surrendered to Brazilian forces , almost all Germans . Were capture 4 , 000 horses and 2 , 500 vehicles , 1 , 000 motorizeds . Then Italian general Mario Carloni presented and , at last , Lieutenant General Otto Fretter - Pico with all his staff surrendered . 5th Army commander , general Mark Clark , said : " A magnificent end to a magnificent actuation ! " . 148th Infantry Division Brazilian Army Archive