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S-2 PERIODIC REPORT

No. 65

MAPS: GSGS , FRANCE - ITALY, 1:50 ,000 .

1. ENE'·:ty SIT& TI ON AT END OF PERIOD:

a. Front Line s: No chan ge .

b. Units in Conta ct:

No cha nge . c. Def ensive Organiza tion:

No cho.ng e "

2. ENEiff OPERR T'IONS DLTt iNG PERIOD: u . Ge ne r a l:

. OM: 051200A Ma rch ~45 TO 061200A March l94ti UNIT: 44th AAA Brig~d o PLACE: APO 75 8, U. S. Army IN THE FIELD 06 March 19 45

Slight d ecr e.::t s e in oy ::;,rty fir e ; incr0as e in e y mort a r fir e durin g pe ri od. b. Oper ation of Compon ent El omontst

(1) Artill e ry: 442nd RCT Sector: Following ay J. rty f,:; ll in a r ea. . No <i J.mag o or

~asualtic s.

Rds;.

10 4 3 3 2 2

,.

12 (Airburst)

Ca l. --150mm 150m.'Tl Light 150mm

88mm 105mm

3 l05mm 1 75mm 2 75mm 6 155~m

9 105mm 1

58 Tot s:. l

Time Area Sh ell e d 051 305A vs 7869-53 051 300-134 5A vs 789938 051345-1400A VS 8009 13 051405A vs 788 921 051436A VN 760018 05145 5A VN 759020 051 635A vs 766858 051 70 0A VN 761020 051 ?lOA. VN 760019 051 725A VN 75'7018 051825A VN 757021 05191 2A VN 717046 0521 00A vs 770862

1st Fre nch Group e Sector: No oy a rty f e ll in ar ea during p ori od.

2nd Fronch Group e S;;ctor: No ey o.rty f e:: ll in a r ea during p eriod.

( 2 ) Infantry:

442nd RCT Se ctor: At 051615A, OP obs e rved ey constructing s ome form of dug out vic (VN 756091). Fired on by o ur J. rty, r osulting in 4 h eavy explosions.

At 051955A, a l o.rge fir 0 wa s obs e rved E of PlENA (VN 797003). At 052015A, a fir e wa s obs e rve d vic (VN 781 031). At 052030A, ::1 fire wo.s obs e rv sd vic COL DE BROUIS (VN 767032). At 052 335A, OP h ;;o.rd no is e s of v ehicl e s moving in vic of PlENA.

(VN 79 7003). Numb e r unknown. Foll owing ey mort a r f ell in a r ea .. No dc..mago or c a s\llilti os. Rds. Ca l. Time Ar ea Sh elled

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Color Control Patches Green Yellow

0 51220-1 500A 052 352A 052330-2345A

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vs 781 865 VN 706094 VN 714100

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C 0 N F I D E N T I A L 44th AAA Brigad e S- 2 Periodic #65 1 06 ':t. r0h 194 5 (Cont ' d)

lst Fronc_J: .. ~'rr ~lpe Sact'?r: 2nd French rot..po Sector :

set off Trip Fls.ro vic-TVN ·-490285) .

3 , MIS CELLA 1\TEOUS:

~To important oy activity dur ing period .

At 051330A , an oy patrol (number' unknown) Ey r epuls ed with mortar fir o .

. . a. . PW ' s t ak.m during p.eriod:_ . None . Tot a l to ds.to--75 . b . Enumy c a sua lti c: . . None . knqwn . c. Supplementetry :PW Report to .JPW Report, Incl #l to S- 2 Periodic #62 'dated

03 ~~rch 1945 , (See attached Incl #1) .

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d . OSS RJports . (Soc ~ttached Incl #2). e. J\l';sc..thor: !liodor o.toly cold , cl ear. Visibility- oxcellont. CGiling unlimitGd,

No wind , r-lin or snow, Avorago t emperatur e 44°F . All roads in ~xcollent condition, FORECAST: No chc:.ngo .

4 . ENE'.IT' CAPAB 1LITIES : No ch ::mg0 .

2 Incls . #l Supplementa ry IPq R0port. #e - OSS Reports .

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CONFIDE N TIAL • ------------

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... \• • C 0 N F I D E N T I A L • Incl #1 to 44th AAA Brigade -- - ---------S-2 Periodic #65, 06 March 1945 SUPPLE:MENTARY IPW REPORT

This report is suppl ementary to original IPW Report on 3 PW deserters captured 011200A March 1945 vic ~'~T GROSSO (VN 760010). See Incl #1 to S-2 Periodic #62 dated 03 March 1945.

NAHE Rudolf KRAUSS Ludwig SCH~EINOCH Rudolf ZERTM

RhNK Uoffz Gefreiter Gefreiter

(All radio operators from 13th Btry, 451 Abtlg/34th Inf Div)

CALL SIGN SYSTEM: Each station has three call l e tters. Friedrich, Julius". These are changed every three days.

1t .n For exE.lmple, .\.nt<)n,

P0111JER OF SETS: The unit used two diffe rent t ype radios, the BERTA, a~d the , FRIEDRICH. They both operate on 130 volts.

" FREQUENQY RANGE: For both sets 3000 - 5000 f or sending and 3000 • 6560 for rece1.v1.:qg. Frequencies of 4610 a'nd 4800 Kil oherz are used on alternate days. pwr s stated, however, t hat since all three radio operators had deserted these frequencies would prob al~ ly be changed.

DISTANCE RANGE: For both sets 12 km voic e and 2 3 km CW. PW stated that CVV is used more frequently th~n voic e . Since th e r emaining operators can receive only 20 letters per minute, however • he thought .it 1 ikely that the greater part. of the transmissions now would be by voiqe. pw stated further that the Italians at the Bn station in his btr ~ ar e~ iend almost exclusivel y by voice. '

TRAINING OF OPERA TORS: The PW' s rece i vM one week of signal training with the Bn when it was at ~AXI~AA and four months additional training with the btry in CANNES. The remaining operators, ~ciwever, have had only .very ske~ohy training.

RADIO DIRECTION FINDER: PW stated that there htid been no Radio direction finder in his btry area, and that 'he did not know of any in his secter, They have occasionally heard our broadca sts, but no concerted effort has been made to inter­cept them.

GER'lAN RADIO PROCEVURE ( C111J):

QSA 5 - Si gnal coming thr ough very pl a inl y QSA 4 - Si gnal coming through plainl y QSA 3 - Signal weak but cl ea r QSA 2 - Signal scarce ly intelligibl e QSA 1 - Signal not intelli gible QRU ? - Do you have something for me ? QRU - I have nothing for you RPT - Say a gain RPTAL - Say again everything QRX - 1/l]'ait QRX 10 - 11'Vait 10 minute s Ql'ITJ) - J have r e cei ved y.our. mes~age

EB -Wait (mear, s only a short pause) II - I say again •••••••• -Error ARS K KA

:- End of message - Beginning of mes sage - 1 -

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CONFIDENTIAL Incl #l to 44th AAA Brigade ---- -- --- ---S-2 Periodic #65, 06 ~~arch 1945 ( Cont' d)

Sample Transmission: KA - (Time) - ( - ••• -)-Number of letters in message- Six letter code

sign (First four letters, then repeat; last two letters, then rapeat) - (- ••• -) message in five letter groups - ARSK.

German phonetic alphabet: Anton Norpol Berta Otto Caesar Paula Dora Quelle Emil Richard Friedrich Sigfried Gustav The odor Heinrich Ulrich Ida Victor Julius wilhelm Konrad Xantiper Ludnig Ypsi l '>n ·~art a Zepp 3lin

RADIO EQUIP'"':::JITT: In the 45lst Bn there are two types of radios in use, the BERTA and the FRIEDRICH. Both are portable battery types (To. Fu. Berta and To. Fu, Friedrich) . Also in ~se is a small portable radio with an effective range of only l km. ( FELDFUrTKSPRECHER).

Both the BERTA and the FRIEDRICH are equipped with 2 headphones, l throat microphone, 1 hand microphono, and l telegraph key. For each set there is a collapsable antenna and a wire antenna . The sets are in two parts, each of which weighs 20 kg.

Spare Parts and Re~airs: The only repair which the operators are authorized to make is the changing

of tubes. Tubes are scarce but g~nerally there is one spare on hand for each set. For other repairs the sets must be taken to Bn HQ in DAU.1A.ZZO ·(vt-T 867167). ~~ stated spare parts were scarce. Batteries generally last 2 - 3 waeks but raplacements are not always a va..i labl e. ..· f

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·- - ~_,f:.P.ic.!i::' C.QJ../jcJ-t:;(. . ,-} ... ~ -_ _(----......

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-. ..,,F" ...o-1...VILLER r· .' / . S-2

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• Incl #l to 44th AAA Bd.·gacle S-2 Periodic #65 • 06 ~.rann 19~5

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Ref. No. J -3445 ( E~;: ' ~l-~~~-i_<;:2_· --~.:.:~):

• REPORTS

The 5th ~fount a.~ ::·. Li .ri SJ. () n has received orders to withdraw from PIE~mNTE, but no r013.l movement h a:: oeon ra ~• ortc.d as yet. It is thought that the division is to be relieved by unitb oi ~he lOth Flotmas and of the Littorio Division.

The Command o.f the 3'-..th German Division under General VON LIEB is centrally located in the city of OR1~ (0-1325).

There are 400 Germans with 8 tanks at MONDOVI (0-0952).

Ref. No. J - 3446 (Evaluation: B-3): The German HQ is inclined to evacuate Italy, but KESSELRrW has maintained

that the season does not permit the retreat of German troops except by way of two obligatory route s which are most rigidly controlled by Allied ~ir Force. In addition, it would seem that the enemy has little desire to abandon a front as calm as the Italian one. In addition German officer~ do not like the idea of returning to the Eastern · Front. They would much prefer to .surrender ' to the Anglo­Americans in It~ly than to the Russians.

The largest coal du.rn.p in PIE'100J TE is d.t 8.!->. N GHJSEPP.ii: A.L C<>.IRO ( 0 .. 4547). The Germans are removing as much of the coal as possibl @.

Ref. "'-:1ission PP (Evaluation: B-1): MORALE: J'.~utiny said to hava t~>.k en p lac a on ;22 February 1945 in a Regt of

the SAN MARCO Div: ·incitement to gen0ral r avolt· of Itali13-n troops in occupied Italy.

EFFECTI'~S: Effoctives have become thinner following over long inaction; soldiers and officers ,ioining tho maquis.

Ref. Antenne SOSPEL (Evaluation: B-1):

E\1E\ 'fY POSIT IONS: COL DE BROUIS (N-7703): . {a) N-766032.: G~.o~up of 15 men stationed· in sort of well-protected tunnel in

.vio pass. Light artil J. e ry firing not effe ctive. "Mission: patrols in the whole sector, especially to the CI~lli DE BOSC ( N-787031).

(b) N-763031: Five men of above menti oned group in circular shelter below the house. Armament: One HMG.

(c) Patrol~ take pci.th ovJ r COL DE TER ·'INI ( N-776022) ~o g.J t to barn in vic of SC0~·1BETTI (N-7800).

BREIL: (a) N-80400545 .: CP of Co, attach ed to 34th Div, is locat e d in n3o C!TE

ITALIENI\TE". This bui~ding ·also us 0d as barracks for l Lt and app 25 men . (b) N-80300~45: . App 25-30 men at the Castle . (c) 3 mul e s, 1 horse carriage in small ho us e naxt to the Castle.

G If\,NDOLA: · (a) N-80350585~ Three 149 m/m guns a r a s e t up above the road at tho bend,

camoufl a ge d with branch e s and s a nd bags. A s ton0 shelte r,next t o ono of these guns, can be seen from far away. Italian cr ew, 1 Lt.

(b) N-80750475: One pillbox for ~m, at p r e s ent unoccupiad. EmbrasurG directed toward GIANDOLA •

. (c) N-809049: One pillbox for ~~G a ..-,ainst the r ocky hi gh road of BROUIS ~.

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SECRET Incl #2 to 44th AAA Brigade S-2 Periodic #65, 06 'fta. rch 1945 (Cont'd)

(d) Works - mantionGd abova in (b) i:ind (c) -difficult to r oach owing to location. Immediat e vic mincH:l, as well as woods below; minofi 3ld 804046-807053 extends as far as LA ROYA.

MAGLIA: (a) 805062: Two 149 m/m guns, light camouflage . Italian crew. These guns

do not fire. :u;mplacoment soems to be t emporary. It is believe d that work tmder­taken by civilians in ttmna l at N-8107 is done to prepare emplacomant for these gtms.

(b) N-810037: Observation post. Connected by teleph0ne with CP located in thG workmen 1 s homes (Cite s Italliennes). Effa cti vo: 5 men. Automatic weapon.

(c) N-81000509: Observation post. Conne cte d to CP by telephone. Effective: 5 men. Automatic weapon.

OWing to th e ir location, these two CP's co~~and all traffic on the valley road and in the vic BREIL.

(d) N-821047: Control Point, conne cted to CP by telephone . Effective: 10 men. Automatic individual weapons. This post controls all the paths loft side of the ROYA and the vall ey . Suppli0s brought up every second day in the morning, on foot.

( e ) N-82100705: Obs ervation post in pillbox. Effectiv0s unknown. Automatic heavy weapon. Behind this post, n ext to the ba rns at N-82450690, various stout sholters having been built presumably in order to receive artillery.

SAORGE: (a) N-83700905: CP in the convont, l Li e utenant. Effoctiv0s app 20 men.

Mission: control of the roads, patrols in vicinity. Guards for civilian workers, gathering of olives.

(b) N-831095: Two 149 m/m guns. Lar ge projact und0rtuken for construction of a sort of platforr.' to s .Jt up these guns which are to bo manne d by Italian crGW.

(c) N-835089: Throe r;uns cali bc r unknown ve ry well camoufbg:;d. I tal. crew.

FONTAN: (a) N-837110: Two or three 149 m/m ?;un s along th e road, on l e velled areas

above, camouflaged with nets cov.3 r ed with branches. Sholtors for th o Italian crew have been built and r e inforc ed with sand bags.

(b) CP eff e cti v es : A Gorman Lt and a few men. In the S9.me ho use lives Italiar ~~ajor commanding all Italian troops in this area (edit not e : no further details given).

(c) N-83951110: Two guns, calib.:1r unknown, one at th e entry of the tunnel. Itali an crow. Ammunitiop in the tunnel.

AMBO: (a) Important post. Effacti vc 50-100 Germans. 1\,ful os , horso carriages, kitchcr

and supplies. (b) Three 149 m/m guns. Ge rman crJw.

GRA '-TILLE ( l\T -79850590): Customs observation post. Eff~ctives: 15-20 men, 5 dogs.

under the orders of the Li eut ~ nant commanding the Co in TENDA. or twice weekly in order to check up on this post.

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SECRET Incl #2 to 44th AAA I • ~ gad3 - - - - - -S-2 Periodic }=65: 06 .. ;arch 1945 ( Cont 1 d)

TENDA: ( a) N-879197: Ammo in two houses n ext to l a r ge white building, on the side

of the main road TENDK-cmrEo (N-8753) , in which A/A s ervic e s a r .:J lodgJd. Has nGvor b een bombed so f a r. No civilians ne-.:~.r0r than 200 met0rs.

(b) N-878203: CP of the whole ar::::a (SAORG-E-FONTAN-SAN DA.L'~AZZO-TE"~TDS) is in the hote l PI1PERIAL. Entirely occupi,3d; out-buildings a lso. Bur-:J:3.UX on tho ground floor. On first floor, offices of the C.O. and staff of tho R8publ~can.Italian Fascists. Officers and NCO's on the 2nd flo~r. No civilians.

(c) N-877195: Ono A/A batt e ry. Effoctives : 20 men.

COLO'ffiO : (a) S-840948: R~ilway and road bridge destroyed. Emergency wooden bridge is

in us e . This is an o::>.s y objoctive for Air Forc e . (b) VS-818968: Road bridge destroyed . Passage over wood en bridge supported

by cables capable of supporting one ton. (c) VS-80499 7: Road tunnol and r a ilway t mmel dostroyc d. Blown up in the

c enter on thickness 20-30 motors. Vicinity of entry of tunnel mined. Passage only possible t o tho right.(sic)

(d) VS-819968: CP in tunnel. CO: A li-autonant. Effvcti vo : 20 men. ( o) VS-812986: Obs,c::rvation post in the houso. Effecti vc : 8 mon. Armament

unknown. (f.) VS .... 810994: Road 'and vicinity mined.

·>' ~ ... . , ... ' GENERAL I NFO \~!lA TION : BREIL: (a) In vic ' of tho st::l.t ion app 20 civilians arc used by tho Germans to gather

olivos . Th ose civilic..ns a r o gue.rded bytwo m . .m with sub~machine g\llls• (b) No r a ilway tL.Lffic betwoGn BR2IL and SAN Dn.LHii.ZZO. Circulation only by

hors e drawn v ehicl e s on the road at ni ght.

AIROLE {S-829~): A Sgt and 4 man patrol ever y day from CP of AIROLE as f a r as FONTAN, r 0turning the following day. They pass BREIL at app 1100 and at 1700 h ours. · • ·

N-07 81: Civilians comrnand":d by an JnginGo r Lioutenant work at th e tunne l. The y arc p r obClbly prop£.lring to l a y mines,

. PLANCAVAL (N-7511):

vidually dvsignatod by CP returning to tho village.

Barracks being constructed by civili ans of TENDE indi­of TENDE. They r omain eight days in front lihe without Alr ~8..dy 3 _h3;v0 bGon kill ed,

BAISSE do CARANA ( N-75651130): Civilians of SAORGE amployod in tho con-struction of a rtill 0ry emplac ament.,

LA BEOLE ( N-77401035): Cor:st:ruction ·of r oads and barracks.

SAN DAL:1.:i.ZZO ( N-8147): (. c. ) . Tho n~ilwo.y bridga W8. S hit in 4 differ ent places. (b) Electric powor st ~tioti out of use.

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SECRET Incl #2 to 44th A.AA E:-·_: 'J.de S-2 P eriodic #65~ 06 ilL r ch 1945 (Cont' d)

. • BRIGA -( N~89l 7): (a) ~Th e bridge on the r ·:J.:..d h :J. s · ne v er b ,.>en c.tto.cked. It would bE: :;;asy to hit

and its d ustruotion wo uld b ·J a re a l nuisanc e t o th 0 ene my. (b) Tr J. f f ic botw~ :m BRlGI~A a nd SAN DAL'IfA ZZO only by road with horse carriag0 s.

500-600 mulo s an d don kJys in BRIGI-IA. Donkeys in 0v e ry hous e . App 200 Russia ns and 20 Ge r mans t 0.ke c 24 r o of them.

(c) Tr a ins r oc;.ch DRIGHA at . ni~ht only. Cars a re unloaded in thG tunna l b vyond th e sta tion. Space for 20 railway ca rs.

TENDE ( N- 8 71 9 ): (a) Cu_rfew fr om 1900 to 0600 h ours. Fr ~,q u,mt V..3rifica.tion of pape rs by wu..y

of chocks ("ru.fl e sn) wit hout warning . (b) Th e tr a in which l oav e s TENDE a t app 1 200 ho ur s r ema ins in the first

tunn-3 1 b eyond tha st a tion of TET.JDE in dir e c t i on of CUNEO. (c) '~c..ny r oad bl ocks and cont rols by tho Fd d g,enda rmeri a :1nd the ~!Iilicia

Fa sc-i sta botw~en TE1IDE a nd CUNEO.

'!.ON'DOVI ( 0-0852): In spit e of t he bri dc;e d0st ructions, eire uln.tion n ot interrupt ed. Gor m:::1.ns circul a t e in convoys, " Ti g er" ·t anks a r e pa r k::: d in the vill a g e ,

OR1 ffiA (0-;32 5)a CO of th o 34th ryiv. G3ne r a l VON LIEB. Fr 3q uent traffic controls.

P.1PERIA (T-2 195): S8 riously bomb-ad, Bridgo c an still b e us ed .

SA N RS~~o ~ (T-0089): Also d amaged. 'hny Fr t:mchmen in t h is ana .

Ref. SOURIS (Eva luati on: B-1): HTJ11fl1.N TORP.SDOS :

( 1) GENERt\.L I NFOR!JATION: The t o r pe dos n e v e r st a y ~t the s ~ma p 1a c 0 . Th oy arJ t r a ns fe rrod by

trucks in the mount a ins a nd ar e br ought b ack a t t h.J e mba r k ing point in SAN RE?m o·n1y on th•3 days wh en an axp odition i s for eseen. On these d a ys th0 y are moor ed b etwoon 203 0 a.nd 213 0 .1o urs a long a wha r f ~t t he end of which is a sunken c ..1. rgo boat.

( ~) To rp edo comp r e ssors a t t he b eginn ing of tho wharf, (b ) For atta cks a ga inst VILLEFRII.NCHE and NICE the tQrpedos are towed by

p atrol boJ.ts in fr ont of t.h d ha rbours wher e , i n ca s e they ou.n't ·.mtor the P ort, they wait fo r the pa ss~ ge of the obj e c t ive .

(2) TORPEDO PARTICULAR I TIES : ( a ) Thay ~r e double:

l) The t orp e do its elf whi ch is u.n o r di n a ry torpedo. 2) A smJ. ll subma rine, b a l anc ad in dr aft by the to r p 3do which is fix ed

above wi t.h two c r-bLs. ( a d j ustr.1.mt of th.J c u.bL:; s .:.ft e r m;:,.ny oxp e r i .m • os). ( b ) Thoy a r a s et in moti on by a n oL ct ric en gine . (c ) One man p ilots. (d) Ra n g0 12 to 15 n a utica l mi l Js .

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A SECRET Incl =/P. to 44th .A.AA Br ~lle - - - - --S-2 Periodic 4/=65 .• OG 'f..:.r ch 1945 (Cont 1 d) •

EXPLOSIVE BARG~S :

(1) Length: 5 meters. (2) Explosive weight: 300 Kgs . (3) Engin0: 6 cylingers, 120 HP , ISOTTA FRASCHINI. (4) On the bow, a closad square, 1,5 met er long, 1,2 meter l~rge to lodge

the explosive.

Ref. OP/I/10/22 (Evalu~tion: B- 2): ( 1) Germ.:1n Comm<:..ndJr Alpina front h:.ls plan for wi thdr -~.wa l from PIEMONTE and

LIGURIA allowing thrae days warning.

(2) Responsibility for sea and l and fronti ers would pass to GRAZIANI Army as follows:

(.::..) VENTIMIGLIA (S- 8687 - SAVONA (0-6039): SAN MA.RCO Division. (b) V'3:R '..ffi}JG~ i1.NA - STURA - DEMOU'l\!; VALLEYS: LITTORIO Division, 3rd Regt. (c) VAL D'AOSTA: LITTORIO Division, 4th Regt. (d) VAL DI SUSA: MONTE ROSA Division. (e) LANCHE: Ragt Alpine CACCIATORI. (f) ITALIA Division in r e serva .

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