Operation Wintergevitter (Winter Storm), the small-scale German-Italian 1944 Christmas offensive on the Southern Front, has been the last meaningful fact of arms of the Axis and one of the German tipical operational mastery.

General Carloni and General Otto Fretter Pico (148th Infantry Division’s Commander) proposed an attack on a narrow front, where the scantly Gotic Line forces could have been launched without resorting to unlikely reinforcements. Its goals would have been: to improve the defensive positions of the German-Italian divisions, to attack American forces down in a secondary zone, preventing them from being moved to more important zones, to capture weapons, equipments, ammunitions and to increase the Republican morale.

The attack would have invested the Allies front between the town of Sommocolonia (east from Serchio river) and Monte Pania Secca (west), 20 km as the crow flies: the Commander in Chief was the Gen. Otto Fretter Picco and the operational Commander was the Italian Gen. Carloni. 4,600 soldiers were split up to three different attack columns.

The first column would have operated on the right of the Axis line of attack, carrying out diversionary attacks and taking the enemy first line and the towns of Vergemoli and Calomini. The second one (central column) moving on the left and on the right of the Serchio River, would have frontally broken through the Allies defences and would have headed for the rear area towns of Fornaci di Barga, Treppignana and Gallicano. The 1,500-third column, left flank, would have started first, penetrated the Allies positions, outflanked it, seized Sommocolonia and made for Barga, Fornaci di Barga, Pian di Coreglia (8 km from the start line).

December 24th: 92nd Division was ordered to call off the planned attack and prepare to fend off an Axis offensive operation which would have started in December 27th: unluckily for the Allies the German-Italian forces were ready at midnight between December 25th and 26th.

December 26th: at 04.50 hs German Assault Battallions attacked and occupied the Sommocolonia defensive organization (F Coy, 2nd battalion, 366th Regiment and few Italian partisan).

At 10.00 hs Axis seized the American positions in Bebbio and Scarpello (South from Sommocolonia) held by 92nd Recon Troop, which withdrew to Coreglia.

At 14.00 hs, Axis attacked Barga. The defenders fought strongly but defeated the following day.

In the meantime, the whole front has been under the mortars fire planned to support the advancement of the center column in the Serchio Valley, overcame some weak initial resistance, but the American troops there already were hastly retreating and the Alpini got to Fornaci easly, without hard fighting.

The right column (all-Italian) faced a much more vigorous defense. San Marco had no problems in occupying Molazzano and pushing back the defenders, but the Regimental HQ Coy suffered losses and could not take Brucciano.

Cadelo Group (Bersaglieri divisional reconissance Group) and Intra Battallion occupied Calomini, but Vergemoli, defended by 370th Infantry Regiment, was a hard target: dense minefields, artillery shelling and intense machinegun and rifle fire stopped the advancing of the Italian units causing many casualties. The town still was in American hands but isolated from the others American units: the American retreated at 26th December leaving the partisan elements as covering.

December 27th: end of the offensive. It has been a success . In the morning, the Axis columns occupied Pian di Coreglia, the objective, and some patrols went forward reporting that the enemy still was in full retreat: an entire Allied division had given way and had been defeated. About 100 prisoners captured many weapons, food and equipments.

All the objectives of the offensive were attained: US 5th Army was tactically tripped out; Allied reserves were moved to a secondary sector; Italian Republican troops morale were supported by the success; the Axis gained a slightly better defensive situation on the Western Apennines, and indeed, the new front line stayed more or less intact until April 1945 with the Axis collapse.