The Battle of Collecchio-Fornovo was a battle of the Second World War between the Brazilian Expeditionary Force, along with Italian partisans and units from the American 1st Armored and 92nd Infantry Divisions, against the Wehrmacht's 148th Infantry Division, 90th Panzergrenadier Divisions and the fascist National Republican Army's 1st Bersaglieri "Italia" and the 4th Alpini "Monte Rosa" Divisions. The battle was fought around the town of Fornovo di Taro, about 8 miles (13 km) to the southwest of Parma, Italy. The Allies defeated the Axis forces, which were attempting to break through to the north.
Generalleutnant Otto Fretter-Pico (left) surrendering to General Olímpio Falconière da Cunha (center).
German soldier of the 148th during the surrender.
German soldiers loading a vehicle during the surrender.
Brazilian Expeditionary Force
The Brazilian Expeditionary Force, nicknamed Cobras Fumantes, was a military division of the Brazilian Army and Air Force that fought as part of Allied forces in the Mediterranean Theatre of World War II. It numbered around 25,900 men, including a full infantry division, liaison flight, and fighter squadron.
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Brazilian President Getúlio Vargas aboard USS Humboldt, during the Potenji River Conference, with Harry Hopkins, Chairman of the British-American Assignment Board (left), and Jefferson Caffery, U.S. Ambassador to Brazil (right).
General Mascarenhas de Morais (back seat, right), Brazilian army officer and commander of the FEB, with General Dwight D. Eisenhower, commander of the Allied forces in Europe during World War II.
Brazilian soldiers greet Italian civilians in the city of Massarosa, September 1944.
Soldiers of the FEB during the second assault of the Battle of Monte Castello on 29 November 1944.
