Otto Fretter-Pico

Otto Fretter-Pico
Born	2 February 1893 Karlsruhe,Baden,German Empire
Died	30 July 1966(1966-07-30)(aged 73) Flims,Grisons,Switzerland
Allegiance	Kingdom of Württemberg German Empire Weimar Republic Nazi Germany
Service/branch	Army
Rank	Generalleutnant
Commands held	57th Infantry Division 148th Reserve Division
Battles/wars	World War I World War II Invasion of Poland Battle of France Operation Barbarossa Battle of Stalingrad Belgorod-Khar'kov Offensive Operation Operation Dragoon Italian Campaign Battle of Garfagnana Battle of Collecchio
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Relations	Maximilian Fretter-Pico(brother)

Otto Fretter-Pico(2 February 1893 – 30 July 1966) was a German general in theWehrmachtduringWorld War II.A veteran of WWI and the younger brother of GeneralMaximilian Fretter-Pico,he took part in operations fromPolandtoFrance,and from theSoviet UniontoItaly.Fretter-Pico commandedartilleryunits before commanding the57th Infantry Divisionand the148th Infantry Division.He was a recipient of theKnight's Cross of the Iron CrossofNazi Germany.

Ahead of his 148th Infantry Division, he was blocked and surrounded byBrazilian forcesinCollecchiowhen trying to retreat to Germany. He surrendered to the Brazilian division on 29 April 1945.

First World War

Otto Fretter-Pico was born on 2 February 1893, inKarlsruhe,formerly Grand Duchy of Baden, todayBaden-Württemberg,in theGerman Empire,joining theWürttemberg Armyon July 14, 1914, as aFahnenjunker(officer cadet).Like his older brother, who later becameGeneral of the ArtilleryMaximilian Fretter-Pico, he joined the 1st Baden Field Artillery Regiment No. 14 (1. Badisches Feldartillerie-Regiment Nr. 14).They both were sent to thefront,where Otto was wounded after a few days. In autumn 1914 he came back to the front. There he was promoted toLeutnant(lieutenant) on January 27, 1915.Otto would serve the whole war on theWestern Front,interruptions were only made by being assigned to the staff of the28th Divisionfrom February to May 1916 and then again briefly in October of the same year. In addition, Fretter-Pico completed a two-month course at the artillery school in late 1916. From September 1917 he took over as chief of the 6th battery of his regiment and kept this position until the end of the war. On October 18, 1918, he was promoted toOberleutnant(first lieutenant). During World War I he was given bothIron Crossesand other awards.

Interwar years

After the First World War, Fretter-Pico was accepted into theReichsheer.He was first used in theReichswehr13th Artillery Regiment (Reichswehr-Artillerie-Regiment 13). With the formation of the 100,000-man army, he then joined the staff of the 2nd battalion of the 5th Artillery Regiment; where he served until 1924 as a battalionadjutant.In autumn 1924 he was transferred to the 6th battery of the 5th (Hesse-Württemberg) Artillery Regiment (5. (Hess.-Württ.) Artillerie-Regiment) in Fulda. In this unit he was promoted toHauptmann(captain) on February 1, 1928. On October 1, 1928, he was transferred back to the staff of the 2nd battalion of the 5th Artillery Regiment. From there, Otto was then ordered to the Army Department (T 1) in theMinistry of the ReichswehrinBerlin.In the spring of 1930 he was then assigned to the regimental staff of the 5th Artillery Regiment.

On October 1, 1930, Fretter-Pico was transferred to the 7th (Bavarian) Medical Battalion (7. (Bayer.) Sanitäts-Abteilung); being appointed adjutant in said unit on May 1, 1933. On October 1, 1933, he was appointed chief of the 2nd squadron of the 7th (Bavarian) Driving Battalion (7. (Bayer.) Fahr-Abteilung). On September 13, 1934, he was recalled and briefly commanded the 3rd Battalion of the Munster Artillery Regiment until October 1, 1934, when he was transferred back to the Ministry of the Reichswehr, as inspector of the Artillery (Department In 4). On January 1, 1935, he was promoted to Major.He remained in service there when it was renamed the Reich Ministry of War (Reichskriegsministerium) in the spring of 1935.

On October 1, 1937, he was promoted toOberstleutnant(lieutenant colonel). As such, he was appointed commander of the 7th Observation Battalion (Beobachtungs-Abteilung 7) inIngolstadt,back inBavariaon November 10, 1938.While there, Fretter-Pico completed a course inJüterbogat the artillery school in January 1939.

World War II

Then Lieutenant-Colonel Fretter-Pico led this battalion in thePolish campaignin September 1939, receivingthe clasp for his Iron Cross 2nd classon 28 September 1939.In early February 1940 he was appointed commander of the 297th Artillery Regiment (Artillerie-Regiment 297),which he led into battle during theinvasion of France.On September 1, 1940, he was promoted toOberst(colonel).

Next he led his artillery regiment at the beginning of theinvasion of the Soviet Union,inArmy Group South.On December 11, 1941, Fretter-Pico was awarded theGerman Cross in Gold.In March 1942 he gave up command of his regiment. He was then appointed Artillery Commander 102 (Arko 102). At the end of 1942 he was then transferred to theFührerreserve.He was assigned to lead a division and was sent toArmy Group Bfor this purpose. At the end of February 1943 he was then assigned to lead the57th Infantry Division.On March 1, 1943, he was promoted toGeneralmajor(major general). On September 1, 1943, Fretter-Pico was reassigned to theFührerreserve.On 18 September 1943 he was appointed commander of the148th Reserve Division(148. Reserve-Division) inToulouse.Redesignated the 148th Infantry Division (148. Infanterie-Division) in September 1944 to fight the allied invasion duringOperation Dragoon,the unit was used in the counter-attacks against the Americans in the beaches at Le Muy, being slowed down byFrench guerrillasandBritish paratroopers.A retreat was ordered and the 148th crossed into Italy through theAlps.

On October 20, 1944, Fretter-Pico was promoted toGeneralleutenant(lieutenant general).As such, he was awarded theKnight's Cross of the Iron Crosson December 12, 1944.The 148th would at first be used inanti-partisan warfareon the border betweenTuscanyandLiguria,including cooperation with other troops in some larger anti-partisan operations under the command of the14th Army/LI. Gebirgs-Armeekorpsand in cooperation withRSIunits.Between the end of November and the beginning of December 1944 in theApennines,betweenLa SpeziaandMassa-Carrara,148th men took part in the killings of numerous Italian civilians duringrastrellamentooperations. During operationCatilina(27 November–2 December 1944), men of the 148th, operating together with the RSI XXXIIIBrigata NeraTullio Bertoni,operated in Fosdinovo, Sarzana and Aulla claiming 365 enemy dead and taking 20 prisoners.In operationBarbara(29 November–2 December 1944, in Carrara-Massa) men of the 148th together with other German units of the navy and special anti-partisan units claimed 110 enemy dead and took 9 prisoners.Between 20 and 25 January 1945, the 148th Infantry Division took part in operationBergkönig,a largesearch and destroyoperation in the areas of Varese Ligure, Monte Gottero, Zeri and Zignago, in the La Spezia region. The fighting would become known asLa battaglia del Gottero.

OperationBergkönigcomprised German,Ostand RSI units:

• 148. Infanterie-Division
• 162. (Turk) Infanterie-Division
• II./Grenadier-Regiment 274 (russ.)
• Lehrstab für Bandenbekämpfung
• Lehr-Bataillon Gebirgsjäger-Schule Mittenwald
• Festungs-Brigade 135
• Divisione Monterosa
• Divisione Italia
• XXXIII Brigata Nera "Tullio Bertoni"

GeneralleutnantOtto Fretter-Pico (left) surrendering to General Olímpio Falconière da Cunha (center) of the Brazilian 1st Infantry Division.

At the end of April 1945, during the retreat of German forces from northern Italy during the AlliedSpring Offensive,Fretter-Pico's 148th Infantry Division was blocked by theBrazilian Expeditionary Forcein the area ofCollecchio-Fornovo di Tarowhile trying to gain thePo Valley.The 148th had remnants of the destroyed90th Panzergrenadier Divisionand theRSI "Italia" Divisiontagging along but despite breakout attempts from 26 to 28 April,the Axis forces were surrounded and forced to surrender on 29 April 1945 in theBattle of Collecchiobefore GeneralHeinrich von Vietinghoff's overallAxis surrender in Italyon 2 May.GeneralsMario Carloniand Otto Fretter-Pico followed their 14,779 men into captivity,passing from Brazilian custody to a USPOW campsome time later. He was released by US forces on July 7, 1948.

The old general then moved toSwitzerlandand retired there.

Fretter-Pico died at the age of 73 on July 30, 1966, inFlims,Canton of Graubündenin Switzerland.

The ceremony of Fretter-Pico's surrender to the Brazilians is still reenacted in Italy every 25 April in Fornovo and Collecchio.

Awards and decorations

• Iron Cross(1914) 2nd Class (25 March 1915) & 1st Class (8 December 1917)
• Knight's Cross 2nd Class of the Order of the Zähringer Lion with Swords(13 November 1916)
• Honor Cross 3rd Class of the Royal House Order of Hohenzollern with Swords(April 1918)
• Clasp to the Iron Cross(1939) 2nd Class (28 September 1939) & 1st Class (22 June 1941)
• General Assault Badgein Silver (30 September 1941)
• German Cross in GoldasOberstinArtillerie-Regiment 297(11 December 1941)
• Winter Battle in the East 1941–42 Medal
• General Assault Badge
• Knight's Cross of the Iron CrossasGeneralleutnantand commander of 148th Infantry Division (12 December 1944)

References

Bibliography

• Patzwall, Klaus D.; Scherzer, Veit (2001).Das Deutsche Kreuz 1941 – 1945 Geschichte und Inhaber Band II[The German Cross 1941 – 1945 History and Recipients Volume 2] (in German). Norderstedt, Germany: Verlag Klaus D. Patzwall.ISBN978-3-931533-45-8.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007).Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives[The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag.ISBN978-3-938845-17-2.
• Wegmann, Günter (2010).Die Ritterkreuzträger der Deutschen Wehrmacht 1939–1945 Teil III: Infanterie Band 7: Fl–Fu[The Knight's Cross Bearers of the German Wehrmacht 1939–1945 Part III: Infantry Volume 7: Fl–Fu] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag.ISBN978-3-7648-2380-1.

• Jean-Loup Gassend (2014).Autopsy of a Battle: the Allied Liberation of the French Riviera August-September 1944.Schiffer Publications.ISBN9780764345807.