The Italian partisan brigades were armed formations involved in the Italian resistance during the World War II .
91-537: The Brigate Fiamme Verdi (Green Flame Brigade) was an Italian Partisan Resistance Group, of predominantly Roman Catholic orientation, which operated in Italy during World War II . The armed Italian Resistance comprised a number of contingents of differing ideological orientation - the largest being the Communist Brigate Garibaldi . Tensions between Catholics and anarchists, Communists and socialists in
182-555: A distaccamento (detachment). Three or more detachments made a brigata (brigade), of which two or more made a divisione (division). In some places, several divisions formed a gruppo divisione (divisional group). These divisional groups were responsible for a zona d'operazione (operational group). While the largest contingents operated in mountainous districts of the Alps and the Apennine Mountains , other large formations fought in
273-506: A mountaintop that was a part of the Gothic Line. On September 26, 1944, a joint force of 250 Partisans and three companies of U.S. soldiers from the 88th Infantry Division attacked the hill occupied by elements of the German 290th Grenadier Regiment. The Germans were caught completely by surprise. The attackers captured the hill and held it for five days against reinforced German units, securing
364-651: A certificate to those who thereby risked their lives. Italian Jews were aided by DELASEM , a network extending throughout occupied Italy that included Jews and Gentiles, Roman Catholic clergy, faithful/sympathetic police officers and even some German soldiers. DELASEM operated in Rome until the liberation under the leadership of the Jewish delegates Septimius Sorani, Giuseppe Levi, and the Capuchin Father Maria Benedetto . Since Jews were considered "enemy aliens" by
455-722: A par with the armed confrontation of other Italian servicemen. After disarmament by the Germans, the Italian soldiers and officers were confronted with the choice to continue fighting as allies of the German army (either in the armed forces of the Italian Social Republic , the German puppet regime in northern Italy led by Mussolini, or in Italian "volunteer" units in the German armed forces) or, otherwise, be sent to detention camps in Germany. Those soldiers and officials who refused to recognize
546-660: A path for the Allied advance. Resistance activities were different in the cities. Some Italians ignored the struggle, while others organized, such as the Patriotic Action Squads and issued propaganda. Groups such as the Patriotic Action Groups carried out military actions. A more expansive support network was devised than in the countryside. Networks of safe houses were established to hide weapons and wounded fighters. Only sympathizers were involved, because compulsion
637-532: A period of 1944 by unified military command of division together with the Brigate Garibaldi while having the organizational autonomy. An example of this was during the government of the partisan Free Republic of Carnia . Partisan formations abroad were significant and were formed by militars of former divisions of the Royal Italian Army located outside the current national borders at 8 September 1943, in
728-505: A popular revolt and Italian Resistance insurrection following a general strike that commenced two days earlier; over 14,000 German and Fascist troops were captured in Genoa on 26–27 April, when General Günther Meinhold surrendered to the CLN. The forces of German occupation in Italy officially capitulated on 2 May. Fascists attempted to continue fighting, but were quickly suppressed by the partisans and
819-511: A revolutionary outcome to the conflict and were thus unwilling to collaborate with 'bourgeois parties'. Rodolfo Graziani estimated the partisan strength at around 70,000–80,000 by May 1944. Some 41% in the Garibaldi Brigades and 29% were Actionists of the Giustizia e Libertà Brigades. One of the strongest units, the 8th Garibaldi Brigade, had 8,050 men (450 without arms) and operated in
910-859: A ten-day battle, the Germans executed 5,155 officers and enlisted men in retaliation. Those killed in the massacre of the Acqui Division included division commander General Antonio Gandin . On 1 March 2001, the President of the Italian Republic Carlo Azeglio Ciampi visited Cefalonia, giving a speech underlining how "their conscious choice [of the Acqui Division] was the first act of the Resistenza , of an Italy free from fascism". Other Italian forces remained trapped in Yugoslavia following
1001-561: Is a list of Division and Brigade Commands of partisan formations which operated in the mountains of centre-north Italy in April 1945, classified by partisan and historian Roberto Battaglia . There were: The following are the Divisional and Brigade commands of partisan formations which operated during the Resistance and had not been classified by Battaglia. The Brigate Osoppo were coordinated for
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#17328836232771092-742: The partigiani ( partisans ), fought a guerra di liberazione nazionale ('national liberation war') against the invading German forces; in this context, the anti-fascist partigiani of the Italian Resistance also simultaneously participated in the Italian Civil War , fighting against the Italian Fascists of the collaborationist Italian Social Republic . The Resistance was a diverse coalition of various Italian political parties, independent resistance fighters and soldiers, and partisan brigades and militias . The modern Italian Republic
1183-725: The Ardeatine massacre (335 Jewish civilians and political prisoners executed without a trial in a reprisal operation after a resistance bomb attack in Rome), the Sant'Anna di Stazzema massacre (about 560 random villagers brutally killed in an anti-partisan operation in the central mountains), the Marzabotto massacre (about 770 civilians killed in similar circumstances), the Ossola massacre (24 partisans murdered during their retreat from Croveo to Switzerland) and
1274-947: The Beretta factory which was producing them for the Wehrmacht. Additional weapons (chiefly of British origin) were airdropped by the Allies: PIATs , Lee–Enfield rifles, Bren light machine guns and Sten guns . U.S.-made weapons were provided on a smaller scale from the Office of Strategic Services (OSS): Thompson submachine guns (both M1928 and M1), M3 submachine guns , United Defense M42s , and folding-stock M1 carbines . Other supplies included explosives, clothing, boots, food rations, and money (used to buy weapons or to compensate civilians for confiscations). The worst conditions and fighting took place in mountainous regions. Resources were scarce and living conditions were terrible. Due to limited supplies,
1365-677: The French Resistance , women were often important members and couriers. Like their counterparts elsewhere in Europe, Italian partisans seized whatever arms they could find. The first weapons were brought by ex-soldiers fighting German occupiers from the Regio Esercito inventory: Carcano rifles, Beretta M1934 and M1935 pistols, Bodeo M1889 revolvers, SRCM and OTO hand grenades, and Fiat–Revelli Modello 1935 , Breda 30 and Breda M37 machine guns. Later, captured K98ks , MG 34s , MG 42s ,
1456-399: The Giustizia e Libertà (Justice and Freedom) movement. Republican and Catholic women, along with those without prior political or ideological commitments, also joined. These groups predominantly operated in the northern midlands of Italy. Scholars attribute this geographic spread to the influence of local women's clothing, which fostered individual initiative and civic awareness. Initially,
1547-696: The Italian resistance groups who fought the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and the fascist collaborationists of the Italian Social Republic during the Second World War in Italy from 1943 to 1945. As a diverse anti-fascist and anti-nazist movement and organisation, the Resistenza opposed Nazi Germany and its Fascist puppet state regime, the Italian Social Republic, which the Germans created following
1638-543: The PCI emphasized national unity and "progressive democracy" in order to stake their claim in the post-war political situation. Despite the pressing need to resolve social issues which persisted after the fall of fascism, the resistance movement was subordinated to the interests of Allied leaders in order to maintain the status quo. Italian partisan brigades They were formed on voluntary base by irregular soldiers and sometimes were organized by former army members who served in
1729-673: The Po River flatland. In the large towns of northern Italy, such as Piacenza , and the surrounding valleys near the Gothic Line . Montechino Castle housed a key partisan headquarters. The Gruppi di Azione Patriottica (GAP; "Patriotic Action Groups") commanded by the Resistance's youngest officer, Giuseppe "Beppe" Ruffino, carried out acts of sabotage and guerrilla warfare , and the Squadre di Azione Patriottica (SAP; "Patriotic Action Squads") arranged strike actions and propaganda campaigns. As in
1820-654: The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia army, in Italy for guard/patrol duty in 1944), Russians, Ukrainians, Dutch, Spaniards, Greeks, Poles, German defectors and deserters disillusioned with Nazism and Britons and Americans (ex-prisoners or advisors deployed by the SAS, SOE and OSS ). Some later became well-known, such as climber and explorer Bill Tilman , reporter and historian Peter Tompkins , former RAF pilot Count Manfred Beckett Czernin , and architect Oliver Churchill . George Dunning recorded his experiences of fighting with
1911-819: The Romagna area. The CLN mostly operated in the Alpine area, Apennine area and Po Valley of the RSI , and also in the German OZAK (the area northeast of the north end of the Adriatic Sea ) and OZAV (Trentino and South Tyrol) zones. Its losses amounted to 16,000 killed, wounded or captured between September 1943 and May 1944. On 15 June 1944, the General Staff of the Esercito Nazionale Repubblicano estimated that
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#17328836232772002-507: The Salussola massacre (20 partisans murdered after being tortured, as a reprisal). In all, an estimated 15,000 Italian civilians were deliberately killed, including many women and children. Although other European countries such as Norway , the Netherlands , and France also had partisan movements and collaborationist governments with Nazi Germany , armed confrontation between compatriots
2093-750: The Spanish Civil War with the hope of setting an example of armed resistance to Franco 's dictatorship against Mussolini's regime; hence their motto: "Today in Spain, tomorrow in Italy". Armed resistance to the German occupation following the armistice between Italy and Allied armed forces of 3 September 1943 partially began with Italian regular forces: the Italian Armed Forces and the Carabinieri military police . The period's best-known battle broke out in Rome
2184-514: The Third Reich (often by smaller German outfits). However, some garrisons stationed in occupied Greece, Albania, Yugoslavia and Italy fought the Germans. Admirals Inigo Campioni and Luigi Mascherpa led an attempt to defend Rhodes , Kos , Leros and other Dodecanese islands from their former allies. With reinforcements from SAS , SBS and British Army troops under the command of Generals Francis Gerrard Russell Brittorous and Robert Tilney ,
2275-534: The labor movement , fought against the violent Blackshirts and against the rise of the fascist leader Benito Mussolini. After the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) signed a pacification pact with Mussolini and his Fasces of Combat on 3 August 1921, and trade unions adopted a legalist and pacified strategy, members of the workers' movement who disagreed with this strategy formed Arditi del Popolo . The Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGL) and
2366-677: The province of Udine . Tensions between the Catholics and the Communists in the movement led to the foundation of the Fiamme Verdi as a separate formation. A further challenge to the 'national unity' embodied in the CLN came from anarchists as well as dissident-communist Resistance formations, such as Turin's Stella Rossa movement and the Movimento Comunista d'Italia (Rome's largest single anti-fascist force under Occupation), which sought
2457-518: The "autonomous" ( autonomi ) partisans, largely composed of former soldiers with no substantial alignment to any anti-Fascist party; an example was the 1° Gruppo Divisioni Alpine led by Enrico Martini . Relations among the groups varied. For example, in 1945, the Garibaldi partisans under Yugoslav Partisan command attacked and killed several partisans of the Catholic and azionista Osoppo groups in
2548-494: The "republic" led by Mussolini were taken as civilian prisoners too. Only 10 percent agreed to enroll. The Nazis considered the Italians as traitors and not as prisoners of war. The former Italian soldiers were sent into forced labour in war industries (35.6%), heavy industry (7.1%), mining (28.5%), construction (5.9%) and agriculture (14.3%). The working conditions were very poor. The Italians were inadequately fed or clothed for
2639-516: The Allied forces. The April insurrection brought to the fore issues between the resistance and the Allies. Given the revolutionary dimension of the insurrection in the industrial centres of Turin, Milan, and Genoa, where concerted factory occupations by armed workers had occurred, the Allied commanders sought to impose control as soon as they took the place of the retreating Germans. While the Kingdom of Italy
2730-508: The Cardinal Archbishop of Turin "visited partisan units in the mountains, heard their confessions and said Mass for them." The Fiamme Verdi did not belong to the approximately 4% of Italian Resistance groups that were formal Catholic organisations, but instead was classed in the 21% of resistance groups that were "independent", in which, like the Osoppo group and others, the Fiamme Verdi
2821-610: The Friulian clergy. The Brigate Fiamme Verdi diversified themselves in the territory: the Lombard ones, formed by catholic intellectuals, became exclusive military formations with a liberal orientation; the ones of Reggio Emilia , instead, were directly led by DC as the Brigate del Popolo . The Mazzini Brigades in Veneto did not have a close relationship with PRI as the Lombard ones. The following
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2912-778: The German occupation, and successfully at that. The people of Naples revolted and held strong against Nazi occupiers in the last days of September 1943. The popular mass uprising and resistance in Naples against the occupying Nazi German forces, known as the Four days of Naples , consisted of four days of continuous open warfare and guerrilla actions by locals against the Nazi Germans. The spontaneous uprising of Neopolitan and Italian Resistance against German occupying forces (despite limited armament, organization, or planning) nevertheless successfully disrupted German plans to deport Neopolitans en masse, destroy
3003-598: The German occupation; they were subsequently joined and re-organized by Anti-Fascists, and became thus increasingly politicized. Later the Comitato di Liberazione Nazionale (Committee of National Liberation, or CLN), created by the Italian Communist Party , the Italian Socialist Party , the Partito d'Azione (a republican liberal socialist party), Democrazia Cristiana and other minor parties, largely took control of
3094-476: The German torpedo boat TA11 ; Italian artillery also sank seven Marinefährprahme , the péniches Mainz and Meise (another péniche, Karin , was scuttled at the harbour entrance as a blockship ) and six Luftwaffe service boats ( Fl.B.429 , Fl.B.538 , Fl.C.3046 , Fl.C.3099 , Fl.C.504 e Fl.C.528 ), and heavily damaged the torpedo boat TA9 and the steamers Carbet and Capitano Sauro (former Italian ships). Sauro and Carbet were scuttled because of
3185-428: The German winter. Many became sick and died. The death rate of the military internees at 6-7% was second only to that of Soviet prisoners of war although much lower. In the first major act of resistance following the German occupation, Italian partisans and local resistance fighters liberated the city of Naples through a chaotic popular rebellion. Naples was the first of the major European cities to rise up against
3276-633: The Germans) joined the underground; General Gioacchino Solinas (commander of the Granatieri) instead opted for the pro-German Italian Social Republic . One of the most important episodes of resistance by Italian Armed Forces after the armistice was the Battle of Piombino in Tuscany . On 10 September 1943, during Operation Achse , a small German flotilla, commanded by Kapitänleutnant Karl-Wolf Albrand, tried to enter
3367-401: The Germans. The partisans had no permanent headquarters or bases, making them difficult to destroy. The resistance fighters themselves relied heavily on the local populace for support and supplies. They would often barter or just ask for food, blankets and medicine. When the partisans took supplies from families, they would often hand out promissory notes that the peasants could convert after
3458-475: The Italian fascist community. The Italian liberal anti-fascist Benedetto Croce wrote his Manifesto of the Anti-Fascist Intellectuals , which was published in 1925. Other notable Italian liberal anti-fascists around that time were Piero Gobetti and Carlo Rosselli . After the murder of the socialist deputy Giacomo Matteotti (1924) and the decisive assumption of responsibility by Mussolini,
3549-716: The Italian occupied territories. Those formations had been active between the 8 September 1943 (with the Badoglio Proclamation ) and the end of the war on 6 May 1945. During the WWII, groups of partisans were formed after the Badoglio Proclamation by former members of the Royal Italian Army located in the north centre of Italy and in the territories occupied by the Kingdom like those of the Balkans . The former soldiers were then flanked by anti-fascists, exiles and expatriates. In
3640-417: The Nazi German invasion and military occupation of Italy by the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS from 8 September 1943 until 25 April 1945. General underground Italian opposition to the Fascist Italian government existed even before World War II, but open and armed resistance followed the German invasion of Italy on 8 September 1943: in Nazi-occupied Italy, the Italian Resistance fighters, known as
3731-437: The PSI refused to officially recognize the anti-fascist militia and maintained a non-violent, legalist strategy, while the Communist Party of Italy (PCd'I) ordered its members to quit the organization. The PCd'I organized some militant groups, but their actions were relatively minor. The Italian anarchist Severino Di Giovanni , who exiled himself to Argentina following the 1922 March on Rome , organized several bombings against
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3822-410: The Partisans. Those executed would come from the village near where an attack took place and sometimes from captive partisan fighters. The German punishments backfired and instead strengthened the relationship. Because most resistance fighters were peasants, local populations felt a need to provide for their own. One of the larger engagements was the battle for Monte Battaglia (lit. "Battle Mountain"),
3913-411: The Social Republic regime, they were left with little or nothing to live on, and many were deported to Nazi concentration and extermination camps where about 7,000 died. DELASEM helped thousands of Jews by offering food, shelter and money. Some of its members would later be designated Righteous Among the Nations . On 19 April 1945, the CLN called for an insurrection (the April 25 uprising). In Bologna ,
4004-469: The armistice and some decided to fight alongside the local resistance. Elements of the Taurinense Division , the Venezia Division , the Aosta Division and the Emilia Division were assembled in the Italian Garibaldi Partisan Division, part of the Yugoslav People's Liberation Army . When the unit finally returned to Italy at the end of the war, half its members had been killed or were listed as missing in action. On 9 September 1943, Bastia , in Corsica ,
4095-419: The autumn of 1943, the Direction of the Italian Communist Party suggested the formation of organized structures and promoted the creation of the Garibaldi battalions. These groups were conceived as assault brigades because they had to be immediately active but the organization would be formed during their activity. During the war, new formations were continuously created until April 1945, and an important event
4186-442: The brigade formation implied a military-like model of organization with a hierarchy formed by General Command, divisions, brigades, battalions, companies, squads and groups . It was also introduced the charge of the " political commissar " according to the experiences of the October Revolution and the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War . This kind of organization would be realized only in summer 1944, when also
4277-399: The camps. Most refused cooperation with the Third Reich despite hardship, chiefly to maintain their oath of fidelity to the King. Their former allies designated them Italienische Militär-Internierte ("Italian military internees") to deny them prisoner of war status and the rights granted by the Geneva Convention . Their actions were eventually recognized as an act of unarmed resistance on
4368-477: The city, and prevent Allied forces from gaining a strategic foothold. Elsewhere, the nascent movement began as independently operating groups were organized and led by previously outlawed political parties or by former officers of the Royal Italian Army . Many partisan formations were initially founded by soldiers from disbanded units of the Royal Italian Army that had evaded capture in Operation Achse , and were led by junior Army officers who had decided to resist
4459-413: The damage they had suffered. The German attack was repelled; by the dawn of 11 September, 120 Germans had been killed and about 200–300 captured, 120 of them wounded. Italian casualties had been 4 killed (two sailors, one Guardia di Finanza brigadier, and one civilian) and a dozen wounded; four Italian submarine chasers ( VAS 208 , 214 , 219 and 220 ) were also sunk during the fighting. Later in
4550-510: The day the armistice was announced. Regio Esercito units such as the Sassari Division , the Granatieri di Sardegna , the Piave Division , the Ariete II Division , the Centauro Division , the Piacenza Division and the "Lupi di Toscana" Division (in addition to Carabinieri, infantry and coastal artillery regiments) were deployed around the city and along surrounding roads. Outnumbered German Fallschirmjäger and Panzergrenadiere were initially repelled and endured losses, but slowly gained
4641-407: The defenders held on for a month. However, the Wehrmacht took the islands through air and sea landings by infantry and Fallschirmjäger supported by the Luftwaffe . Both Campioni and Mascherpa were captured and executed at Verona for high treason. On 13 September 1943, the Acqui Division stationed in Cefalonia chose to defend themselves from a German invasion during ongoing negotiations. After
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#17328836232774732-471: The generals in charge of the city without a coordinated defence plan; also the absence of the Italian Centauro II Division, composed primarily of ex- Blackshirts and not trusted, with its German-made tanks, contributed to the defeat of the Italian forces by the Germans. By 10 September, the Germans had penetrated downtown Rome and the Granatieri (aided by civilians) made their last stand at Porta San Paolo . At 4 pm, General Giorgio Calvi di Bergolo signed
4823-447: The harbour of Piombino but was denied access by the port authorities. General and Fascist official Cesare Maria De Vecchi in command of the Italian 215th Coastal Division ordered the port authorities to allow the German flotilla to enter, against the advice of Commander Amedeo Capuano, the Naval commander of the harbour. Once they entered and landed, the German forces showed a hostile behaviour, and it became clear that their intent
4914-462: The iconic potato-masher grenades , Lugers , and Walther P38s were added to partisan kits. Submachine guns (such as the MP 40 ) were initially scarce, and usually reserved for squad leaders. Automatic weapons became more common as they were captured in combat and as the Social Republic regime soldiers began defecting, bringing their own guns. Beretta MABs began appearing in larger numbers in October 1943, when they were spirited away en masse from
5005-440: The left-wing parties (among which Palmiro Togliatti himself) a true "civil war" in defence of the popular classes against the reactionary forces. In Italy, Mussolini's Fascist regime used the term anti-fascist to describe its opponents. Mussolini's secret police was officially known as the Organization for Vigilance and Repression of Anti-Fascism . During the 1920s in the Kingdom of Italy , anti-fascists, many of them from
5096-428: The morning, however, De Vecchi ordered the prisoners to be released and had their weapons returned to them. New popular protests broke out, as the Italian units were disbanded and the senior commanders fled from the city; the divisional command surrendered Piombino to the Germans on 12 September, and the city was occupied. Many of the sailors, soldiers and citizens who had fought in the battle of Piombino retreated to
5187-413: The movement in accordance with King Victor Emmanuel III 's ministers and the Allies . The CLN was set up by partisans behind German lines and had the support of most groups in the region. The main CLN formations included three politically varied groups: the communist Brigate Garibaldi (Garibaldi Brigades), the Giustizia e Libertà (Justice and Freedom) Brigades related to the Partito d'Azione, and
5278-496: The movement led Catholics to form the Fiamme Verdi as a separate brigade of Christian Democrats in Northern Italy. Peter Hebblethwaite wrote that, by early 1944, some 20,000 partisans had emerged from Catholic Action . Known as the "Green Flames", they were supported by sympathetic provincial clergy in the North, who pronounced the Germans to be "unjust invaders", whom it was lawful and meritorious to repel. "Bishops tended to be more cautious", wrote Hebblethwaite, Maurilio Fossati ,
5369-440: The number of partisans had grown to 100,000, and it escalated to more than 250,000 with the final insurrection in April 1945. The Italian resistance suffered 50,000 fighters killed throughout the conflict. Partisan unit sizes varied, depending on logistics (such as the ability to arm, clothe and feed members) and the amount of local support. The basic unit was the squadra (squad), with three or more squads (usually five) forming
5460-462: The occupying Nazi German forces and their few remaining Italian Fascist allies were openly attacked by Italian partisans on 19 April, and by 21 April, the city of Bologna was liberated by the partisans, the Italian Co-Belligerent Army , and the Polish II Corps under Allied command; Parma and Reggio Emilia were later freed on 24 April by the Italian Resistance and then the advancing Allied forces. Turin and Milan were liberated on 25 April through
5551-421: The older Italian anti-fascist parties. Giustizia e Libertà also made the international community aware of the realities of fascism in Italy, thanks to the work of Gaetano Salvemini . Some historians have also underlined how the Resistance movement may have had links with the Spanish Civil War , in particular with those who had served in the International Brigades . Many Italian anti-fascists participated in
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#17328836232775642-455: The order of surrender; the Italian divisions were disbanded and their troops taken prisoner. Although some officers participating in the battle later joined the resistance, the clash in Rome was not motivated by anti-German sentiment so much as the desire to control the Italian capital and resist the disarmament of Italian soldiers. Generals Raffaele Cadorna Jr. (commander of Ariete II) and Giuseppe Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo (later executed by
5733-460: The orders (Perni and De Vecchi even tried to dismiss them for this), assumed command and started distributing weapons to the population, and civilian volunteers joined the Italian sailors and soldiers in the defense. A battle broke out at 21:15 on 10 September, between the German landing forces (who aimed to occupy the town centre) and the Italian coastal batteries, tanks of the XIX Tank Battalion "M" , and civilian population. Italian tanks sank
5824-618: The organization's objectives were reformulated to prioritize activities that broadly promoted women's emancipation. During the summer and early fall of 1944, with Allied forces nearby, partisans attacked behind German lines, led by CLNAI. This rebellion led to provisional partisan governments throughout the mountainous regions. Ossola was the most important of these, receiving recognition from Switzerland and Allied consulates there. An intelligence officer told Field Marshal Albert Kesselring , Germany's commander of occupation forces in Italy, that he estimated German casualties fighting partisans in
5915-458: The other parties adopted the military-political structure, with or without "commissars" representing the party of reference. Brigades of army-men were formed mainly abroad by former soldiers and officers who did not accepted to be humiliated and imprisoned by the Nazis . After the Armistice of Cassibile , Allies allowed the Kingdom to reorganize the remaining army forces which were initially left without any order but most soldiers decided to join
6006-411: The partisan forces amounted to some 82,000 men, of whom about 25,000 operated in Piedmont , 14,200 in Liguria , 16,000 in the Julian March , 17,000 in Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna , 5,600 in Veneto , and 5,000 in Lombardy . Their ranks were gradually increased by the influx of young men escaping the Italian Social Republic's draft, as well as from deserters from the RSI armed forces. By August 1944,
6097-444: The partisans in his book "Where bleed the many". Another task carried out by the resistance was assisting escaping POWs (an estimated 80,000 were interned in Italy until 8 September 1943), to reach Allied lines or Switzerland on paths previously used by smugglers. Some fugitives and groups of fugitives hid in safe houses, usually arranged by women (less likely to arouse suspicion). After the war, Field Marshal Harold Alexander issued
6188-579: The partisans, hoping that they would provide religious guidance to partisans being exposed to Communist propaganda. The Fiamme Verdi was sometimes associated with the Democrazia Cristiana Party and was particularly active in Emilia and Lombardia . Notable members included Lionello Levi Sandri , who later served as a prominent Italian and European Commissioner . Italian resistance movement The Italian Resistance ( Italian : Resistenza italiana , pronounced [reziˈstɛntsa itaˈljaːna] , or simply La Resistenza ) consisted of all
6279-401: The period from the mid-1920s, when weak forms of opposition to the fascist regime already existed, until the beginning of World War II . Furthermore, in the memory of the partisan fighters, especially those of communist and socialist inspiration, the memory of the Biennio Rosso and of the violent struggles against the fascist squads in the period 1919–1922, considered by some exponents of
6370-513: The process of totalitarianization of the State began in the Kingdom of Italy , which will give rise to ever greater control and severe persecution of opponents, at risk of imprisonment and confinement. The anti-fascists therefore organized themselves clandestinely in Italy and abroad, creating with great difficulty a rudimentary network of connections, which however did not produce significant practical results, remaining fragmented into small uncoordinated groups, incapable of attacking or threatening
6461-490: The regime, if some attacks carried out in particular by anarchists are excluded. Their activity was limited to the ideological side; the production of writings was copious, particularly among the anti-fascist exile communities, which however did not reach the masses and did not influence public opinion. Concentrazione Antifascista Italiana (English: Italian Anti-Fascist Concentration ), officially known as Concentrazione d'Azione Antifascista (Anti-Fascist Action Concentration),
6552-451: The resistance adopted guerrilla warfare . This involved groups of 40–50 fighters ambushing and harassing the Nazis and their allies. The size of the brigades was reflective of the resources available to the partisans. Resource limits could not support large groups in one area. Mobility was key to their success. Their terrain knowledge enabled narrow escapes in small groups when nearly surrounded by
6643-442: The resistance brigades already active. According to the newspaper Avvenire , catholic formations were often in contrast with the other ones of different political sides, but during the liberation war there was still a collaboration from both the sides. Catholics who actively took part to the Resistance were 65,000 - 80,000 out of about 200,000 partisans. During the Resistance various formations merged and subdivided according to
6734-540: The situations of the operative areas, with different criteria and sizes. For example, some Garibaldi groups had a pyramidal structure: Within the Corpo volontari della libertà there were the following political affiliations: Sometimes names were not closely linked to the relative parties: for example, the Osoppo Brigades of Friuli , which were born with an important contributions of PdA, accepted their dependence on DC and
6825-647: The socialist Brigate Matteotti ( Matteotti Brigades). Smaller groups included Christian democrats and, outside the CLN, monarchists such as the Brigate Fiamme Verdi (Green Flame Brigades) and Fronte Militare Clandestino (Clandestine Military Front) headed by Colonel Montezemolo. Another sizeable partisan group, particularly strong in Piedmont (where the Fourth Army had disintegrated in September 1943), were
6916-437: The summer of 1944 amounted to 30,000 to 35,000, including 5,000 confirmed killed. Kesselring considered the number to be exaggerated, and offered his own figure of 20,000: 5,000 killed, between 7,000 and 8,000 missing / "kidnapped" (including deserters), and a similar number seriously wounded. Both sources agreed that partisan losses were less. By the end of the year, German reinforcements and Mussolini's remaining forces crushed
7007-431: The surrounding woods and formed the first partisan formations in the area. For the deeds of its citizens, the town received a gold medal for Military Valour from the President of the Italian Republic Carlo Azeglio Ciampi . In the days following 8 September 1943 most servicemen, left without orders from higher echelons (due to Wehrmacht units ceasing Italian radio communications), were disarmed and shipped to POW camps in
7098-533: The upper hand, aided by their experience and superior Panzer component. The defenders were hampered by a number of facts: Allied support was cancelled at the last minute since the Fallschirmjäger took the U.S. 82nd Airborne Division drop zones ( Brigadier General Maxwell D. Taylor had crossed enemy lines and gone to Rome to personally supervise the operation); King Victor Emmanuel III , Marshal Pietro Badoglio and their staff fled to Brindisi , which left
7189-463: The uprising. In their attempts to suppress the resistance, German and Italian Fascist forces (especially the SS, Gestapo , and paramilitary militias such as Xª MAS and Black Brigades ) committed war crimes, including summary executions and systematic reprisals against the civilian population. Resistance captives and suspects were often tortured and raped. Some of the most notorious mass atrocities included
7280-412: The war for money. The partisans slept in abandoned farms and farmhouses. One account from Paolino 'Andrea' Ranieri (a political commissar at the time) described fighters using donkeys to move equipment at night while during the day the peasants used them in the fields. The Nazis tried to split the populace from the resistance by adopting a reprisal policy of killing 10 Italians for every German killed by
7371-412: The women's groups aimed to support resistance efforts in auxiliary roles. However, they quickly assumed leadership responsibilities in areas such as information dissemination, propaganda, issuing orders, and handling ammunition. Some women even directly engaged in armed resistance as "gappistas". Ada Gobetti was among the first to criticize the use of the term "assistance" in the group's name. In 1944,
7462-412: Was an Italian anti-fascist resistance movement , active from 1929 to 1945. The movement was cofounded by Carlo Rosselli , Ferruccio Parri , who later became Prime Minister of Italy , and Sandro Pertini , who became President of Italy , were among the movement's leaders. The movement's members held various political beliefs but shared a belief in active, effective opposition to fascism, compared to
7553-522: Was an Italian coalition of Anti-Fascist groups which existed from 1927 to 1934. Founded in Nérac , France, by expatriate Italians, the CAI was an alliance of non-communist anti-fascist forces (republican, socialist, nationalist) trying to promote and to coordinate expatriate actions to fight fascism in Italy; they published a propaganda paper entitled La Libertà . Giustizia e Libertà (English: Justice and Freedom )
7644-763: Was declared to be founded on the struggle of the Resistance: the Constituent Assembly was mostly composed of representatives of the parties that had given life to the Italian Resistance's National Liberation Committee . These former Italian Resistance fighters wrote the Constitution of Italy at the end of the war based on a compromissory synthesis of their Resistance parties' respective principles of democracy and anti-fascism . The Italian Resistance has its roots in anti-fascism , which progressively developed in
7735-741: Was more intense in Italy, making the Italian case unique. In 1965, the definition of "civil war" was used for the first time by fascist politician and historian Giorgio Pisanò in his books, while Claudio Pavone 's book Una guerra civile. Saggio storico sulla moralità della Resistenza ( A Civil War. Historical Essay On the Morality Of the Resistance ), published in 1991, led to the term " Italian Civil War " being used more frequently by Italian and international historiography. Not all resistance members were Italians; many foreigners had escaped POW camps or joined guerrilla bands as so-called "military missions". Among them were Yugoslavs, Czechs (deserters from
7826-563: Was not formally a Catholic group, but had a very strong Catholic presence. Nevertheless, just as there were militant Catholics within the Garibaldi Brigade, so there were non-Catholics within the Fiamme Verdi . 191 priests were killed by fascists and 125 by the Germans, while 109 were killed by partisans. Though some priests joined pro-fascist bands, the Vatican backed the so-called anti-Fascist 'partisan chaplains' and 'red priests' fighting with
7917-522: Was the creation of the General Command of Corpo Volontari della Libertà (CVL, "Corps of Freedom Volunteers") on 9 June 1944 in Milan, where the headquarters of main partisan organizations were located. The CVL represented the partisan movement among Allies and the Italian government and it had the purpose of coordinate brigades and local National Liberation Committees . According to the communist members,
8008-494: Was the de facto ruler of the south, the National Liberation Committee, still embedded in German territory, existed as a populist organization which posed a threat to the monarchy and property owners in post-war Italy. However the PCI , under directives from Moscow, enabled the Allies to carry out their program of disarming the partisans and discouraged any revolutionary attempt at changing the social system. Instead,
8099-502: Was the setting of a naval battle between Italian torpedo boats and an attacking German flotilla . It was one of the few successful Italian reactions to Operation Achse , and one of the first acts of resistance by the Italian armed forces against Nazi Germany after the armistice of Cassibile . Italian soldiers captured by the Germans numbered around 650,000–700,000 (some 45,000 others were killed in combat, executed, or died during transport), of whom between 40,000 and 50,000 later died in
8190-1098: Was thought to encourage betrayal. People largely supported the resistance because of economic hardships, especially inflation. Pasta prices tripled and bread prices had quintupled since 1938; hunger unified the underground and general population. Women played a large role. After the war, about 35,000 Italian women were recognised as female partigiane combattenti (partisan combatants) and 20,000 as patriote (patriots); they broke into these groups based on their activities. The majority were between 20 and 29. They were generally kept separate from male partisans. Few were attached to brigades and were even rarer in mountain brigades. Female countryside volunteers were generally rejected. Women still served in large numbers and had significant influence. The groups were formed collaboratively by women from diverse political backgrounds. Prominent participants included communists Giovanna Barcellona, Lina Fibbi , Marisa Diena , and Caterina Picolato; socialists Laura Conti and Lina Merlin ; actionists Elena Dreher and Ada Gobetti ; as well as women associated with
8281-442: Was to occupy the town; the local population asked for a resolved reaction by the Italian forces, threatening an insurrection, but the senior Italian commander, general Fortunato Perni, instead ordered his tanks to open fire on the civilians – an order the tankers refused. Meanwhile, De Vecchi forbade any action against the Germans. This however did not stop the protests; some junior officers, acting on their own initiative and against
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