The Garibaldi Battalion (The Garibaldi Brigade after April 1937) was a largely-

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

volunteer unit of the

International Brigades The International Brigades () were soldiers recruited and organized by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front (Spain), Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The International Bri ...

that fought on the Republican side of the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

from October 1936 to 1938. It was named after

Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as (). In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as () or (). 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, revolutionary and republican. H ...

, an Italian military and political figure of the nineteenth century.

History

The Italian Legion was established on 27 October 1936, through an agreement signed in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

between Italian republicans, socialists and Communists.Randolfo Pacciardi, ''Il Battaglione Garibaldi. Volontari italiani nella Spagna Repubblicana'', La Lanterna, Roma, 1945, pp. 41-42 It was headed by the Republican commander Randolfo Pacciardi and

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

political commissars Antonio Roasio,

Luigi Longo Luigi Longo (15 March 1900 – 16 October 1980), also known as Gallo, was an Italian communist politician and general secretary of the Italian Communist Party from 1964 to 1972. He was also the first foreigner to be awarded an Order of Lenin. E ...

and socialist Amedeo Azzi. It was part of the

XII International Brigade The XII International Brigade was mustered on 7 November 1936 at Albacete, Spain. It was formerly named the Garibaldi Brigade, after the most famous and inspiring leader in the Italian Independence Wars, General Giuseppe Garibaldi. Structure Its ...

along with André Marty Battalion and Dimitrov Battalion. It had a baptism of fire on the November 13, 1936 at Cerro de los Ángeles during the

Siege of Madrid The siege of Madrid was a two-and-a-half-year siege of the Second Spanish Republic, Republican-controlled Spain, Spanish capital city of Madrid by the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist armies, under General Francisco Franco, ...

, then the battalion fought by the University of Madrid, at Pozuelo, Boadilla del Monte, Mirabueno,

Majadahonda Majadahonda () is a municipality in Spain, situated northwest of Madrid, in the Community of Madrid. It lies alongside the motorway A6 Madrid- A Coruña. The Puerta de Hierro university (public) hospital was relocated to Majadahonda from the ...

and Jarama. During the Battle of Jarama, Pacciardi was wounded, and so Ilio Barontini took command of the battalion during the Battle of Guadalajara. Pacciardi was again the commander at

Huesca Huesca (; ) is a city in north-eastern Spain, within the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Aragon between 1096 and 1118. It is also the capital of the Spanish Huesca (province), ...

and Villanueva del Pardillo. In late of April 1937, it was dissolved to form the skeleton of the Garibaldi Brigade, formally established on May 1. Brigade was strengthened by the arrival of the soldiers of Dimitrov battalion and by the volunteers of the dissolved Italian column, and other Italian groups from other formations and many others new volunteers who continue to turn to Spain. The Garibaldi Brigade remained part of the XII International Brigade, under the direction of Randolfo Pacciardi until August 1937; it consisted of four battalions. Then there were five commanders until its dissolution on September 24, 1938. In addition to operations in the north of the current

Community of Madrid The Community of Madrid (; ) is one of the seventeen autonomous communities and 50 provinces of Spain, provinces of Spain. It is located at the heart of the Iberian Peninsula and Meseta Central, Central Plateau (); its capital and largest munici ...

and parts of

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

, it played its most prominent role in the

Battle of the Ebro The Battle of the Ebro (, ) was the longest and largest battle of the Spanish Civil War and the greatest, in terms of manpower, logistics and material ever fought on Spanish soil. It took place between July and November 1938, with fighting mainly ...

Mehmet Shehu Mehmet Ismail Shehu (January 10, 1913 – December 18, 1981) was an Albanian Communism, communist politician who served as the Prime Minister of Albania, Prime Minister of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania from 1954 to 1981. He was known ...

, future Prime Minister of Albania, was among the volunteers. Other notable Albanian members include Veli Dedi, Petro Marko, Shaban Basha, Thimjo Gogozoto and Asim Vokshi, one of the staff officers of the battalion.

Personnel

*Amedeo Azzi – political commissar *Shaban Basha *Ilio Barontini *Veli Dedi *Thimjo Gogozoto *

* Petro Marko * Randolfo Pacciardi – commander *Antonio Roasio *

* Asim Vokshi

Bibliography

* Luigi Arbizzani, P. Mondini ''Garibaldini in Spagna e nella Resistenza bolognese'', Quaderni de "La Lotta", 1966 * Sandro Attanasio, ''Gli italiani e la guerra di Spagna'', Mursia * Giacomo Calandrone, ''La Spagna brucia: cronache garibaldine'', Roma, Editori Riuniti * Giulia Canali, ''L'antifascismo italiano e la guerra civile spagnola'', Manni * Aldo Garosci, ''Gli intellettuali e la guerra di Spagna '', Milano, Einaudi, 1959 * Aldo Garosci, Umberto Marzocchi, Carlo Rosselli, ''Giustizia e libertà nella lotta antifascista e nella storia d'Italia'', La Nuova Italia, 1978 *

, ''Le brigate internazionali in Spagna'', Roma, Editori Riuniti, 1956 * Randolfo Pacciardi, ''Il battaglione Garibaldi'', Lugano 1938. * Giovanni Pesce, ''Senza tregua'', Milano, Feltrinelli, 1973 * Carlo Rosselli, ''Oggi in Spagna domani in Italia'', Milano, Einaudi, 1967

References

{{Authority control International Brigades Military units and formations established in 1937 Military units and formations disestablished in 1938 Anti-fascism in Italy Giuseppe Garibaldi

History

Personnel

See also

Bibliography

References