The Italian resistance movement (the ''Resistenza italiana'' and ''la Resistenza'') is an umbrella term for the
Italian resistance groups who fought the occupying forces of
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
and the fascist collaborationists of the
Italian Social Republic during the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
from 1943 to 1945. As an
anti-fascist
Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers wer ...
movement and organisation, ''La Resistenza'' opposed Nazi Germany, as well as Nazi Germany's Italian
puppet state regime, the Italian Social Republic, which was created by the Germans following the Nazi German invasion and
military occupation
Military occupation, also known as belligerent occupation or simply occupation, is the effective military control by a ruling power over a territory that is outside of that power's sovereign territory.Eyāl Benveniśtî. The international law ...
of Italy by the ''
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...
'' and the ''
Waffen-SS'' from September 1943 until April 1945 (though general underground Italian resistance and resistance groups to
the Fascist Italian government began even prior to World War II).
In Nazi-occupied Italy, the Italian anti-fascist resistance fighters, known as the ''partigiani'' (
partisans), fought a ''guerra di liberazione nazionale'', or a war for national liberation, against invading Nazi German forces. The anti-fascist ''partigiani'' of the Italian resistance also simultaneously participated in the
Italian Civil War
The Italian Civil War ( Italian: ''Guerra civile italiana'', ) was a civil war in the Kingdom of Italy fought during World War II by Italian Fascists against the Italian partisans (mostly politically organized in the National Liberation Committ ...
(8 September 1943 – 2 May 1945), in which the Resistance, a loose coalition of Italian anti-fascist parties, independent resistance fighters, and
partisan brigades and militias, fought against the
Italian Fascists. The modern
Italian Republic was declared to be founded on the struggle of the Resistance: the
Constituent Assembly
A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...
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
Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose g ...
and
anti-fascism
Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...
.
Resistance by Italian armed forces
In Italy
Rome
Armed resistance to the German occupation following the
armistice between Italy and Allied armed forces
The Armistice of Cassibile was an armistice signed on 3 September 1943 and made public on 8 September between the Kingdom of Italy and the Allies of World War II, Allies during World War II.
It was signed by Major General (United States), Majo ...
of 3 September 1943 began with Italian regular forces: the
Italian Armed Forces
The Italian Armed Forces ( it, Forze armate italiane, ) encompass the Italian Army, the Italian Navy and the Italian Air Force. A fourth branch of the armed forces, known as the Carabinieri, take on the role as the nation's military police and a ...
and the
Carabinieri military police
Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. In wartime operations, the military police may support the main fighting force with force protection, convoy security, screening, rear rec ...
. The period's best-known battle broke out in
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus ( legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
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
Panzergrenadier
''Panzergrenadier'' (), abbreviated as ''PzG'' (WWII) or ''PzGren'' (modern), meaning '' "Armour"-ed fighting vehicle "Grenadier"'', is a German term for mechanized infantry units of armoured forces who specialize in fighting from and in conju ...
e were initially repelled and endured losses, but slowly gained the upper hand, aided by their experience and superior
Panzer
This article deals with the tanks (german: panzer) serving in the German Army (''Deutsches Heer'') throughout history, such as the World War I tanks of the Imperial German Army, the interwar and World War II tanks of the Nazi German Wehrma ...
component. The defenders were hampered by the escape of
King
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...
Victor Emmanuel III, Marshal
Pietro Badoglio
Pietro Badoglio, 1st Duke of Addis Abeba, 1st Marquess of Sabotino (, ; 28 September 1871 – 1 November 1956), was an Italian general during both World Wars and the first viceroy of Italian East Africa. With the fall of the Fascist regime ...
and their staff to
Brindisi
Brindisi ( , ) ; la, Brundisium; grc, Βρεντέσιον, translit=Brentésion; cms, Brunda), group=pron is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea.
Histo ...
, which left the generals in charge of the city without a coordinated defence plan. This caused Allied support to be cancelled at the last minute since the Fallschirmjäger took the U.S.
82nd Airborne Division
The 82nd Airborne Division is an airborne infantry division of the United States Army specializing in parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops Magazine'', 25 November 2012. Archived from tho ...
drop zones;
Brigadier General
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointe ...
Maxwell D. Taylor
Maxwell Davenport Taylor (August 26, 1901 – April 19, 1987) was a senior United States Army officer and diplomat of the mid-20th century. He served with distinction in World War II, most notably as commander of the 101st Airborne Division, n ...
had crossed enemy lines and gone to Rome to personally supervise the operation. The absence of the Italian Centauro II Division, with its German-made tanks, contributed to the defeat of the Italian forces by the Germans. The division was composed primarily of ex-
Blackshirts and was not trusted.
By 10 September, the Germans had penetrated downtown Rome and the
Granatieri (aided by civilians) made their last stand at
Porta San Paolo
The Porta San Paolo (English: Saint Paul Gate) is one of the southern gates in the 3rd-century Aurelian Walls of Rome, Italy. The Via Ostiense Museum (') is housed within the gatehouse.
It is in the Ostiense quarter; just to the west is the Ro ...
. At 4 pm, General
Giorgio Calvi di Bergolo
Giorgio Carlo Calvi, Count of Bergolo (Athens, 15 March 1887 – Rome, 25 February 1977) was an Italian general during World War II and the husband of Princess Yolanda of Savoy, the eldest daughter of King Victor Emmanuel III.
Biography
Bor ...
signed 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
Giuseppe Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo (Rome, 26 May 1901 – 24 March 1944) was an Italian soldier and Resistance member.
Biography
He was born in Rome into a family of the old Piedmontese nobility, hailing from Mondovì, with ancient milit ...
(later executed by the Germans) joined the underground; General
Gioacchino Solinas (commander of the Granatieri) instead opted for the pro-German
Italian Social Republic
The Italian Social Republic ( it, Repubblica Sociale Italiana, ; RSI), known as the National Republican State of Italy ( it, Stato Nazionale Repubblicano d'Italia, SNRI) prior to December 1943 but more popularly known as the Republic of Salò ...
.
Piombino
One of the most important episodes of resistance by Italian armed forces after the armistice was the
Battle of Piombino in
Tuscany
it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Citizenship
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 = Italian
, demogra ...
.
On 10 September 1943, during
Operation Achse, a small German flotilla, commanded by
Kapitänleutnant
''Kapitänleutnant'', short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( en, captain lieutenant) is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the German Bundeswehr. The rank is rated OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to Hauptmann in the Heer an ...
Karl-Wolf Albrand, tried to enter 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
Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...
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 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 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 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
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabt ...
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 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 chaser
A submarine chaser or subchaser is a small naval vessel that is specifically intended for anti-submarine warfare. Many of the American submarine chasers used in World War I found their way to Allied nations by way of Lend-Lease in World War I ...
s (''VAS 208'', ''214'', ''219'' and ''220'') were also sunk during the fighting.
Later in 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 the surrounding woods and formed the first partisan formations in the area.
Outside Italy
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 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
Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the S ...
,
Kos,
Leros
Leros ( el, Λέρος) is a Greek island and municipality in the Dodecanese in the southern Aegean Sea. It lies (171 nautical miles) from Athens's port of Piraeus, from which it can be reached by an 9-hour ferry ride or by a 45-minute flig ...
and other
Dodecanese
The Dodecanese (, ; el, Δωδεκάνησα, ''Dodekánisa'' , ) are a group of 15 larger plus 150 smaller Greek islands in the southeastern Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean, off the coast of Turkey's Anatolia, of which 26 are inhabited ...
islands from their former allies. With reinforcements from
SAS,
SBS and
British Army
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...
troops under the command of Generals Francis Gerrard, Russell Brittorous and
Robert Tilney
Brigadier Robert Adolphus George Tilney, (2 November 1903 – May 1981) was a British Army officer who served during the Second World War.
Military career
Robert Tilney was a Territorial Army officer, formerly of the Leicestershire Yeomanry. He ...
, the defenders held on for a month. However, the
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the '' Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previo ...
took the islands through air and sea landings by infantry and Fallschirmjäger supported by the
Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabt ...
. Both Campioni and Mascherpa were captured and executed at
Verona
Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city municipality in the region and the second largest in nor ...
for high treason.
On 13 September 1943, the
Acqui Division stationed in
Cefalonia
Kefalonia or Cephalonia ( el, Κεφαλονιά), formerly also known as Kefallinia or Kephallenia (), is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece and the 6th largest island in Greece after Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes and Chios. It ...
chose to defend themselves from a German invasion during ongoing negotiations. After a ten-day battle, the Germans executed 5,115 officers and enlisted men in retaliation. Those killed in the
massacre of the Acqui Division
The massacre of the Acqui Division, also known as the Cephalonia massacre, was the mass execution of the soldiers of the Italian 33rd Infantry Division "Acqui" by German soldiers on the island of Cephalonia, Greece, in September 1943, following t ...
included division commander General
Antonio Gandin.
Other Italian forces remained trapped in Yugoslavia following 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
The Yugoslav Partisans, Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НОВ); mk, Народноослобод ...
. 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.
Bastia, in
Corsica
Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...
, was the setting of
a naval battle between Italian torpedo boats and an attacking German flotilla.
Italian military internees
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 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
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of ...
status and the rights granted by the
Geneva Convention
upright=1.15, Original document in single pages, 1864
The Geneva Conventions are four treaties, and three additional protocols, that establish international legal standards for humanitarian treatment in war. The singular term ''Geneva Conve ...
. Their actions were eventually recognized as an act of
unarmed resistance on a par with the armed confrontation of other Italian servicemen.
Underground resistance
In the first major act of resistance following the German occupation, Italian partisans and local resistance fighters liberated the city of
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...
through a chaotic popular rebellion. 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 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 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 Italian Socialist Party (, PSI) was a socialist and later social-democratic political party in Italy, whose history stretched for longer than a century, making it one of the longest-living parties of the country.
Founded in Genoa in 189 ...
, the
Partito d'Azione
The Action Party ( it, Partito d'Azione, PdA) was a liberal-socialist political party in Italy. The party was anti-fascist and republican. Its prominent leaders were Carlo Rosselli, Ferruccio Parri, Emilio Lussu and Ugo La Malfa. Other prominent ...
(a
republican liberal socialist party),
Democrazia Cristiana and other minor parties, largely took control of the movement in accordance with King
Victor Emmanuel III's ministers and the
Allies
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
. 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 Garibaldi Brigades, the ''
Giustizia e Libertà'' (Justice and Freedom) Brigades related to the Partito d'Azione, and the socialist
Matteotti Brigades. Smaller groups included
Christian democrats
__NOTOC__
Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social tea ...
and, outside the CLN,
monarchists such as the ''
Brigate Fiamme Verdi
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 contingen ...
'' (Green Flame Brigades) and ''
Fronte Militare Clandestino'' headed by Colonel Montezemolo. Another sizeable partisan group, particularly strong in Piedmont (where the
Fourth Army had disintegrated in September 1943), were the "autonomous" (''autonomi'') partisans, largely composed of former soldiers with no substantial alignment to any anti-Fascist party; an example were the ''1° Gruppo Divisioni Alpine'' led by
Enrico Martini
Enrico Martini (''nom de guerre'' "Mauri") Mondovì, 29 January 1911 – Turkey, 19 September 1976) was an Italian soldier and partisan, an Alpini ''Major'', founder of the ''1 Group Alpine Divisions'' in the Italian Resistance, and a recipient o ...
.
Relations among the groups varied. For example, in 1945, the Garibaldi partisans under
Yugoslav Partisan command
attacked and killed several partisans of the
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and ''azionista''
Osoppo
Osoppo ( fur, Osôf) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Udine in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about northwest of Trieste and about northwest of Udine.
Osoppo borders the following municipalities: Buja, Fo ...
groups in the
province of Udine
The province of Udine ( it, provincia di Udine, fur, provincie di Udin, sl, videmska pokrajina, Resian: , german: Provinz Weiden) was a province in the autonomous region Friuli-Venezia Giulia of Italy, bordering Austria and Slovenia. Its capita ...
. 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 The ''Movimento Comunista d'Italia'' (MCd'I), best-known after its newspaper ''Bandiera Rossa'', was a revolutionary partisan brigade, and the largest single formation of the 1943-44 Italian Resistance in Rome.
History
Growing out of communist und ...
'' (Rome's largest single anti-fascist force under Occupation), which sought a revolutionary outcome to the conflict and were thus unwilling to collaborate with 'bourgeois parties'.
Partisan movement
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 the
Romagna
Romagna ( rgn, Rumâgna) is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna, North Italy. Traditionally, it is limited by the Apennines to the south-west, the Adriatic to th ...
area.
[ The CLN mostly operated in the ]Alpine
Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to:
Places Europe
* Alps, a European mountain range
** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range
Australia
* Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village
* Alpine National P ...
area, Apennine area and Po Valley
The Po Valley, Po Plain, Plain of the Po, or Padan Plain ( it, Pianura Padana , or ''Val Padana'') is a major geographical feature of Northern Italy. It extends approximately in an east-west direction, with an area of including its Venetic ex ...
of the RSI, and also in the German ''OZAK'' (the area northeast of the north end of the Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to th ...
) 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 the partisan forces amounted to some 82,000 men, of whom about 25,000 operated in ]Piedmont
it, Piemontese
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
, 14,200 in Liguria
Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...
, 16,000 in the Julian March, 17,000 in Tuscany
it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Citizenship
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 = Italian
, demogra ...
and Emilia-Romagna
egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emiliana (woman) or it, Romagnolo (man) it, Romagnola (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title ...
, 5,600 in Veneto
Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona.
Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...
, and 5,000 in Lombardy
(man), (woman) lmo, lumbard, links=no (man), (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, ...
. 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.[Giuseppe Fioravanzo, ''La Marina dall'8 settembre 1943 alla fine del conflitto'', p. 433.] By August 1944, 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 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
The Apennines or Apennine Mountains (; grc-gre, links=no, Ἀπέννινα ὄρη or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; la, Appenninus or – a singular with plural meaning;''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which wou ...
, other large formations fought in the Po River
The Po ( , ; la, Padus or ; Ancient Ligurian: or ) is the longest river in Italy. It flows eastward across northern Italy starting from the Cottian Alps. The river's length is either or , if the Maira, a right bank tributary, is included. T ...
flatland. In the large towns of northern Italy, such as Piacenza, and the surrounding valleys near the Gothic Line
The Gothic Line (german: Gotenstellung; it, Linea Gotica) was a German defensive line of the Italian Campaign of World War II. It formed Field Marshal Albert Kesselring's last major line of defence along the summits of the northern part of ...
. 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
Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identitie ...
and guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run ta ...
, and the ''Squadre di Azione Patriottica'' (SAP; "Patriotic Action Squads") arranged strike action
Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became common during the ...
s and propaganda campaigns. As in the French Resistance
The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...
, 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
Carcano is the frequently used name for a series of Italian bolt-action, magazine-fed, repeating military rifles and carbines. Introduced in 1891, this rifle was chambered for the rimless 6.5×52mm Carcano round (''Cartuccia Modello 1895''). It ...
rifles, Beretta M1934 and M1935 pistols, Bodeo M1889
The Bodeo Model 1889 ( it, Pistola a Rotazione, Sistema Bodeo, Modello 1889) was an Italian revolver named after the head of the Italian firearm commission, Carlo Bodeo. It was produced by a wide variety of manufacturers between 1889 and 1931 in ...
revolvers, SRCM and OTO hand grenades, and Fiat–Revelli Modello 1935, Breda 30
The ''Fucile Mitragliatore Breda modello'' 30 was the standard light machine gun of the Royal Italian Army during World War II.
Design
The Breda 30 was rather unusual for a light machine gun. It was fed from a fixed magazine attached to the ri ...
and Breda M37
The Mitragliatrice Breda calibro 8 modello 37 (commonly known as the Breda mod. 37 or simply Breda 37) was an Italian Medium machine gun produced by Breda and adopted in 1937 by the Royal Italian Army. It was the standard heavy machine gun for t ...
machine guns. Later, captured K98ks, MG 34s, MG 42s, 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 the Beretta factory which was producing them for the Wehrmacht. Additional weapons (chiefly of British origin) were airdropped by the Allies: PIATs, Lee–Enfield
The Lee–Enfield or Enfield is a bolt-action, magazine-fed repeating rifle that served as the main firearm of the military forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth during the first half of the 20th century, and was the British Army's sta ...
rifles, Bren light machine guns and Sten guns. U.S.-made weapons were provided on a smaller scale from the Office of Strategic Services
The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the intelligence agency of the United States during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines for all branc ...
(OSS): Thompson submachine gun
The Thompson submachine gun (also known as the "Tommy Gun", "Chicago Typewriter", "Chicago Piano", “Trench Sweeper” or "Trench Broom") is a blowback-operated, air-cooled, Magazine-fed rifle, magazine-fed Selective fire, selective-fire subm ...
s (both M1928 and M1), M3 submachine guns, United Defense M42
The United Defense M42, sometimes known as the Marlin for the company that did the actual manufacturing, was an American submachine gun used during World War II. It was produced from 1942 to 1943 by United Defense Supply Corp. for possible issue ...
s, 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).
Countryside
The worst conditions and fighting took place in mountainous regions. Resources were scarce and living conditions were terrible. Due to limited supplies the resistance adopted guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, raids, petty warfare, hit-and-run ta ...
. 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 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 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
A reprisal is a limited and deliberate violation of international law to punish another sovereign state that has already broken them. Since the 1977 Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions (AP 1), reprisals in the laws of war are extreme ...
policy of killing 10 Italians for every German killed by 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"), 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 a path for the Allied advance.
Urban areas
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 was thought to encourage betrayal. People largely supported the resistance because of economic hardships, especially inflation. Pasta
Pasta (, ; ) is a type of food typically made from an unleavened dough of wheat flour mixed with water or eggs, and formed into sheets or other shapes, then cooked by boiling or baking. Rice flour, or legumes such as beans or lentils, ...
prices tripled and bread prices had quintupled since 1938; hunger unified the underground and general population.[
]
Female partisans
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.
1944 uprising
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
The Ossola (, also Valle Ossola or Val d’Ossola) is an area of Italy situated to the north of Lago Maggiore. It lies within the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola. Its principal river is the Toce, and its most important town Domodossola.
E ...
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 summer 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 7,000-8,000 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 the uprising.
In their attempts to suppress the resistance, German and Italian Fascist forces (especially the SS, Gestapo
The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe.
The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one orga ...
, and paramilitary militias such as Xª MAS and Black Brigades
The ''Corpo Ausiliario delle Squadre d'azione di Camicie Nere'' (Italian: Auxiliary Corps of the Black Shirts' Action Squads), most widely known as the Black Brigades ( it, Brigate Nere), was one of the Fascist paramilitary groups, organized a ...
) committed war crimes, including summary execution
A summary execution is an execution in which a person is accused of a crime and immediately killed without the benefit of a full and fair trial. Executions as the result of summary justice (such as a drumhead court-martial) are sometimes includ ...
s and systematic reprisals against civilian population. Resistance captives and suspects were often tortured and raped. Some of the most notorious mass atrocities included 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) and 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.
File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-476-2051-39A, Italien, Rom, erhängte Frau, deutsche Soldaten.jpg, A woman executed by public hanging in a street of Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus ( legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, early 1944
File:I "tre Martiri" (Mario Cappelli, Luigi Nicolò, Adelio Pagliarani).jpg, Three Italian partisans executed by public hanging in Rimini, August 1944
File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-477-2106-08, Bei Mailand, Soldat Zivilisten kontrollierend.jpg, German soldier examining the papers of an Italian civilian outside of Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...
(1944)
File:Santanna tafel des kreuzweges.JPG, The Sant'Anna di Stazzema massacre memorial relief
File:Fidenza cippo alla memoria Amilcare Dallagherarda Fausto Fornaciari.jpg, Memorial stone in Soragna for two Italian partisans – killed in 1944
Foreign contribution
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 the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia; cs, Protektorát Čechy a Morava; its territory was called by the Nazis ("the rest of Czechia"). was a partially annexed territory of Nazi Germany established on 16 March 1939 following the German oc ...
army, in Italy for guard/patrol duty in 1944), Russians, Ukrainians, Dutch, Spaniards, Greeks, Poles, German defectors and deserters disillusioned with National Socialism and Britons and Americans (ex-prisoners or advisors deployed by the SAS, SOE and OSS
OSS or Oss may refer to:
Places
* Oss, a city and municipality in the Netherlands
* Osh Airport, IATA code OSS
People with the name
* Oss (surname), a surname
Arts and entertainment
* ''O.S.S.'' (film), a 1946 World War II spy film about ...
). Some later became well-known, such as climber and explorer Bill Tilman
Major Harold William Tilman, CBE, DSO, MC and Bar, (14 February 1898 – November 1977) was an English mountaineer and explorer, renowned for his Himalayan climbs and sailing voyages.
Early years and Africa
Bill Tilman was born on 14 F ...
, reporter and historian Peter Tompkins
Peter Tompkins (April 19, 1919 – January 23, 2007) was an American journalist, World War II Office of Strategic Services (OSS) spy in Rome, and best-selling author.
Biography
He was a war correspondent for the ''New York Herald Tribune'' a ...
, former RAF pilot Count Manfred Beckett Czernin
Count Manfred Beckett Czernin, (18 January 1913 – 6 October 1962) was a Royal Air Force pilot and later an operative with the Special Operations Executive in the Second World War.
Early life
Czernin was born to the fourth son of Count Ott ...
, and architect Oliver Churchill
William Oliver Churchill, (1914–1997) was a Special Operations Executive (SOE) officer during the Second World War. Shortly after the Italians had switched allegiance to the Allies in September 1943, he was parachuted into German occupied Co ...
. George Dunning recorded his experiences of fighting with the partisans in his book "Where bleed the many".
Aid networks
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 a certificate to those who thereby risked their lives.
Italian Jews were aided by DELASEM Delegation for the Assistance of Jewish Emigrants (Delegazione per l'Assistenza degli Emigranti Ebrei) or DELASEM, was an Italian and Jewish resistance organization that worked in Italy between 1939 and 1947. It is estimated that during World War ...
, a network extending throughout occupied Italy that included Jews and Gentiles, Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
* Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
clergy, faithful/sympathetic police officers and even some German soldiers. Since Jews were considered "enemy aliens" by 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.
Liberation
1945 uprising
On April 19, 1945, the CLN called for an insurrection (the April 25 uprising). In Bologna
Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different na ...
, the occupying Nazi German forces and their few remaining Italian Fascist allies were openly attacked by Italian partisans on April 19, and by April 21, the city of Bologna was liberated by the partisans, the Italian Co-Belligerent Army, and the Polish II Corps
The Polish II Corps ( pl, Drugi Korpus Wojska Polskiego), 1943–1947, was a major tactical and operational unit of the Polish Armed Forces in the West during World War II. It was commanded by Lieutenant General Władysław Anders and fought wit ...
under Allied command; Parma
Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, music, art, prosciutto (ham), cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 inhabitants, Parma is the second m ...
and Reggio Emilia
Reggio nell'Emilia ( egl, Rèz; la, Regium Lepidi), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has abo ...
were later freed on April 24 by the Italian Resistance and then the advancing Allied forces. Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
and Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...
were liberated on April 25 through a popular revolt and Italian Resistance insurrection following a general strike
A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large coa ...
that commenced two days earlier; over 14,000 German and Fascist troops were captured in Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...
on April 26–27, when General Günther Meinhold surrendered to the CLN. Many of the defeated German troops attempted to escape from Italy and some partisans units allowed the German columns to pass through if they turned over any Italians who were travelling with them. The forces of German occupation in Italy officially capitulated on May 2. Fascists attempted to continue fighting, but were quickly suppressed by the partisans and 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 centers 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 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 a 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, 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.[
]
Revenge killings
A score-settling campaign ( it, resa dei conti) ensued against pro-German collaborators, thousands of whom were rounded up by the vengeful partisans. Controversially, many of those detainees were speedily court martialed, condemned and shot, or killed without trial. Minister of Interior Mario Scelba
Mario Scelba (5 September 1901 – 29 October 1991) was an Italian politician who served as the 33rd prime minister of Italy from February 1954 to July 1955. A founder of the Christian Democracy, Scelba was one of the longest-serving Minister o ...
later put the number of the victims of such executions at 732, but other estimates were much higher. Partisan leader Ferruccio Parri, who briefly served as Prime Minister after the war in 1945, said thousands were killed. Some partisans, such as perpetrators of the Schio massacre, were tried by an Allied Military Court.
During the waning hours of the war, Mussolini, accompanied by Marshal Graziani, headed to Milan to meet with Cardinal Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster
Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster OSB (, ; 18 January 1880 – 30 August 1954), born Alfredo Ludovico Schuster, was an Italian Roman Catholic prelate and professed member from the Benedictines who served as the Archbishop of Milan from 1929 until his ...
. Mussolini was hoping to negotiate a deal, but was given only the option of unconditional surrender. His negotiations were an act of betrayal against the Germans. When confronted about this by Achille Marazza, Mussolini said, "They he Nazis
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
have always treated us as slaves. I will now resume my freedom of action." With the city already held by resistance fighters, Mussolini used his connections one last time to secure passage with an escaping German convoy on its way to the Brenner Pass
The Brenner Pass (german: link=no, Brennerpass , shortly ; it, Passo del Brennero ) is a mountain pass through the Alps which forms the border between Italy and Austria. It is one of the principal passes of the Eastern Alpine range and has ...
with his mistress Claretta Petacci.[Behan, Tom. ''The Italian Resistance: Fascists, Guerrillas and the Allies''. London: Pluto, 2009. Print.] On the morning of 27 April 1945, Umberto Lazzaro (''nom de guerre'' 'Partisan Bill'), a partisan with the 52nd Garibaldi Brigade, was checking a column of lorries carrying retreating SS troops at Dongo, Lombardy, near the Swiss border. Lazzaro recognized and arrested Mussolini. The task of executing Mussolini was, according to the official version, given to a 'Colonel Valerio' (identified as Walter Audisio) and the bodies of Mussolini and Petacci were later brought to Milan and hung upside down in the Piazzale Loreto square. Eighteen executed prominent Fascists (including Mussolini, Fernando Mezzasoma, Luigi Gatti, Alessandro Pavolini and Achille Starace
Achille Starace (; 18 August 1889 – 29 April 1945) was a prominent leader of Fascist Italy before and during World War II.
Early life and career
Starace was born in Sannicola, province of Lecce, in southern Apulia. His father was a wine and ...
) were displayed in the square; this place was significant because the bodies of 15 executed enemies of Mussolini's regime had been displayed in this square the previous year.
The total number of victims of the anti-fascist terror remains unclear; it is estimated that between 12,000 and 26,000 people were killed, usually in extra-judicial executions. The outburst was particularly violent in the northern provinces; according to statistics provided by the Ministry of Interior, some 9,000 people were killed there during April and May of 1945 only. Proportionally, the scale of vengeance killings was much greater than in Belgium and significantly above this recorded in France.
Casualties
According to a book published in 1955 by an Italian ministerial committee on the tenth anniversary of the Liberation, casualties in Italy among the Resistance movement amounted to 35,828 partisans killed in action or executed, and 21,168 partisans mutilated or left disabled by their wounds. Another 32,000 Italian partisans had been killed abroad (in the Balkans and, to a lesser extent, in France). 9,980 Italian civilians had been killed in reprisals by the German and Fascist forces. In 2010, the ''Ufficio dell'Albo d'Oro'' of the Italian Ministry of Defence recorded 15,197 partisans killed; however, the ''Ufficio dell'Albo d'Oro'' only considered as partisans the members of the Resistance who were civilians before joining the partisans, whereas partisans who were formerly members of the Italian armed forces (more than half those killed) were considered as members of their armed force of origin.
Liberation Day
Since 1949, April 25 has been officially celebrated as Liberation Day, also known as Anniversary of the Resistance. Speaking at the 2014 anniversary, President Giorgio Napolitano
Giorgio Napolitano (; born 29 June 1925) is an Italian politician who served as president of Italy from 2006 to 2015, the first Italian president to be re-elected to the presidency. Due to his dominant position in Italian politics, some critics ...
said: "The values and merits of the Resistance, from the Partisan movement and the soldiers who sided with the fight for liberation to the Italian armed forces, are indelible and beyond any rhetoric of mythicization or any biased denigration. The Resistance, the commitment to reconquer Italy's liberty and independence, was a great civil engine of ideals, but above all it was a people in arms, a courageous mobilization of young and very young citizens who rebelled against foreign power."
See also
*Anti-fascism
Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...
* ANPI, an association of the participants to the Italian resistance
* Volante Rossa an Italian communist antifascist militia active after WWII
* People's Squads, an Italian left-wing antifascist militia active during the early 1920s
*" Bella Ciao", anthem of the anti-fascist resistance
* Mazzini Society, formed by expatriate Italian anti-Fascists in the United States
* Anni di piombo
* Anarchism in Italy
*German resistance to Nazism
Many individuals and groups in Germany that were opposed to the Nazi regime engaged in active resistance, including attempts to remove Adolf Hitler from power by assassination or by overthrowing his established regime.
German resistance was ...
* Japanese dissidence during the Showa period
* Museum of the Liberation of Rome
In works of popular culture
*'' The Abandoned''
*'' Achtung! Banditi!''
*'' Bebo's Girl''
*'' Beneath a Scarlet Sky''
*''Blood of the Losers
''Blood of the Losers'' ( it, Il sangue dei vinti, also known as ''The Blood of the Victims'') is a 2008 Italian war drama film directed by Michele Soavi. It is based on a book by Giampaolo Pansa.
Plot
Cast
* Michele Placido as Franco Doglian ...
''
*''Captain Corelli's Mandolin
''Captain Corelli's Mandolin'', released simultaneously in the United States as ''Corelli's Mandolin'', is a 1994 novel by the British writer Louis de Bernières, set on the Greek island of Cephalonia during the Italian and German occupation ...
''
*''Cloak and Dagger
"Cloak and dagger" was a fighting style common in the Renaissance involving a knife hidden beneath a cloak. The term later came into use as a metaphor, referring to situations involving intrigue, secrecy, espionage, or mystery.
Overview
In "The ...
''
*'' Cloak & Dagger''
*''A Day for Lionhearts
''Un giorno da leoni'' (internationally released as ''A Day for Lionhearts'') is a 1961 Italian war - drama film directed by Nanni Loy. The film describes the gradual evolution towards anti-fascism of Italian people during the Second World War.
...
''
*'' A Day in Life''
*'' The Dirty Dozen: The Deadly Mission''
*'' Escape by Night''
*''Everybody Go Home
''Everybody Go Home'' ( it, Tutti a casa) is a 1960 Italian comedy-drama film directed by Luigi Comencini. It features an international cast including the U.S. actors Martin Balsam, Alex Nicol and the Franco-Italian Serge Reggiani. Nino Manfred ...
''
*'' The Fall of Italy''
*'' 1900''
*'' The Fallen''
*''The Fascist
''The Fascist'' ( it, Il federale) is a 1961 Italian film directed by Luciano Salce.
It was coproduced with France. It was also the first feature film scored by Ennio Morricone.
Plot
The movie takes place in 1944, when Italy was divided ...
''
*'' The Four Days of Naples''
*''From the Clouds to the Resistance
''From the Clouds to the Resistance'' ( it, Dalla nube alla resistenza, literally ''From the Cloud to the Resistance'') is a 1979 Italian drama film directed by Danièle Huillet and Jean-Marie Straub. It competed in the Un Certain Regard secti ...
''
*'' Gangsters''
*'' General della Rovere''
*''Harmony in Ultraviolet
''Harmony in Ultraviolet'' is the fourth studio album by Canadian electronic music musician Tim Hecker, released on October 16, 2006, on Kranky.
Critical reaction
The album was generally praised by critics, with ''Pitchfork Media'' writer Mark ...
''
*'' His Day of Glory''
*'' Hornets' Nest''
*'' The Hunchback of Rome''
*''Johnny the Partisan
''Il partigiano Johnny'', internationally released as ''Johnny the Partisan'', is a 2000 Italian war drama film set in the Second World War and directed by Guido Chiesa. It is based on the novel of the same name by Beppe Fenoglio.
The film ente ...
''
*'' Last Days of Mussolini''
*''Little Teachers
''Little Teachers'' ( it, I piccoli maestri) is a 1998 Italian war drama film written and directed by Daniele Luchetti. Based on the novel ''I piccoli maestri'' by Luigi Meneghello, it entered the main competition at the 55th Venice International ...
''
*'' Long Night in 1943''
*''The Man Who Will Come
''The Man Who Will Come'' ( it, L'uomo che verrà) is a 2009 Italian film directed by Giorgio Diritti. It was released in Italian cinemas on January 22, 2010. In the original version the film is in Bolognese dialect with subtitles in Italian.
Th ...
''
*'' Massacre in Rome''
*'' The Mattei Affair''
*''Miracle at St. Anna
''Miracle at St. Anna'' is a 2008 AmericanItalian epic war film directed by Spike Lee and written by James McBride, based on McBride's 2003 novel of the same name. The film stars Derek Luke, Michael Ealy, Laz Alonso, Omar Benson Miller, Pier ...
''
*'' Paisan''
*'' The Path to the Nest of Spiders''
*'' Porzûs''
*'' Rome, Open City''
*''The Seven Cervi Brothers
'' The Seven Cervi Brothers'' ( it, I sette fratelli Cervi) is a 1968 Italian drama film directed by Gianni Puccini. The film recounts the last days of life during the resistance of the anti-fascist Cervi Brothers. The director Puccini died a f ...
''
*'' The Sun Still Rises''
*''Ten Italians for One German
''Ten Italians for One German'' ( it, Dieci italiani per un tedesco (Via Rasella)), is a 1962 Italian historical war drama film directed by Filippo Walter Ratti. It is a dramatization of the Fosse Ardeatine massacre.
Cast
* Gino Cervi as Du ...
''
*'' Two Anonymous Letters''
*'' Wild Blood''
References
External links
Italy , European Resistance Archive
ANPI – Associazione Nazionale Partigiani d'Italia
ANCFARGL – Associazione Nazionale Combattenti Forze Armate Regolari Guerra di Liberazione
INSMLI – Istituto Nazionale per la Storia del Movimento di Liberazione in Italia
Il portale della guerra di Liberazione
Anarchist partisans in the Italian Resistance
{{Authority control
Anti-fascism in Italy
Modern history of Italy
World War II resistance movements