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 and run by the

Republican Fascist Party The Republican Fascist Party ( it, Partito Fascista Repubblicano, PFR) was a political party in Italy led by Benito Mussolini during the German occupation of Central and Northern Italy and was the sole legal and ruling party of the Italian Socia ...

(''Partito Fascista Repubblicano'', PFR) operating in the Italian Social Republic (in northern Italy), during the final years of

World War II 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 opposing ...

, and after the signing of the

Italian Armistice 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 during World War II. It was signed by Major General Walter Bedell Smith for the Allies and Brigad ...

in 1943. They were officially led by

Alessandro Pavolini Alessandro Pavolini (27 September 1903 – 28 April 1945) was an Italian politician, journalist, and essayist, notable for his involvement in the Fascist government, during World War II, and also for his cruelty against the opponents of fascis ...

, former

Minister of Culture A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organizatio ...

of the fascist era during the last years of the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia was proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to an institutional referendum to abandon the monarchy and f ...

History

Background

On 26 July 1943 Italian dictator, Benito Mussolini, was arrested after the Italian

Grand Council of Fascism The Grand Council of Fascism (, also translated "Fascist Grand Council") was the main body of Mussolini's Fascist government in Italy, that held and applied great power to control the institutions of government. It was created as a body of th ...

(''Gran Consiglio del Fascismo''), with the support of King

Vittorio Emanuele III Victor Emmanuel III (Vittorio Emanuele Ferdinando Maria Gennaro di Savoia; 11 November 1869 – 28 December 1947) was King of Italy from 29 July 1900 until his abdication on 9 May 1946. He also reigned as Emperor of Ethiopia (1936–1941) and ...

, overthrew him and began negotiations with the Allies for Italy's withdrawal from the war. The Italian government was taken over by 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 ...

, who outlawed the

National Fascist Party The National Fascist Party ( it, Partito Nazionale Fascista, PNF) was a political party in Italy, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of Italian Fascism and as a reorganization of the previous Italian Fasces of Combat. Th ...

(''Partito Nazionale Fascista'', PNF) and confiscated all of its assets. On 12 September Mussolini was rescued in the

Gran Sasso raid During World War II, the Gran Sasso raid (codenamed ''Unternehmen Eiche'', , literally "Operation Oak", by the German military) on 12 September 1943 was a successful operation by German paratroopers and ''Waffen-SS'' commandos to rescue the dep ...

by German

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-Fliegerabtei ...

Fallschirmjäger The ''Fallschirmjäger'' () were the paratrooper branch of the German Luftwaffe before and during World War II. They were the first German paratroopers to be committed in large-scale airborne operations. Throughout World War II, the commander ...

(paratroopers) led by General

Kurt Student Kurt Arthur Benno Student (12 May 1890 – 1 July 1978) was a German general in the Luftwaffe during World War II. An early pioneer of airborne forces, Student was in overall command of developing a paratrooper force to be known as the '' Fallsch ...

and the

Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...

Obersturmbannführer __NOTOC__ ''Obersturmbannführer'' (Senior Assault-unit Leader; ; short: ''Ostubaf'') was a paramilitary rank in the German Nazi Party (NSDAP) which was used by the SA ('' Sturmabteilung'') and the SS (''Schutzstaffel''). The rank of ''Oberstu ...

'' (Lieutenant Colonel),

Otto Skorzeny Otto Johann Anton Skorzeny (12 June 1908 – 5 July 1975) was an Austrian-born German SS-''Obersturmbannführer'' (lieutenant colonel) in the Waffen-SS during World War II. During the war, he was involved in a number of operations, including th ...

. He was then installed by the Germans as the President of the Italian Social Republic (RSI). The RSI was to be an Italian regime which was to nominally administer the German-occupied northern Italy. As the ''Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale'' (MVSN, also known as "

Blackshirts The Voluntary Militia for National Security ( it, Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale, MVSN), commonly called the Blackshirts ( it, Camicie Nere, CCNN, singular: ) or (singular: ), was originally the paramilitary wing of the Nation ...

", ''Camicie Nere'') had been disbanded in August by the terms of the armistice, the ''

Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana The Italian National Republican Guard (''Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana'', or GNR) was a gendarmerie force of the Italian Social Republic created by decree on December 8, 1943, replacing the Carabinieri and the National Security Volunteer Mili ...

'' was formed on 24 November 1943, and was to constitute the new fascist police force. The ''Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana'' was formed out of local police, ex-army, ex-Blackshirts and others still loyal to the fascist cause. Anti-fascist political forces in Northern Italy, on their side, decided to oppose in arms against the RSI and the German occupants, and began to recruit armed clandestine formations for guerrilla and urban warfare, with support from the Allies. Soon, a bloody civil war started in northern Italy.

Constitution

However, as soon as the fascist party in the RSI was reopened and reorganized as

(''Partito Fascista Repubblicano'' - PFR), its members began to organize "private" armed units, to protect themselves and party officials from attacks by Italian resistance fighters, who actually started very soon to target RSI authorities and supporters. RSI manpower proved to be insufficient, and Italian authorities decided to organize all fascist party volunteer units in a dedicated structure, and to raise new forces. The Black Brigades were formed from members of the Republican Fascist Party. Formation of the Black Brigades was sanctioned by a Fascist Republican Party decree issued personally by Benito Mussolini, head of PFR and of the RSI government, dated 30 June 1944, stating that all existing fascist armed units were to be enlisted into a military organization called ''Corpo Ausiliario delle Squadre d'Azione di Camicie Nere'', and that every local Federation of the PFR (there was one in every Italian province) had to raise a military unit drafting personnel from its members. Units so formed were to be called "Black Brigades", and were to be commanded by the local Federal Secretary of the PFR, with the rank of Major or Colonel. Brigata Nera alpina 1945

Their duties were: * to provide security for the members and assets of the PFR; * to cooperate with German and Italian law enforcement authorities; * to help military authorities in counter-insurgency operations. This measure was to be both a response to resistance attacks against fascist members, and to turn the PFR into a fighting force to cope with shortage of manpower for internal security. Moreover, Mussolini and other fascist leaders felt that the Fascist Party was more true to its ideology if brought back to its original spirit, when it was manned mainly by soldiers and veterans and was above all a fighting organization. In this optic, they decided to mobilize it for war duties, under the concept that every fascist was to be first of all a combatant, and had to take arms for the defense of Italy and fascism. Black Brigades membership was compulsory for all members of the PFR deemed fit for such duties. Members were officially called ''Squadristi'' (Squad-men) (like the very first fascist Black Shirts of 1920s), and were divided into three categories: ''Squadristi Permanenti'' (Full-time squad-men), ''Ausiliari di pronto impiego'' (Ready Response Auxiliaries), ''Ausiliari'' (Auxiliaries). Only full-time personnel were required to be on duty daily, while other two categories were to be mobilized only in case of emergency. Black Brigade members were entitled to police powers, to carry firearms and to circulate freely even during curfew. Full-time personnel received a monthly wage of ITL 200.00.

Operational service

Police effectiveness of Black Brigades was feeble at best. Aside from particularly strong and well equipped Brigades (such as VIIIth "Aldo Resega" of Milan, 2000 strong) that were exceptions, the average Black Brigades were at most 2-300 men strong, poorly equipped and armed, with little if any military training, and were hardly in conditions to defend themselves from partisan attacks, not to mention provide support to military authorities. Brigata nera mantova

Many of their members were obscure figures evicted from police or army, and conspicuous were also the hardline fascists who were pushed by resentment and revenge towards that part of Italian population who, in their eyes, betrayed the Fascist regime. Many were also old "Squadristi" fascists who had served in the '20s, and who were eager to retake a first-place role in the ranks of the Fascist Party. In general terms, poor average discipline made all these individuals difficult to control, and prone to abuses. As the military situation worsened, German mistrust towards the RSI military grew, and even Social Republic authorities looked at the Black Brigades with contempt. All these factors contributed to push the Black Brigades into political radicalization and an increasingly hostile behaviour towards the population itself, among which they gained a fearsome reputation of fanatical brutality and summary procedures. Apart from a few Black Brigades who had been found reliable enough to be committed in regular combat against partisans and Allies, most of these formations had poor military or even police capabilities and were mainly employed in static guard duties, patrols, and were often unleashed in brutal reprisals and retaliations against partisan attacks and ambushes to RSI military personnel. The Brigade members not only fought the Allies and the

Italian partisans 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 and the fascist collaborationists of the Italian Social ...

, but they also fought against political opponents and other Black Brigade members whose support of "the cause" was deemed less than exuberant. Many Black Brigade members were killed in this type of in-fighting. After the armistice (April 25, 1945) and the end of the war in Italy, many members of the Black Brigades suffered harsh reprisals from partisan forces.

War crimes

The Black Brigades were frequently involved in support of German units during anti-partisan operations which resulted in massacres of the Italian civilian population, like at the

Sant'Anna di Stazzema massacre The Sant'Anna di Stazzema massacre was a German war crime committed in the hill village of Sant'Anna di Stazzema in Tuscany, Italy, in the course of an operation against the Italian resistance movement during the Italian Campaign of World War ...

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

where the 36th Brigata helped the SS kill the entire village population of around 560 persons in August 1944. Or the

Vinca massacre The Vinca massacre ( it, Eccidio di Vinca) was a massacre carried out near Fivizzano, Tuscany, by the German 16th SS Panzergrenadier Division from 24 to 27 August 1944 in which 162 Italian civilians were killed. It was one of many war crimes the ...

where 162 civilians were executed and where the 40. Brigata nera “Vittorio Ricciarelli” di Livorno was involved.

Uniforms

Members of Black Brigades were issued standard Italian army uniforms, and they tended to wear them with a black

turtleneck A polo neck, roll-neck (United Kingdom, South Africa), turtleneck (United States, Canada), or skivvy ( Australia, New Zealand, United States) is a garment—usually a sweater—with a close-fitting collar that folds over and covers the ...

sweater, or (in summer) the famous black shirt, as the symbol of loyalty to Mussolini and membership of the Republican Fascist Party. They sometimes wore this uniform with a windproof jacket in solid or camouflage colors. Members of Black Brigades tended to wear the grey-green uniform pants, but a wide array of uniforms were issued and, especially in closing stages of the war, Black Brigades members used just anything they could obtain: army camouflaged one-piece suits, smocks and pants, paratroopers' collarless jump jackets (very popular), tropical Italian army uniforms, German pants and ''feldjacken'', and frequently local produced uniforms and gear. The badge or insignia of the Black Brigades was the jawless

death's head Death's Head is the name of several fictional characters appearing in British comics and American comic books both published by Marvel Comics. The original Death’s Head is a robotic bounty hunter (or rather, as he calls himself, a "freelance ...

, with a dagger in its teeth, or one of assorted Italian versions. Collar tabs were issued, unique to the Black Brigades, consisting in square-shaped tabs with pointed tip, of solid black cloth, on which was pinned a bright red republican fascio, in the lower part. In the upper part, every Brigade chose its own insignia: either one of the many variants of skulls (with or without crossbones) or coloured facing. Regulations prescribed for all members of the Black Brigades to wear a metal enamelled breast badge, of roundel shape, showing a golden fascio amidst Italian national colours in vertical stripes, and surrounded by a black enamel rim with the inscription: "Corpo Ausiliario delle Squadre d'Azione di Camicie Nere", in capital letters, and in the lower part the identification number of the Brigade. Contemporary pictures show that this badge however, although certainly issued on large scale, was not so often worn. Many Black Brigades adopted sleeve badges, following Italian military tradition, both cloth and metal. These were usually of very fine workmanship, often minted and enamelled, and are today high-priced collectors items. Rank insignias were the same of those prescribed for the Italian army; however, were rarely worn. Towards the end of the war a specific rank system was introduced for the Black Brigades, unique to them, but it does not seem to have ever been implemented. The majority of Black Brigade members wore Italian army ski caps or berets dyed black. Some photos show members also wearing black German-style caps. Some were Italian made, some were supplied by Germany. Combat headgear was the ubiquitous M33 olive-green helmet, sometimes adorned with Black Brigades' skull insignia. German M35 helmets were also used as were M33 black MVSN helmets. Helmets were often sprayed with various camouflage pattern as was very common in that period. Combat gear and carrying equipment was the same of army soldiers. ''Samurai'' magazine vest, originally intended for elite army units, was widely used and so were a vast sorting of pouches, magazine-holders, holsters, both official issue (Italian or German) and privately made, carried on Italian M1908 olive-green leather carrying equipment.

Ranks

The Black Brigades wore a simple

fourragère The ''fourragère'' () is a military award, distinguishing military units as a whole, in the form of a braided cord. The award was first adopted by France, followed by other nations such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, and Luxembourg. Fou ...

denoting rank.

Weapons

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''). ...

Rifles and Carbines * MAB38 *

FNAB-43 The FNAB-43 is an Italian designed and developed submachine gun manufactured from 1943 to 1945. The first prototype was built in 1942 and the ~1,000 built by the FNA-B according to Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons (''Fabbrica Nazionale d'Armi di ...

TZ-45 The TZ-45 was an Italian blowback-operated submachine gun produced between 1944 and 1945, with an estimated 6,000 made. History The TZ-45 submachine gun was designed by two Italians; Tonon ("Toni") Giandoso, a colonel in the RSI Army and Zorzo ...

* Beretta M34 * Beretta M35 * Glisenti Model 1910 * Bodeo M89 * Breda M30 * Breda M35

Organization

The Black Brigades were not actually

brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. B ...

-sized units. The Italian word ''brigata'' has a looser meaning as a synonym of "group" or "assembly". Most Black Brigades were typically weak

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions a ...

s or strong

companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...

, each comprising 200 to 300 men; the size of a brigade however varied greatly depending on the city where it was based and where it recruited its men, with Black Brigades of major cities comprising thousands of men (the 8th Black Brigade "Aldo Resega" of Milan, for instance, had over 4,000 troops, and the 1st Black Brigade "Ather Capelli" of Turin had over 2,000). There were 41 territorial brigades. The territorial brigades were numbered 1 through 41. There were also seven "independent" and eight "mobile" brigades. The mobile brigades were numbered 1 through 7, plus the Second

Arditi Arditi (from the Italian verb ''ardire'', lit. "to dare", and translates as "The Daring nes) was the name adopted by a Royal Italian Army elite special force of World War I. They and the opposing German '' Stormtroopers'' were the first modern ...

Brigade. *Piedmont Regional Inspectorate **I Brigata Nera " Ather Capelli"

Turin Turin ( , 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 from 1861 to 1865. The ...

**II Brigata Nera "Attilio Prato" Alessandria **III Brigata Nera "Emilio Picot"

Aosta Aosta (, , ; french: Aoste , formerly ; frp, Aoûta , ''Veulla'' or ''Ouhta'' ; lat, Augusta Praetoria Salassorum; wae, Augschtal; pms, Osta) is the principal city of Aosta Valley, a bilingual region in the Italian Alps, north-northwest of ...

**IV Brigata Nera "Luigi VIale" Asti **V Brigata Nera "Carlo Lidonnici"

Cuneo Cuneo (; pms, Coni ; oc, Coni/Couni ; french: Coni ) is a city and ''comune'' in Piedmont, Northern Italy, the capital of the province of Cuneo, the fourth largest of Italy’s provinces by area. It is located at 550 metres (1,804 ft) in ...

**VI Brigata Nera "Augusto Cristina"

Novara Novara (, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It i ...

**VII Brigata Nera "Bruno Ponzecchi"

Vercelli Vercelli (; pms, Vërsèj ), is a city and ''comune'' of 46,552 inhabitants (January 1, 2017) in the Province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy. One of the oldest urban sites in northern Italy, it was founded, according to most historians, ...

*Lombardy Regional Inspectorate **VIII Brigata Nera " Aldo Resega"

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 h ...

**IX Brigata Nera "Giuseppe Cortesi" Bergamo **X Brigata Nera "Enrico Tognu"

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo ...

**XI Brigata Nera "Cesare Rodini"

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label= Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and to the Alps h ...

**XII Brigata Nera "Augusto Felisari" Cremona **XIII Brigata Nera "Marcello Turchetti"

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and '' comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture. In 2017, it was named as the Eur ...

**XIV Brigata Nera "Alberto Alfieri"

Pavia Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the cap ...

**XV Brigata Nera "Sergio Gatti" Sondrio **XVI Brigata Nera "Dante Gervasini"

Varese Varese ( , , or ; lmo, label= Varesino, Varés ; la, Baretium; archaic german: Väris) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 has reached 80,559. It is the c ...

*Veneto regional Inspectorate **XVII Brigata Nera "Bartolomeo Asara"

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

**XVIII Brigata Nera "Luigi Begon"

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

**XIX Brigata Nera "Romolo Gori"

Rovigo Rovigo (, ; egl, Ruig) is a city and ''comune'' in the Veneto region of Northeast Italy, the capital of the eponymous province. Geography Rovigo stands on the low ground known as Polesine, by rail southwest of Venice and south-southwest of P ...

**XX Brigata Nera "Francesco Cappellini"

Treviso Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and '' comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Ven ...

**XXI Brigata Nera "Stefano Rizzardi"

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 ...

**XXII Brigata Nera "Antonio Faggion"

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan. Vicenza is a thr ...

*Emilia Regional Inspectorate **XXIII Brigata Nera " Eugenio Facchini"

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, 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 1 ...

**XXIV Brigata Nera " Igino Ghisellini" Ferrara **XXV Brigata Nera "Arturo Capanni"

Forlì Forlì ( , ; rgn, Furlè ; la, Forum Livii) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and city in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, and is the capital of the province of Forlì-Cesena. It is the central city of Romagna. The city is situated along the Via ...

**XXVI Brigata Nera "Mirko Pistoni" Modena **XXVII Brigata Nera "Virginio Gavazzoli"

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 mos ...

**XXVIII Brigata Nera "Pippo Astorri"

Piacenza Piacenza (; egl, label= Piacentino, Piaṡëinsa ; ) is a city and in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, and the capital of the eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with over ...

**XXIX Brigata Nera "

Ettore Muti Ettore Muti (2 May 1902 – 24 August 1943) was an Italian aviator and Fascist politician. He was party secretary of the National Fascist Party (''Partito Nazionale Fascista'', or PNF) from October 1939 until shortly after the entry of Italy ...

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the ca ...

**XXX Brigata Nera "Umberto Rosi" Reggio Emilia *Liguria Regional Inspectorate **XXXI Brigata Nera "Generale Silvio Parodi"

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 ...

**XXXII Brigata Nera "Antonio Padoan"

Imperia Imperia (; lij, Inpêia or ) is a coastal city and ''comune'' in the region of Liguria, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Imperia, and historically it was capital of the ''Intemelia'' district of Liguria. Benito Mussolini created the ...

**XXXIII Brigata Nera "Tullio Bertoni" La Spezia **XXXIV Brigata Nera "Giovanni Briatore" Savona *Tuscany Black Brigades **XXXV Brigata Nera "Don Emilio Spinelli" Arezzo **XXXVI Brigata Nera " Benito Mussolini"

Lucca Lucca ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its province has a population of 383,957. Lucca is known as one ...

**XXXVII Brigata Nera "Emilio Tanzi" Pisa **XXXVIII Brigata Nera "Ruy Blas Biagi" Pistoia **IXL Brigata Nera

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centur ...

**XL Brigata Nera "Vittorio Ricciarelli" ApuaniaMunicipality formed in 1938 by merging

Massa Massa may refer to: Places *Massa, Tuscany, the administrative seat of the Italian province of Massa-Carrara. *Massa (river), river in Switzerland * Massa (Tanzanian ward), administrative ward in the Mpwapwa district of the Dodoma Region of Ta ...

Carrara Carrara ( , ; , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, in central Italy, of the province of Massa and Carrara, and notable for the white or blue-grey marble quarried there. It is on the Carrione River, some west-northwest of Florence. Its mot ...

and

Montignoso Montignoso is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Massa and Carrara in the Italian region Tuscany, located about northwest of Florence and about southeast of Massa. Montignoso borders the following municipalities: Forte dei Marmi, M ...

. Dissolved in 1946. **XLI Brigata Nera "Raffaele Manganiello"

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

*Mobile Black Brigades Grouping **I Brigata Nera Mobile "Vittorio Ricciarelli"

**II Brigata Nera Mobile "Danilo Mercuri"

**III Brigata Nera Mobile "Attilio Pappalardo"

**IV Brigata Nera Mobile "Aldo Resega"

Dronero Dronero ( oc, Draonier) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southwest of Turin and about northwest of Cuneo Cuneo (; pms, Coni ; oc, Coni/Couni ; french: Coni ) is a city and ...

**V Brigata Nera Mobile "Enrico Quagliata"

Val Camonica Val Camonica (also ''Valcamonica'' or Camonica Valley, Eastern Lombard dialect, Eastern Lombard: ''Al Camònega'') is one of the largest valleys of the central Alps, in eastern Lombardy, Italy. It extends about from the Tonale Pass to ...

**VI Brigata Nera Mobile "Dalmazia" Milan **VII Brigata Nera Mobile "Tevere" Milan **II Brigata Nera Mobile Arditi Milan *Autonomous Black Brigades **Brigata Nera Autonoma "

Giovanni Gentile Giovanni Gentile (; 30 May 1875 – 15 April 1944) was an Italian neo-Hegelian idealist philosopher, educator, and fascist politician. The self-styled "philosopher of Fascism", he was influential in providing an intellectual foundation for ...

" **Brigata Nera Autonoma Operativa " Giuseppe Garibaldi" **Brigata Nera Autonoma Ministeriale **Brigata Nera Autonoma - Marche **Brigata Nera Autonoma -

Gorizia Gorizia (; sl, Gorica , colloquially 'old Gorizia' to distinguish it from Nova Gorica; fur, label= Standard Friulian, Gurize, fur, label= Southeastern Friulian, Guriza; vec, label= Bisiacco, Gorisia; german: Görz ; obsolete English ''Gori ...

**Brigata Nera Autonoma -

Udine Udine ( , ; fur, Udin; la, Utinum) is a city and ''comune'' in north-eastern Italy, in the middle of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic Sea and the Alps (''Alpi Carniche''). Its population was 100,514 in 2012, 176,000 with t ...

**Brigata Nera Autonoma "Tullio Cividino" -

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into prov ...

*Outremer Autonomous Black Brigades **Compagnia Complementare Fascisti -

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 ...

Citations

General sources

* Le Forze Armate della RSI - Pier Paolo Battistelli, Andrea Molinari, p. 123 * Le Forze Armate della RSI - Pier Paolo Battistelli, Andrea Molinari, p. 125
Brianzapopolare.it
* Mario Pellegrinetti. ''Giugno 1944 - I sabotaggi. La guerra civile in Garfagnana''. URL consultato il 9-1-2008. * Giampaolo Pansa, ''Il gladio e l'alloro - l'esercito di Salò, 1943-45'' - Le Scie/A. Mondadori editore 1991 * Giorgio Pisanò, ''Gli ultimi in grigioverde - Voll. I-II-III'' - FPE edizioni, Milano 1967 * Guido Rosignoli, ''RSI - uniformi, equipaggiamento e armi'' - E. Albertelli edizioni, Parma 1985 * I. Montanelli - R. Gervaso, ''Storia d'Italia 1943-46'', ed. Mondadori, Milano 1967 {{Authority control Brigades of Italy in World War II Defunct law enforcement agencies of Italy Fascist organizations Italian Fascism Italian Social Republic Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 Military units and formations established in 1943 Military wings of fascist parties Terrorism in Italy