The Clandestine Military Front () was an organization of the
Italian resistance movement
The Italian Resistance ( ), or simply ''La'' , consisted of all the Italian resistance groups who fought the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and the fascist collaborationists of the Italian Social Republic during the Second World War in Italy ...
that operated in German-occupied
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
between September 1943 and June 1944. It consisted of some 2,300 men, largely
Royal Italian Army
The Royal Italian Army () (RE) was the land force of the Kingdom of Italy, established with the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy. During the 19th century Italy started to unify into one country, and in 1861 Manfredo Fanti signed a decree c ...
officers who had gone into hiding after the German capture of Rome, such as
Minister of War
A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...
Antonio Sorice and Generals
Roberto Lordi,
Mario Girotti,
Dardano Fenulli and
Vito Artale. Its first leader was Colonel
Giuseppe Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo, who after being arrested in January 1944 was replaced by General
Quirino Armellini, in turn replaced by General in March 1944. Thirty-four of its members, including Colonel Montezemolo and Generals Lordi, Fenulli and Artale, were among the victims of the
Ardeatine massacre
The Ardeatine massacre, or Fosse Ardeatine massacre (), was a mass killing of 335 civilians and political prisoners carried out in Rome on 24 March 1944 by German occupation troops during the Second World War as a reprisal for the Via Rasell ...
.
References
Italian resistance movement
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