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The '''Italian resistance movement''' ({{lang-it|Resistenza italiana}} or ''Resistenza'') is an umbrella term for a number of [[Partisan (military)|partisan]] forces formed by pro-[[Allies of World War II|Allied]] Italians to fight the [[Nazi Germany|German Nazis]] and the [[Italian Fascism|Fascist]] [[Italian Social Republic|Italian puppet regime]] during the later years of [[World War II]], after the [[Allied invasion of Italy|Allied invasion]], the [[armistice between Italy and Allied armed forces]] and the 1943 German occupation of northern Italy. It is also known as the '''Italian resistance''' and the '''Italian partisans'''. Shortly after the war it was said that the modern Republic of Italy was founded on the achievements of partisan leaders, whose political allegiance was mixed and sometimes contentious. |
The '''Italian resistance movement''' ({{lang-it|Resistenza italiana}} or ''Resistenza'') is an umbrella term for a number of [[Partisan (military)|partisan]] forces formed by pro-[[Allies of World War II|Allied]] Italians to fight the [[Nazi Germany|German Nazis]] and the [[Italian Fascism|Fascist]] [[Italian Social Republic|Italian puppet regime]] during the later years of [[World War II]], after the [[Allied invasion of Italy|Allied invasion]], the [[armistice between Italy and Allied armed forces]] and the 1943 German occupation of northern Italy. It is also known as the '''Italian resistance''' and the '''Italian partisans'''. Shortly after the war it was said that the modern Republic of Italy was founded on the achievements of partisan leaders, whose political allegiance was mixed and sometimes contentious. |
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=={{anchor|Resistance by the Italian Armed Forces}}Resistance by Italian armed forces== |
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{{See also|Armistice between Italy and Allied armed forces|Italian Co-Belligerent Army}} |
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The earliest acts of armed resistance to the German occupation were undertaken by the Italian regular army, which cannot be defined as "partisans" ([[paramilitary]] forces) since they were part of the [[Italian Armed Forces]] and the [[Carabinieri]] [[military police]]. |
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[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-568-1537-04, Italien, Rom, erschossene Italiener.jpg|thumb|alt=Bodies of uniformed men on a sidewalk|Uniformed Italians shot by the Germans in Rome, September 1944]] |
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The best-known battle of that period broke out in the capital, [[Rome]], the day the armistice was announced. [[Regio Esercito]] units such as the [[Sassari Mechanized Brigade|Sassari Division]], the [[Granatieri di Sardegna]], the [[10 Motorised Division Piave|Piave Division]], the [[132nd Armoured Division Ariete|Ariete II Division]], the [[131 Armoured Division Centauro|Centauro Division]], the [[103rd Motorised Division Piacenza|Piacenza Division]] and the [[7 Infantry Division Lupi di Toscana|"Lupi di Toscana" Division]] (in addition to Carabinieri, infantry and coastal artillery regiments) were deployed around the city and along the roads leading to it. Fallschirmjäger and [[Panzergrenadier]]e were initially repelled but (despite being outnumbered and enduring heavy losses) slowly gained the upper hand, aided by their experience and superior [[Panzer]] component. The defenders were hampered by the escape of [[House of Savoy|King]] [[Victor Emmanuel III of Italy|Victor Emmanuel III]], Marshal [[Pietro Badoglio]] and their staff to [[Brindisi]], which left the generals in charge of the city without a coordinated defence plan. This caused Allied support to be canceled at the last minute, since the Fallschirmjäger took the [[drop zone]]s where the U.S. [[82nd Airborne Division]] was scheduled to be airdropped; Brigadier General [[Maxwell D. Taylor]] had crossed the lines and gone to Rome to personally supervise the operation. The Centauro II Division, not participating in the battle, also contributed to the defeat since its the German-made tanks could have turned the tables; however, given its dubious allegiance (composed primarily of ex-[[Blackshirts]]) it was not fielded. By 10 September the Germans had penetrated downtown Rome and the [[21st Infantry Division Granatieri di Sardegna|Granatieri]] (aided by civilians) made their last stand at [[Porta San Paolo]]. At 4 pm, General Giorgio Carlo Calvi di Bergolo signed the order of surrender; the Italian divisions were disbanded, and their members taken prisoner. Although some officers participating in the battle later joined the resistance, the clash was not motivated by anti-German sentiment but by the necessity to defend the Italian capital and resist the Italian soldiers' disarmament. General [[Raffaele Cadorna, Jr.]] (commander of Ariete II) and Giuseppe Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo (later shot in the [[Ardeatine massacre]]) joined the underground; General Gioacchino Solinas (commander of the Granatieri) instead opted for the [[Italian Social Republic]].<ref>{{cite book| last = Sanna| first = Daniele| title = Da Porta San Paolo a Salò. Gioacchino Solinas comandante antitedesco| publisher = AM&D| year = 2005| isbn = 88-86799-86-1}}</ref> |
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In the days following 8 September 1943 most servicemen, left without orders from higher echelons, 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 engaged in armed combat against the Germans. Admirals [[Inigo Campioni]] and Luigi Mascherpa led an attempt to defend [[Rhodes]], [[Battle of Kos|Kos]], [[Battle of Leros|Leros]] and other [[Dodecanese]] islands from their former allies. With reinforcements from [[Special Air Service|SAS]], [[Special Boat Service|SBS]] and [[British Army]] troops under the command of Generals Francis Gerrard Russell Brittorous and [[Robert Tilney]], the defenders held on for a month. However, the [[Wehrmacht]] took hold of the islands through air and sea landings by infantry and [[Fallschirmjäger]] (supported by [[Luftwaffe]] aircraft). Both Campioni and Mascherpa were captured and executed at [[Verona]] for high treason. On 13 September 1943, the [[33rd Mountain Infantry Division Acqui|Acqui Division]] stationed in [[Cefalonia]] was ordered by Comando Supremo to attack the Germans, despite ongoing negotiations between Italian headquarters and Wehrmacht senior officers. After a ten-day battle, the Germans executed thousands of officers and enlisted men in retaliation. Those killed in the [[massacre of the Acqui Division]] included division commander General Antonio Gandin. |
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More Italian forces remained trapped in Yugoslavia when the armistice was announced. Elements of the [[1st Alpine Division Taurinense|Taurinense Division]], the [[19th Infantry Division Venezia|Venezia Division]], the [[28 Infantry Division Aosta|Aosta Division]] and the [[155 Infantry Division Emilia|Emilia Division]] were assembled in the Italian Garibaldi Partisan Division, part of the [[Yugoslav partisans|Yugoslav People's Liberation Army]]. When the unit finally returned to Italy at the end of the war, half its members had been killed or were listed as missing in action. |
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The Italian soldiers captured by the Germans numbered around 700,000. Most chose to refuse cooperation with the Third Reich despite hardship, chiefly to maintain their oath of fidelity to the king. Their former allies designated them ''Italienische Militär-Internierte'' ("[[Italian military internees]]") to deny them [[prisoner of war]] status and the rights granted by the [[Geneva Convention]]. After decades of obscurity, theirs has been recognized as an act of [[unarmed resistance]] on a par with the armed confrontation of other Italian servicemen.<ref>{{cite book| last = Natta| first = Alessandro| title = L'altra Resistenza. I militari italiani internati in Germania| publisher = Einaudi| year = 1997| isbn =978-8806143145}}</ref> |
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==Partisan resistance== |
==Partisan resistance== |
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{{seealso|Italian Armistice|Operation Achse|Italian Civil War}} |
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===Partisan movement=== |
===Partisan movement=== |
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[[File:Mussolini e Petacci a Piazzale Loreto, 1945.jpg|thumb|230px|[[Benito Mussolini|Mussolini]] and other [[Italian Social Republic|Fascist]] officials were captured and executed by Italian Partisans<br>- April 1945]] |
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The movement was initially composed of independent troops (members of political parties previously outlawed by the Fascist regime) or by former officers of the [[Royal Italian Army (1940–1946)|Royal Italian Army]]. Later the [[Comitato di Liberazione Nazionale]] (Committee of National Liberation, or CNL), created by the [[Italian Communist Party]], the [[Italian Socialist Party]], the [[Partito d'Azione]] (a [[republicanism|republican]] [[liberal socialism|liberal socialist]] party), [[Christian Democracy (Italy)|Democrazia Cristiana]] and other minor parties, took control of the movement in accordance with King Victor Emmanuel III's ministers and the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]]. The [[Comitato di Liberazione Nazionale Alta Italia]] (CLNAI, or National Liberation Committee for [[Northern Italy]]) was set up by partisans behind German lines and had the support of most groups in the region.<ref>The Italian Army 1940-45 (3) Osprey Men-at-Arms 353 ISBN 978-1-85532-866-2</ref> |
The movement was initially composed of independent troops (members of political parties previously outlawed by the Fascist regime) or by former officers of the [[Royal Italian Army (1940–1946)|Royal Italian Army]]. Later the [[Comitato di Liberazione Nazionale]] (Committee of National Liberation, or CNL), created by the [[Italian Communist Party]], the [[Italian Socialist Party]], the [[Partito d'Azione]] (a [[republicanism|republican]] [[liberal socialism|liberal socialist]] party), [[Christian Democracy (Italy)|Democrazia Cristiana]] and other minor parties, took control of the movement in accordance with King Victor Emmanuel III's ministers and the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]]. The [[Comitato di Liberazione Nazionale Alta Italia]] (CLNAI, or National Liberation Committee for [[Northern Italy]]) was set up by partisans behind German lines and had the support of most groups in the region.<ref>The Italian Army 1940-45 (3) Osprey Men-at-Arms 353 ISBN 978-1-85532-866-2</ref> |
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While the largest contingents operated in mountainous districts of the [[Alps]] and the [[Apennine Mountains]], there were also large formations in the [[Po River]] flatland. In the large towns of northern Italy, such as [[Piacenza]] and the surrounding valleys near the [[Gothic line]], in the [[Montechino Italian Castle Piacenza|Montechino castle]] there was a key partisan headquarters. The ''Gruppi di Azione Patriottica'' (Patriotic Action Groups, or GAP) carried out acts of [[sabotage]] and [[guerrilla warfare]], and the ''Squadre di Azione Patriottica'' (Patriotic Action Squads, or SAP) arranged [[strike action]]s and [[propaganda]] campaigns. Not unlike the [[French Resistance]], women were important leaders and couriers in the armed groups and industrial areas.<ref>[http://www.h-net.msu.edu/reviews/showrev.cgi?path=3545899820741 H-Net Review: Andrea Peto <petoand@ceu.hu> on Women and the Italian Resistance, 1943–45<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> |
While the largest contingents operated in mountainous districts of the [[Alps]] and the [[Apennine Mountains]], there were also large formations in the [[Po River]] flatland. In the large towns of northern Italy, such as [[Piacenza]] and the surrounding valleys near the [[Gothic line]], in the [[Montechino Italian Castle Piacenza|Montechino castle]] there was a key partisan headquarters. The ''Gruppi di Azione Patriottica'' (Patriotic Action Groups, or GAP) carried out acts of [[sabotage]] and [[guerrilla warfare]], and the ''Squadre di Azione Patriottica'' (Patriotic Action Squads, or SAP) arranged [[strike action]]s and [[propaganda]] campaigns. Not unlike the [[French Resistance]], women were important leaders and couriers in the armed groups and industrial areas.<ref>[http://www.h-net.msu.edu/reviews/showrev.cgi?path=3545899820741 H-Net Review: Andrea Peto <petoand@ceu.hu> on Women and the Italian Resistance, 1943–45<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> |
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===Strength and Casualties=== |
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⚫ | [[Rodolfo Graziani]] estimated the partisan [[National Liberation Committee|CLN]] strength to be ~80.000 strong.<ref name=RMG>{{cite book|title=Mussolini: The Last 600 Days of Il Duce |first=Roger |last=Moseley |year=2004 |place=Taylor Trade Publishing}}</ref> 41% were Communists of the Garibaldi Brigades and 29% were |
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⚫ | [[Rodolfo Graziani]] estimated the ''partisan'' [[National Liberation Committee|CLN]] strength to be ~80.000 strong.<ref name=RMG>{{cite book|title=Mussolini: The Last 600 Days of Il Duce |first=Roger |last=Moseley |year=2004 |place=Taylor Trade Publishing}}</ref> 41% were [[Italian Communist Party|Communists]] of the Garibaldi ''Brigades'' and 29% were [[Giustizia e Libertà|Acionists]].<ref name=JIG>{{cite book|title=Die Juden und der Widerstand gegen den Faschismus in Italien: 1943 - 1945 |first=Silvano |last=Longhi |year=2010 |place=Berlin}}</ref> |
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According to Field Marshal, [[Albert Kesselring]], commander of the German occupation forces in Italy, German casualties against Italian partisans amounted to 5,000 killed and 7,000 wounded in the summer of 1944 alone.<ref name=CTR>{{cite book|title=Forgotten Battles: Italy's War of Liberation, 1943-1945 |first=Charles |last=O'Reilly |year=2001 |place=Oxford}}</ref> CLN casualties amounted to 16,000 killed, wounded or captured from September 1943 to May 1944.<ref name=RMG/> |
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For example, the 8th Garibaldi ''Brigade'' had 8,050 men (450 without arms) and operated in the [[Romagna]] area.<ref name=RMG/> The [[National Liberation Committee|CLN]] mostly operated in the [[Alps|Alpine]] area, [[Apennine Mountains|Apennine]] area and [[Po Valley]] of the [[Italian Social Republic|RSI]] as well as in [[OZAK]] and in [[OZAV]].<ref name=RMG/><br> According to [[Albert Kesselring|Field Marshal Kesselring]] German casualties against Italian ''partisans'' amounted to 5,000 killed and 7,000 wounded in the summer of 1944 alone.<ref name=CTR>{{cite book|title=Forgotten Battles: Italy's War of Liberation, 1943-1945 |first=Charles |last=O'Reilly |year=2001 |place=Oxford}}</ref> Throughout 1944, over 2,200 [[National Liberation Committee|CLN]] ''partisan'' sorties were carried out.<ref name=MSS>{{cite book|title=Mussolini's War |first=Frank |last=Joseph |year=2009 |place=England}}</ref> [[National Liberation Committee|CLN]] casualties amounted to 16,000 killed, wounded or captured from September 1943 - May 1944.<ref name=RMG/> In all ~35,000 ''partisans'' were killed in action.<ref name=MSS/> |
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<center> |
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<gallery> |
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File:Alfredo Sforzini.jpg|Italian partisan<br>- late 1943 |
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</gallery> |
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</center> |
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===1944 uprising=== |
===1944 uprising=== |
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{{ |
{{seealso|Italian Partisan Republics}} |
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In 1944, with Allied forces nearby, the partisan resistance in Italy staged an uprising behind German lines led by the CLNAI. This rebellion led to the establishment of a number of [[Provisional government|provisional]] partisan governments throughout the mountainous regions of northern Italy. [[Ossola]] was the most important of these, receiving recognition from neutral Switzerland and Allied consulates in Switzerland. By the end of 1944, German reinforcements and [[Benito Mussolini]]'s remaining forces crushed the uprising and the area's liberation waited for the final offensives of 1945. |
In 1944, with Allied forces nearby, the partisan resistance in Italy staged an uprising behind German lines led by the CLNAI. This rebellion led to the establishment of a number of [[Provisional government|provisional]] partisan governments throughout the mountainous regions of northern Italy. [[Ossola]] was the most important of these, receiving recognition from neutral Switzerland and Allied consulates in Switzerland. By the end of 1944, German reinforcements and [[Benito Mussolini]]'s remaining forces crushed the uprising and the area's liberation waited for the final offensives of 1945. |
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===Organisation=== |
===Organisation=== |
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{{multiple image |
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| image1 = Garibaldi Brigade.png |
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| alt1 = |
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| caption1 = Partisans of the ''Garibaldi Brigade'' |
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| image2 = Flag of Italian Committee of National Liberation.svg |
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| alt2 = |
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| caption2 = '''CLN''' - [[National Liberation Committee]] |
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}} |
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Partisan unit sizes varied, with bands reaching 450 men and women. The size of units also depended 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) comprising 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'operatione'' (operational group). |
Partisan unit sizes varied, with bands reaching 450 men and women. The size of units also depended 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) comprising 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'operatione'' (operational group). |
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===Nazi and Fascist retaliation=== |
===Nazi and Fascist retaliation=== |
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[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-476-2051-39A, Italien, Rom, erhängte Frau, deutsche Soldaten.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Woman executed by hanging in a street|Hanged woman and German soldiers on a street in Rome, 1944]] |
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-476-2051-39A, Italien, Rom, erhängte Frau, deutsche Soldaten.jpg|thumb|upright|190px|alt=Woman executed by hanging in a street|Hanged woman and German soldiers on a street in Rome, 1944]] |
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The resistance demonstrated that not all Italians agreed with [[Italian Fascism|Fascist]] rule, and proved that they were prepared to fight it despite the cost. Resistance casualties grew to tens of thousands of Italian partisans, civilians and prisoners of war killed. During the war German and Italian Fascist forces (such as the [[Decima Flottiglia MAS#Continued Participation in the Axis|Decima Flottiglia MAS]], the [[Black Brigades]] and the [[National Republican Guard (Italy)|National Republican Guard]]) committed numerous war crimes, including [[summary execution]]s and reprisals against civilians; captured partisans or civilians were often tortured and female prisoners were often raped. The most notorious atrocities included the [[Ardeatine massacre]] |
The resistance demonstrated that not all Italians agreed with [[Italian Fascism|Fascist]] rule, and proved that they were prepared to fight it despite the cost. Resistance casualties grew to tens of thousands of Italian partisans, civilians and prisoners of war killed. During the war German and Italian Fascist forces (such as the [[Decima Flottiglia MAS#Continued Participation in the Axis|Decima Flottiglia MAS]], the [[Black Brigades]] and the [[National Republican Guard (Italy)|National Republican Guard]]) committed numerous war crimes, including [[summary execution]]s and reprisals against civilians; captured partisans or civilians were often tortured and female prisoners were often raped. The most notorious atrocities included the: |
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*[[Ardeatine massacre]] |
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*[[Marzabotto massacre]] |
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*[[Sant'Anna di Stazzema massacre]]. |
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===Foreign contribution=== |
===Foreign contribution=== |
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=== Liberation === |
=== Liberation === |
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{{seealso|ANPI}} |
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[[File:Festa della Liberazione - Florence, Italy - 25 April 2009.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Smiling older man in a parade, holding a decorated Italian flag|Anniversary of Liberation Day: [[Seregno]], [[Lombardia]], 25 April 2009]] |
[[File:Festa della Liberazione - Florence, Italy - 25 April 2009.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Smiling older man in a parade, holding a decorated Italian flag|Anniversary of Liberation Day: [[Seregno]], [[Lombardia]], 25 April 2009]] |
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On April 19, 1945, with the renewal of the Allied offensive, the CLN called for an insurrection (the April 25 uprising). [[Bologna]] was liberated on April 21 by the [[Italian Co-Belligerent Army]] and the [[Polish II Corps]] under Allied command. [[Parma]] and [[Reggio Emilia]] were liberated on April 24. [[Turin]] and [[Milan]] were liberated on April 25 through an insurrection. Over 14,000 German and Fascist troops were captured in [[Genoa]] on April 26 and 27, when General Meinhold surrendered to the CLN.<ref>[[Basil Davidson]], ''Special Operations Europe: Scenes from the Anti-Nazi War'' (1980), pp. 340/360</ref> |
On April 19, 1945, with the renewal of the Allied offensive, the CLN called for an insurrection (the April 25 uprising). [[Bologna]] was liberated on April 21 by the [[Italian Co-Belligerent Army]] and the [[Polish II Corps]] under Allied command. [[Parma]] and [[Reggio Emilia]] were liberated on April 24. [[Turin]] and [[Milan]] were liberated on April 25 through an insurrection. Over 14,000 German and Fascist troops were captured in [[Genoa]] on April 26 and 27, when General Meinhold surrendered to the CLN.<ref>[[Basil Davidson]], ''Special Operations Europe: Scenes from the Anti-Nazi War'' (1980), pp. 340/360</ref> |
Revision as of 22:21, 22 July 2013
The Italian resistance movement (Italian: Resistenza italiana or Resistenza) is an umbrella term for a number of partisan forces formed by pro-Allied Italians to fight the German Nazis and the Fascist Italian puppet regime during the later years of World War II, after the Allied invasion, the armistice between Italy and Allied armed forces and the 1943 German occupation of northern Italy. It is also known as the Italian resistance and the Italian partisans. Shortly after the war it was said that the modern Republic of Italy was founded on the achievements of partisan leaders, whose political allegiance was mixed and sometimes contentious.
Partisan resistance
Partisan movement
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c7/Mussolini_e_Petacci_a_Piazzale_Loreto%2C_1945.jpg/230px-Mussolini_e_Petacci_a_Piazzale_Loreto%2C_1945.jpg)
- April 1945
The movement was initially composed of independent troops (members of political parties previously outlawed by the Fascist regime) or by former officers of the Royal Italian Army. Later the Comitato di Liberazione Nazionale (Committee of National Liberation, or CNL), created by the Italian Communist Party, the Italian Socialist Party, the Partito d'Azione (a republican liberal socialist party), Democrazia Cristiana and other minor parties, took control of the movement in accordance with King Victor Emmanuel III's ministers and the Allies. The Comitato di Liberazione Nazionale Alta Italia (CLNAI, or National Liberation Committee for Northern Italy) was set up by partisans behind German lines and had the support of most groups in the region.[1]
The formations were eventually divided into three main groups: the communist Garibaldi Brigades, Giustizia e Libertà Brigades (related to the Partito d'Azione) and the socialist Matteotti Brigades. Smaller groups included Catholics and monarchists, such as the Fiamme Verdi (Green Flames), Di Dio, Mauri, Franchi (founded by Edgardo Sogno) and anarchist and apolitical groups. Relations among the groups were not always good. For example, in 1945 in the province of Udine Garibaldi Brigade partisans under Yugoslav command attacked and killed partisans of the Catholic and azionista Osoppo groups.
While the largest contingents operated in mountainous districts of the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, there were also large formations in the Po River flatland. In the large towns of northern Italy, such as Piacenza and the surrounding valleys near the Gothic line, in the Montechino castle there was a key partisan headquarters. The Gruppi di Azione Patriottica (Patriotic Action Groups, or GAP) carried out acts of sabotage and guerrilla warfare, and the Squadre di Azione Patriottica (Patriotic Action Squads, or SAP) arranged strike actions and propaganda campaigns. Not unlike the French Resistance, women were important leaders and couriers in the armed groups and industrial areas.[2]
Strength and Casualties
Rodolfo Graziani estimated the partisan CLN strength to be ~80.000 strong.[3] 41% were Communists of the Garibaldi Brigades and 29% were Acionists.[4]
For example, the 8th Garibaldi Brigade had 8,050 men (450 without arms) and operated in the Romagna area.[3] The CLN mostly operated in the Alpine area, Apennine area and Po Valley of the RSI as well as in OZAK and in OZAV.[3]
According to Field Marshal Kesselring German casualties against Italian partisans amounted to 5,000 killed and 7,000 wounded in the summer of 1944 alone.[5] Throughout 1944, over 2,200 CLN partisan sorties were carried out.[6] CLN casualties amounted to 16,000 killed, wounded or captured from September 1943 - May 1944.[3] In all ~35,000 partisans were killed in action.[6]
1944 uprising
In 1944, with Allied forces nearby, the partisan resistance in Italy staged an uprising behind German lines led by the CLNAI. This rebellion led to the establishment of a number of provisional partisan governments throughout the mountainous regions of northern Italy. Ossola was the most important of these, receiving recognition from neutral Switzerland and Allied consulates in Switzerland. By the end of 1944, German reinforcements and Benito Mussolini's remaining forces crushed the uprising and the area's liberation waited for the final offensives of 1945.
Organisation
Partisan unit sizes varied, with bands reaching 450 men and women. The size of units also depended 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) comprising 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'operatione (operational group).
Like their counterparts elsewhere in Europe, Italian partisans seized whatever guns they could find. The first weapons were brought by ex-soldiers willing to carry on the fight against the Germans and Italian Fascists from the Regio Esercito inventory: Carcano rifles, Beretta M 1934 and M1935 pistols, Bodeo M1889 revolvers, SRCM and OTO hand grenades, Fiat-Revelli Modello 1935, Breda 30 and Breda M37 machine guns. Later, captured K98ks, MG34s, MG42s, 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 RSI soldiers began defecting to the underground, 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 rifles, Bren light machine guns and Sten guns.[7] U.S.-made weapons were provided on a smaller scale from the Office of Strategic Services: Thompson submachine guns (both M1928 and M1), M3 submachine guns, United Defense M42s and folding-stock M1 carbines. Other supplies included explosives, clothing, boots, food rations and money (used to buy weapons or to compensate civilians for confiscations).
Nazi and Fascist retaliation
![Woman executed by hanging in a street](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/40/Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-476-2051-39A%2C_Italien%2C_Rom%2C_erh%C3%A4ngte_Frau%2C_deutsche_Soldaten.jpg/190px-Bundesarchiv_Bild_101I-476-2051-39A%2C_Italien%2C_Rom%2C_erh%C3%A4ngte_Frau%2C_deutsche_Soldaten.jpg)
The resistance demonstrated that not all Italians agreed with Fascist rule, and proved that they were prepared to fight it despite the cost. Resistance casualties grew to tens of thousands of Italian partisans, civilians and prisoners of war killed. During the war German and Italian Fascist forces (such as the Decima Flottiglia MAS, the Black Brigades and the National Republican Guard) committed numerous war crimes, including summary executions and reprisals against civilians; captured partisans or civilians were often tortured and female prisoners were often raped. The most notorious atrocities included the:
Foreign contribution
Not all members of the Italian resistance were Italians; many foreigners had escaped POW camps or joined guerrilla bands as so-called "military missions". Among them were Yugoslavs, Russians, Ukrainians, Dutch, Spaniards, Greeks, Poles, Germans disillusioned with National Socialism,[8] Britons and Americans (ex-prisoners or advisors deployed by the SAS, SOE and OSS). Some later became well-known to the public, such as climber and explorer Bill Tilman, reporter and historian Peter Tompkins, former RAF pilot Manfred Czernin and architect Oliver Churchill.
Liberation
![Smiling older man in a parade, holding a decorated Italian flag](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a7/Festa_della_Liberazione_-_Florence%2C_Italy_-_25_April_2009.jpg/220px-Festa_della_Liberazione_-_Florence%2C_Italy_-_25_April_2009.jpg)
On April 19, 1945, with the renewal of the Allied offensive, the CLN called for an insurrection (the April 25 uprising). Bologna was liberated on April 21 by the Italian Co-Belligerent Army and the Polish II Corps under Allied command. Parma and Reggio Emilia were liberated on April 24. Turin and Milan were liberated on April 25 through an insurrection. Over 14,000 German and Fascist troops were captured in Genoa on April 26 and 27, when General Meinhold surrendered to the CLN.[9]
On the morning of 27 April 1945 Umberto Lazzaro (nom de guerre "Partisan Bill"), a partisan with the 52nd Garibaldi Brigade, was checking lorries at Dongo on Lake Como carrying retreating German troops to the Swiss border. This was part of an agreement with the partisans that the convoy would be given safe passage if no Italians were concealed among the Germans. In one of the trucks, Lazzaro discovered Benito Mussolini (Il Duce). The task of executing Mussolini was given to a "Colonel Valerio" (generally identified as Walter Audisio or Luigi Longo). The bodies of Mussolini and Petacci were later brought to Milan and hung upside down in Piazzale Loreto, a square near the Milano Centrale railway station; the site was chosen because of a massacre there of anti-fascists by Fascist militia under German orders the previous year. Fifteen prominent Fascists (including Mussolini, Clara Petacci, Fernando Mezzasoma, Luigi Gatti, Alessandro Pavolini and Achille Starace) were executed and displayed in the square; this number was significant because 15 anti-fascists were displayed in the square in 1944.
Other activities
Another task carried out by the Italian resistance was assisting escaping POWs (an estimated 80,000 were interned in Italy until 8 September 1943),[10] who were helped to reach Allied lines or escorted to Switzerland on paths previously used by smugglers. Sometimes fugitives were hidden in safe houses, usually by women (less likely to arouse suspicion) and sometimes several at a time. After the war, Field Marshal Harold Alexander issued a certificate to those who did this at the risk of their lives.
Jews were aided by DELASEM, a secret network extending throughout occupied Italy and including Jews and Gentiles, Roman Catholic bishops, clerics, laity, policemen and even some German soldiers. Since Jews were considered "enemy aliens" by the new Fascist government, they were left with little or nothing to live on. DELASEM contributed to their survival by offering food, shelter and donated money. Some of its members would later be designated Righteous among the Nations.
See also
References
- ^ The Italian Army 1940-45 (3) Osprey Men-at-Arms 353 ISBN 978-1-85532-866-2
- ^ H-Net Review: Andrea Peto <petoand@ceu.hu> on Women and the Italian Resistance, 1943–45
- ^ a b c d Moseley, Roger (2004). Mussolini: The Last 600 Days of Il Duce. Taylor Trade Publishing.
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Longhi, Silvano (2010). Die Juden und der Widerstand gegen den Faschismus in Italien: 1943 - 1945. Berlin.
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ O'Reilly, Charles (2001). Forgotten Battles: Italy's War of Liberation, 1943-1945. Oxford.
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ a b Joseph, Frank (2009). Mussolini's War. England.
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Balbo, Adriano (2005). Quando inglesi arrivare noi tutti morti. Blu Edizioni. ISBN 88-7904-001-4.
- ^ Incerti, Matteo (2011). Il Bracciale di Sterline - Cento bastardi senza gloria. Una storia di guerra e passioni. Aliberti Editore. ISBN 978-88-7424-766-0.
- ^ Basil Davidson, Special Operations Europe: Scenes from the Anti-Nazi War (1980), pp. 340/360
- ^ "British prisoners of the Second World War and the Korean War". The National Archives. Archived from the original on 19 June 2013. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
External links
- Template:It ANPI – Associazione Nazionale Partigiani d'Italia
- La mappa delle Repubbliche partigiane provides a source for the list of partisan governments
- ANPI Section of Rimini
- ANPI Section of Pesaro-Urbino
- Template:It ANCFARGL – Associazione Nazionale Combattenti Forze Armate Regolari Guerra di Liberazione
- Template:It INSMLI – Istituto Nazionale per la Storia del Movimento di Liberazione in Italia
- Template:It Il portale della guerra di Liberazione
- Articles on Anarchist resistance to Italian Fascism
- 1943–1945: Anarchist partisans in the Italian Resistance
- European Resistance Archive
- Book: War In Italy: By Richard Lamb
- E-Book: Il Partigiano D’Artagnan: By Alberto Cotti
- The Life of Basil Davidson by James Currey