The Italian partisan brigades were armed formations involved in the Italian resistance during the World War II.
They were formed on voluntary base by irregular soldiers and sometimes were organized by former army members who served in the Italian occupied territories. Those formations had been active between the 8 September 1943 (with the Badoglio Proclamation) and the end of the war on 6 May 1945.
During the WWII, groups of partisans were formed after the Badoglio Proclamation by former members of the Royal Italian Army located in the north centre of Italy and in the territories occupied by the Kingdom like those of the Balkans. The former soldiers were then flanked by anti-fascists, exiles and expatriates.
In the autumn of 1943, the Direction of the Italian Communist Party suggested the formation of organized structures and promoted the creation of the Garibaldi battalions. These groups were conceived as assault brigades because they had to be immediately active but the organization would be formed during their activity.
During the war, new formations were continuously created until April 1945, and an important event was the creation of the General Command of Corpo Volontari della Libertà (CVL, "Corps of Freedom Volunteers") on 9 June 1944 in Milan, [1] where the headquarters of main partisan organizations were located. The CVL represented the partisan movement among Allies and the Italian government and it had the purpose of coordinate brigades and local National Liberation Committees. [2]
According to the communist members, the brigade formation implied a military-like model of organization with a hierarchy formed by General Command, divisions, brigades, battalions, companies, squads and groups. [3] It was also introduced the charge of the "political commissar" according to the experiences of the October Revolution and the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War. [3] This kind of organization would be realized only in summer 1944, when also the other parties adopted the military-political structure, with or without "commissars" representing the party of reference. [3]
Brigades of army-men were formed mainly abroad by former soldiers and officers who did not accepted to be humiliated and imprisoned by the Nazis. [4] After the Armistice of Cassibile, Allies allowed the Kingdom to reorganize the remaining army forces which were initially left without any order but most soldiers decided to join the resistance brigades already active. [4]
According to the newspaper Avvenire , catholic formations were often in contrast with the other ones of different political sides, but during the liberation war there was still a collaboration from both the sides. Catholics who actively took part to the Resistance were 65,000 - 80,000 out of about 200,000 partisans. [5]
During the Resistance various formations merged and subdivided according to the situations of the operative areas, with different criteria and sizes. For example, some Garibaldi groups had a pyramidal structure:
Within the Corpo volontari della libertà there were the following political affiliations:
Sometimes names were not closely linked to the relative parties: for example, the Osoppo Brigades of Friuli, which were born with an important contributions of PdA, accepted their dependence on DC and the Friulian clergy. [12] The Brigate Fiamme Verdi diversified themselves in the territory: the Lombard ones, formed by catholic intellectuals, became exclusive military formations with a liberal orientation; the ones of Reggio Emilia, instead, were directly led by DC as the Brigate del Popolo. [9] The Mazzini Brigades in Veneto did not have a close relationship with PRI as the Lombard ones.
The following is a list of Division and Brigade Commands of partisan formations which operated in the mountains of centre-north Italy in April 1945, classified by partisan and historian Roberto Battaglia. [13]
There were:
| No. | Operative areas | Formations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Milan | Comando generale CVL Corpo volontari della libertà | |
| 2 | Ossola | Divisione Garibaldi Redi | |
| 3 | Divisione Valtoce | ||
| 4 | Divisione Flaim | ||
| 5 | Divisione Beltrami | ||
| 6 | Varese | Divisione Alto Milanese | |
| 7 | Brigata Greppi | ||
| 8 | Brigata Passerini | ||
| 9 | 1ª Brigata Loto | ||
| 10 | Divisione Garibaldi Fratelli Varalli | ||
| 11 | Divisione Garibaldi Pajetta | ||
| 12 | II Aosta Valley | C 1ª Brigata Autonoma. Valle d'Aosta | |
| 13 | Divisione Matteotti Aosta | ||
| 14 | 7ª Divisione Garibaldi Piemonte Elter | ||
| 15 | 2ª Divisione Alpina GL Ferriera | ||
| 16 | Brigata Autonoma GL Leone | ||
| 17 | I Biellese | 5ª Divisione Garibaldi R. Maffei | |
| 18 | 12ª Divisione Garibaldi Piemonte Nedo | ||
| 19 | III Canavesan Lanzo | 8ª Divisione Autonoma Giovane Piemonte | |
| 20 | Raggruppamento Brigata Matteotti Davito | ||
| 21 | 7ª Divisione Garibaldi GL Canavesana | ||
| 22 | Colonna GL R.Giua | ||
| 23 | 2ª e 4ª Divisione Garibaldi Piemonte Unificate | ||
| 24 | IV Susa - Chisone | Brigata Matteotti Martorelli | |
| 25 | 4ª Divisione Alpina GL Stellina | ||
| 26 | 3ª Divisione Garibaldi P.Deo | ||
| 27 | 10ª Divisione Autonoma Val Chisone | ||
| 28 | 13ª Divisione Garibaldi Pietrorame | ||
| 29 | 9ª Divisione Autonoma De Vitis | ||
| 30 | Divisione GL Campana | ||
| 31 | 5ª Divisione Alpina GL S.Tosa | ||
| 32 | Divisione GL Torino | ||
| 33 | Divisione Matteotti Giachino | ||
| 33a | V Sangone Valley | Divisione Autonoma Valsangone | |
| 34 | VI Monferrat Langhe | 5ª Divisione Autonoma. Monferrato | |
| 35 | GMO GL | ||
| 36 | Divisione Matteotti Rossi | ||
| 37 | 6ª Divisione Autonoma. Alpi | ||
| 38 | 9ª Divisione GL Ferreira | ||
| 39 | I Divisione Garibaldi Piemonte Lanfranco | ||
| 40 | Divisione Matteotti Cattaneo | ||
| 41 | 8ª Divisione Garibaldi Piemonte Asti | ||
| 42 | VI Monregalese Langhe | 9ª Divisione Garibaldi Piemonte Imerito | |
| 43 | C IV Brigata Autonoma. Brà | ||
| 44 | 3ª Divisione GL Langhe | ||
| 45 | 11º Garibaldi Piemonte Langhe | ||
| 46 | Left plain of Tanaro | 103ª Brigata Autonoma Amendola | Colonel commander Renato Gancia |
| 47 | VI Monregalese Langhe | 14ª Divisione Garibaldi Piemonte Capriolo | |
| 48 | 2ª Divisione Autonoma. Langhe | Piero Balbo - Enrico Martini general commander | |
| 49 | 1ª Divisione Autonoma. Langhe | ||
| 50 | 4ª Divisione Autonoma. Alpina | ||
| 51 | V West Cuneo | Divisione Matteotti Lungense | |
| 52 | 2ª Divisione Alpina GL | ||
| 53 | 10ª Divisione GL | ||
| 54 | 11ª Divisione Garibaldi Piemonte Cuneo | ||
| 55 | XXV ª Brigata GL Bellano | ||
| 56 | XXI ª Brigata GL Paglieri | ||
| 57 | 1ª Divisione Alpina GL | ||
| 58 | 3 ª Divisione Autonoma. Alpi | ||
| 59 | Imperia | Divisione Garibaldi Cascione | |
| 60 | Divisione Garibaldi Bonfante | ||
| 61 | II Savona | Divisione Bevilacqua | |
| 62 | Divisione Panevino | ||
| 63 | Divisione Fumagalli | ||
| 64 | VII Alessandria | 2ª Divisione Autonoma. Patria | |
| 65 | 10 ª Divisione Garibaldi Piemonte Italia | ||
| 66 | 8 ª Divisione GL. | ||
| 67 | 16 ª Divisione Garibaldi Piemonte Viganò | ||
| 68 | Divisione Matteotti Marengo | ||
| 69 | Oltrepò Pavese | Divisione Matteotti Barni | |
| 70 | 4 ª Divisione Garibaldi Lombardia Gramsci | ||
| 71 | 2 ª Divisione GL Masia | ||
| 72 | 3 ª Divisione Garibaldi Lombardia Aliotta | ||
| 73 | VI Zone (between Alessandria and Genoa) | Divisione Garibaldi Pinan Cichero | |
| 74 | Divisione Garibaldi Cichero | ||
| 75 | Brigata Caio | ||
| 76 | Divisione GL Matteotti | ||
| 77 | Divisione Garibaldi Coduri | Eraldo Fico | |
| 78 | XIII Piacenza | 1ª Divisione GL Piacenza | |
| 79 | Divisione Garibaldi Bersani Val d'Arda | ||
| 80 | Divisione Valnure | ||
| 81 | East-West Cisa Parma | Divisione Valceno | |
| 82 | Divisione Valtaro | ||
| 83 | Divisione Garibaldi Monte Orsaro | ||
| 84 | Divisione Cisa | ||
| 85 | Divisione Garibaldi Ricci | ||
| 86 | IV La Spezia | Divisione Garibaldi Picchiara | |
| 87 | Brigata Borrini | ||
| 88 | Divisione Garibaldi Centocroci | ||
| 89 | Brigata Muccini | ||
| 90 | Brigata Giustizia e Libertà | ||
| 90 | Reggio Emilia | Brigata Fiamme Verdi (RE) | |
| 91 | 1ª Divisione Garibaldi Reggiana | ||
| 92 | Modena | Divisione Modena Pianura | |
| 93 | Divisione Modena Armando | ||
| 94 | Divisione Modena Montagna. | ||
| 95 | Bologna | Divisione Bologna Pianura. | |
| 96 | Divisione Bologna Montagna | ||
| 97 | Forlì | Divisione Leggera Forlì | |
| 98 | Ravenna | Divisione Leggera Ravenna | |
| 99 | Ferrara | Brigata Ferrara | |
| 100 | Rovigo | Brigata Tasso | |
| 101 | Brigata Bonato | ||
| 102 | Plain of Verona | Brigata "Verona" | Commander "Redi" (Renato Tisato) |
| 103 | Brigata "Anita" | Commander "Gallo" (Cesare Albertini) | |
| 104 | Brigata "Stella Rossa" | Commander "Spartaco" (Armando Plazzi) | |
| 105 | Brigata "Adige" | Commander "Romeo" (Di Lorenzo Francesco) | |
| 106 | Brigata "Scaligera" | Commander "Cambrone" (Giovanni Ballarotto) | |
| 107 | Brigata "Italia" | Commander "Enzo" (Fiorenzo Olivieri) | |
| 108 | Brigata "Stella Pianura" | Commander "Siva" (Marcello Perazzolo) | |
| 109 | Brigata "Carlo Montanari" | Commander "Ettore" (Enzo Falcetta) | |
| 110 | Vicenza | Brigata Vicenza | Giacomo Prandina |
| 111 | Padua | Brigata Damiano Chiesa | Vito Olivetti |
| 112 | Brigata Silvio Trentin | ||
| 113 | Brigata Garibaldi (PD) | ||
| 114 | Brigata Lubian GL | ||
| 115 | Brigata Negri | ||
| 116 | Brigata Pierobon | ||
| 117 | Brigata Rutoli | ||
| 118 | Venezia Mestre | Brigata Ruspo | |
| 119 | Brigata Pellegrini | Antonio Pellegirini "Carlo" | |
| 120 | Brigata Piave (VE) | ||
| 121 | Brigata Erminio Ferretto | ||
| 122 | Brigata Iberati | ||
| 123 | Brigata Gramsci (VE) | ||
| 124 | Brigata Conti | ||
| 125 | Friuli | 5ª Divisione Garibaldi Osoppo Friuli | [14] |
| 126 | Divisione Carnia | ||
| 127 | Divisione Sinistra Tagliamento | ||
| 128 | Divisione Destra Tagliamento | ||
| 129 | Divisione Sud Arzino | ||
| 130 | Brigata Rosselli (Friuli). | ||
| 131 | Brigata Picelli | ||
| 132 | 3ª Divisione Garibaldi Osoppo Friuli | [14] | |
| 133 | 1ª Divisione Garibaldi Osoppo Friuli | ||
| 134 | Divisione Udine | ||
| 135 | 2ª Divisione Garibaldi Osoppo Friuli | [14] | |
| 136 | 4ª Divisione Garibaldi Osoppo Friuli | ||
| 137 | Treviso | Brigata Bortolato. | |
| 138 | Brigata Tito Speri | ||
| 139 | Brigata Furlan | Antonio Furlan | |
| 140 | Brigata Orerto | ||
| 141 | Padua - Treviso | Divisione Garibaldi Sabatucci | |
| 142 | Treviso | Brigata Zancanaro | |
| 143 | Brigata Badini | ||
| 144 | Brigata Treviso | ||
| 145 | Piave (Belluno) | Brigata 7º Alpini. | |
| 146 | Brigata Val Cordevole | ||
| 147 | Divisione Garibaldi Belluno | ||
| 148 | Brigata Fulmine | ||
| 149 | Divisione Garibaldi N. Nannetti | Francesco Pesce | |
| 150 | Brigata Piave | ||
| 151 | Monte Grappa | Divisione Monte Grappa | |
| 152 | Mount Ortigara (Asiago plateau) | Divisione Monte Ortigara | Commander Giacomo Chilesotti |
| 153 | Bolzano | Divisione Val dell'Adige | |
| 154 | Trento | Divisione Garibaldi "Ateo Garemi" | Commander "Alberto" (Nello Boscagli) |
| 155 | Verona (Lessini) | Brigata "Luciano Manara" | Commander "Paolo" (Luciano Dal Cero) |
| 156 | Brigata "Pierobon" | Commander "Elvio" (Bortolo Antonio Deganello) | |
| 157 | Brigata "Avesani" | Commander "Gianni" (Gianpietro Marini) | |
| 158 | Sondrio | 1ª Divisione Alpina GL Valtellina. | Commander "Camillo" (Giuseppe Motta) |
| 159 | Brescia | L 4ª Brigata Garibaldi Belotti | |
| 160 | Divisione Fiamme Verdi Tito Speri | ||
| 161 | Brigata GL Monte Suello | ||
| 162 | 7ª Brigata Matteotti | ||
| 163 | C 22ª Brigata Garibaldi (BS) | ||
| 164 | Divisione Fiamme Verdi Lunardi | ||
| 165 | Brigata GL Barnaba | ||
| 166 | Gruppo Brigata Apolitiche - III settore. | ||
| 167 | Formazione Chiari - V settore. | ||
| 168 | Bergamo | Divisione Garibaldi (BG) | |
| 169 | Divisione GL Orobica | ||
| 170 | Divisione Fiamme Verdi (BG) | ||
| 171 | Como Lecco | 1ª Divisione Garibaldi Lombardia. | |
| 172 | 2ª Divisione Garibaldi Lombardia | ||
| 173 | 16ª Divisione GL | ||
| 174 | Divisione Puecher | ||
| 175 | Brigata Piazza (Como) | ||
| 176 | Brigata Benetta | ||
| 177 | C 4ª Brigata Citterio | ||
| 178 | VI Zone (between Alessandria and Genoa) | Divisione Garibaldi Mingo | |
The following are the Divisional and Brigade commands of partisan formations which operated during the Resistance and had not been classified by Battaglia.
| No. | Operative areas | Formations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | VI Zone (between Alessandria and Genoa) | Battaglioni Matteotti Valbisagno | |
| 2 | Como- Lecco | 55ª Brigata F.lli Rosselli | See No. 172 of the previous table |
| 3 | Umbria | Brigata Garibaldi "Antonio Gramsci" | |
| 4 | Rome | Bandiera Rossa | |
| 5 | Marzabotto | Brigata Partigiana Stella Rossa | |
| 6 | Venice | Brigata partigiana Martiri di Mirano | |
| 7 | Massa | Battaglione Lucetti | |
| 8 | Friuli | Brigata Osoppo | See No. 125,132,133,135,136 of the previous table |
| 9 | Apuan Alps | Divisione partigiana Lunense | [13] |
| 10 | Ravenna (plain) | 28ª Brigata Garibaldi "Mario Gordini" | Arrigo Boldrini |
| 11 | Umbria | Brigata Risorgimento | |
| 12 | Pistoia | XI Zona Patrioti | |
| 13 | Tigullio | Divisione "Coduri" | Eraldo Fico |
| 14 | ... | Gruppo Patrioti della Maiella (Brigata Maiella) | Ettore Troilo |
| 15 | Romagna | 8ª Brigata Garibaldi Romagna | |
| 16 | VI Zone (La Spezia) | Battaglione Val di Vara (Brigata Giustizia e Libertà) | Commander Daniele "Dany" Bucchioni |
| 17 | Trentino (Tesino and Valsugana) | Battaglione Gherlenda (Brigata Gramsci) | Commander Isidoro Giacomin "Fumo" |
The Brigate Osoppo were coordinated for a period of 1944 by unified military command of division together with the Brigate Garibaldi while having the organizational autonomy. An example of this was during the government of the partisan Free Republic of Carnia.
Partisan formations abroad were significant and were formed by militars of former divisions of the Royal Italian Army located outside the current national borders at 8 September 1943, in the Balkans. Soldiers decided voluntarily to reorganize themselves in order to avoid the imprisonment by Nazis and to collaborate with local groups. [4] Among the formations, there were:
The Italian Resistance 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 from 1943 to 1945. As a diverse anti-fascist and anti-nazist movement and organisation, the Resistenza opposed Nazi Germany and its Fascist puppet state regime, the Italian Social Republic, which the Germans created following the Nazi German invasion and military occupation of Italy by the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS from 8 September 1943 until 25 April 1945.
Ferruccio Parri was an Italian partisan and anti-fascist politician who served as the 29th Prime Minister of Italy, and the first to be appointed after the end of World War II. During the war, he was also known by his nom de guerreMaurizio.
Giustizia e Libertà was an Italian anti-fascist resistance movement, active from 1929 to 1945. The movement was cofounded by Carlo Rosselli, Ferruccio Parri, who later became Prime Minister of Italy, Emilio Lussu, Sandro Pertini, who became President of Italy, and other Italian anti-fascist refugees.
Walter Audisio was an Italian partisan and communist politician, also known by his nom-de-guerreColonel Valerio. A member of the Italian resistance movement during World War II, Audisio was involved in the death of Benito Mussolini, and personally executed the dictator and his mistress Clara Petacci according to the generally accepted account of the event.
The National Liberation Committee was a political umbrella organization and the main representative of the Italian resistance movement fighting against Nazi Germany's forces during the German occupation of Italy in the aftermath of the armistice of Cassibile, while simultaneously fighting against Italian fascists during the Italian Civil War. It coordinated and directed the Italian resistance and was subdivided into the Central Committee for National Liberation (CCLN), which was based in Rome, and the later National Liberation Committee for Northern Italy (CLNAI), which was based in Milan. The CNL was a multi-party entity, whose members were united by their anti-fascism.
The Porzûs massacre was an intra-partisan massacre of the Italian resistance during late World War II, on 7 February 1945. It saw the killings of 17 partisans belonging to the Brigate Osoppo, a strongly Catholic formation, by communist partisans of the Gruppi di Azione Patriottica. Four members of Brigate Osoppo were killed when a group of them was ambushed, while the survivors were taken prisoner and summarily executed in the following days. The event is still the object of study and controversy in Italy.
Enrico Martini 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 of the Gold Medal of Military Valor.
Associazione Nazionale Partigiani d'Italia is an association founded by partisans and participants of the Italian Resistance against the Italian fascist regime and the subsequent Nazi occupation during World War II. ANPI was founded in Rome in 1944, as the war continued in northern Italy. It was constituted as a charitable foundation on 5 April 1945. It persists due to the activity of its anti-fascist members.
Giuseppina Tuissi, better known as Gianna was an Italian communist and partisan during World War II. She was part of the 52nd Brigata Garibaldi "Luigi Clerici". From September 1944, she was a collaborator of the partisan Luigi Canali and, with him, had an important role in the arrest and the execution of Benito Mussolini and Clara Petacci.
The Brigate Fiamme Verdi was an Italian Partisan Resistance Group, of predominantly Roman Catholic orientation, which operated in Italy during World War II.
The Brigate Garibaldi or Garibaldi Brigades were partisan units aligned with the Italian Communist Party active in the armed resistance against both German and Italian fascist forces during World War II.
The Brigate Osoppo-Friuli or Osoppo-Friuli Brigades were autonomous partisan formations founded in the headquarter of the Archbishop Seminary of Udine on 24 December 1943 by partisan volunteers of mixed ideologies, already active in Carnia and Friuli before the Badoglio Proclamation of 8 September. The partisans in this brigade adhered to various and often conflicting ideologies, including both secularism and Catholicism, as well as socialism and liberalism.
Women's Defence Groups, or Defence Groups for Women and for the Assistance of Freedom Fighters, was a multi-party organization of women during the Italian Resistance. Formed in Milan in November 1943, the initiative was spearheaded by the Italian Communist Party, as part their vision for a united front against fascism.
Pompeo Colajanni was an Italian politician and Resistance leader during World War II. After the war he held various political positions, including that of Undersecretary for Defense in the Parri and De Gasperi I cabinets and of member of the Italian Chamber of Deputies in 1975–1976.
The Corpo Volontari della Libertà was the unified command structure of the Italian Resistance during the Second World War, recognized both by the Allies and the "southern" Italian governments.
Ettore Enzo Fimiani Troilo was an Italian Resistance leader during World War II.
Vincenzo Moscatelli, better known as Cino Moscatelli was an Italian Resistance leader during World War II. After the war he became a politician in the Italian Communist Party, serving in the Italian Constituent Assembly, the Italian Senate and the Italian Chamber of Deputies.
The anarchist brigades of the Italian Resistance were active during the Second World War, especially in central and northern Italy.
The Badge of Honor for the "Volunteers of Freedom" Patriots is an award established by the Kingdom of Italy to recognize those who participated in the armed struggle of the Italian resistance movement or Italian Co-belligerent Forces against Axis forces in Italy during World War II or who refused to collaborate with Axis forces after being taken prisoner by Nazi Germany.
The Ministry of Occupied Italy was the government body of the Kingdom of Italy responsible for affairs in portions of Italy under Axis occupation during World War II. The ministry existed from December 1944 to July 1945.
