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45-778: Black Brigade may refer to: Black Brigades , Fascist paramilitary groups operating in northern Italy during the final years of World War II, and after the signing of the Italian Armistice in 1943 Certain Polish military units in World War II, including: 10th Motorized Cavalry Brigade (Poland) 10th Armoured Cavalry Brigade (Poland) 1st Armoured Division (Poland) Racially segregated military units in United States history, including: The Black Brigade ,

90-667: A 24-strong Loyalist military unit consisting largely of Black Loyalists, or formerly enslaved African Americans or who escaped to the British during the American Revolutionary War Black Brigade of Cincinnati , a military unit made up of African Americans organized during the Civil War to protect the city of Cincinnati in 1862 Fictional Black Brigade (film) , the DVD release title of

135-789: A black turtleneck 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 colours. Members of Black Brigades tended to wear the grey-green uniform pants, but a wide array of uniforms were issued and, especially in the 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

180-615: A dedicated structure, and to raise new forces. The Black Brigades were formed by 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

225-470: 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

270-464: A 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 collector's items. Rank insignias were the same as those prescribed for the Italian army; however, were rarely worn. Towards the end of the war, a specific rank system

315-564: A simple fourragère denoting rank. The Black Brigades were not actually brigade -sized units. The Italian word brigata has a looser meaning as a synonym of "group" or "assembly". Most Black Brigades were typically weak battalions or strong companies , 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

360-527: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Black Brigades On 25 July 1943 Italian dictator, Benito Mussolini , was arrested after the Italian Grand Council of Fascism ( Gran Consiglio del Fascismo ), with the support of King Vittorio Emanuele III , overthrew him and began negotiations with the Allies for Italy's withdrawal from

405-568: The Arditi , Italy's elite troops of World War I) and their loyalty to Benito Mussolini , the Duce (leader) of Fascism , to whom they swore an oath. The founders of the paramilitary groups were nationalist intellectuals, former army officers and young landowners opposing peasants' and country labourers' unions. Their methods became harsher as Mussolini's power grew, and they used violence and intimidation against Mussolini's opponents. In 1943, following

450-700: The Allies and the Italian partisans , 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. The Black Brigades were frequently involved in support of German units during anti-partisan operations which resulted in massacres of

495-709: The Blackshirts ( Italian : Camicie Nere , CCNN, singular: Camicia Nera ) or squadristi (singular: squadrista ), was originally the paramilitary wing of the National Fascist Party , known as the Squadrismo , and after 1923 an all-volunteer militia of the Kingdom of Italy under Fascist rule , similar to the SA . Its members were distinguished by their black uniforms (modelled on those of

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540-618: The National Republican Guard ( Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana , or GNR). Benito Mussolini was the leader, or Commandant–General and First Honorary Corporal, of the Blackshirts, but executive functions were carried out by the Chief of Staff , equivalent to an army general. The MVSN was formed in imitation of the ancient Roman army , as follows: The terms after the first are not words common to European armies (e.g.,

585-636: The North African Campaign ) and, later in 1942, a fourth ("M") and fifth division Africa were formed. Mussolini also pushed through plans to raise 142 MVSN combat battalions of 650 men each to provide a Gruppo di Assalto to each army division. The Gruppi consisted of two cohorts (each of three centuriae of three manipoli of two squadre each) plus Gruppo Supporto company of two heavy machine gun manipoli (with three HMG each) and two 81 mm mortar manipoli (with three mortars each). Later forty-one mobile groups were raised to become

630-705: The fall of the Fascist regime , the MVSN was integrated into the Royal Italian Army and disbanded. The Blackshirts were established as the Squadrismo in 1919 and consisted of many disgruntled former soldiers. It was given the task of leading fights against their bitter enemies – the Socialists. They may have numbered 200,000 by the time of Mussolini's March on Rome from 28 to 31 October 1922. In 1922

675-498: The squadristi were reorganized into the milizia and formed numerous bandiere , and on 1 February 1923, the Blackshirts became the Voluntary Militia for National Security ( Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale , or MVSN), which lasted until 8 September 1943 Armistice of Cassibile . The Italian Social Republic , located in the areas of northern Italy occupied by Germany, reformed the MVSN on 8 December 1943 into

720-638: The 1970 television movie Carter's Army about a squad of all black troops charged with securing an important hydro dam in Nazi Germany See also [ edit ] Pitch Black Brigade , the second album by the Norwegian band Vreid The Black Order Brigade , a translation of the French graphic novel political thriller Les Phalanges de l'Ordre Noir by Pierre Christin Topics referred to by

765-557: 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 Brigade. Other Axis nations: Blackshirts The Voluntary Militia for National Security ( Italian : Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale , MVSN ), commonly called

810-549: The Allies. Soon, a bloody civil war started in northern Italy. However, as soon as the fascist party in the RSI was reopened and reorganized as Republican Fascist Party ( 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

855-491: 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

900-506: The Black Brigades was the jawless death's head , 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 a 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

945-710: The Black Brigades with contempt. All these factors contributed to pushing the Black Brigades into political radicalization and increasingly hostile behaviour towards the population itself, among which they gained a fearsome reputation for 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

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990-567: The Blackshirts rifle battalions, but its platoons were overstrength (60 men each) and with only 1 × LMG in each platoon. Three CCNN Divisions were sent to participate in the Spanish Civil War as part of the Corpo Truppe Volontarie . The Blackshirt (Camicie Nere, or CCNN) Divisions contained regular soldiers and volunteer militia from the Fascist Party. The CCNN divisions were semi-motorised. The 3rd CCNN Division

1035-513: The Italian battaglione has cognates in many languages). Instead, they derive from the structure of the ancient Roman army . These units were also organised on the triangular principle as follows: The MVSN original organisation consisted of 15 zones controlling 133 legions (one per province ) of three cohorts each and one Independent Group controlling 10 legions. In 1929 it was reorganized into four raggruppamenti , but later in October 1936, it

1080-697: The Italian civilian population, like at the Sant'Anna di Stazzema massacre in Tuscany where the 36th (?) helped the SS kill the entire village population of around 560 persons in August 1944. Or the Vinca massacre where 162 civilians were executed and where the 40. Brigata nera “Vittorio Ricciarelli” di Livorno was involved. Members of Black Brigades were issued standard Italian army uniforms, and they tended to wear them with

1125-515: The 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

1170-454: 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. Their duties were: This measure was to be both a response to resistance attacks against fascist members, and to turn the PFR into

1215-442: 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. Many of their members were obscure figures evicted from the police or army, and conspicuous were also the hardline fascists who were pushed by resentment and revenge towards that part of

1260-407: The battalions which were distinguished in combat were designated M Battalions and those were the 8th, 16th, 29th, 71st, 81st, and 85th. The Blackshirts wore the same uniform as the Italian army with the addition of a black shirt and tie and a black fez . The uniform jacket had black flames with two ends on the collar in place of the insignia and the lictor bundles instead of the army's stars. There

1305-625: The designation M alongside their names in the Army OOB to indicate their status; that they had received specialist assault and combat training, or had proven themselves in combat and had received a battlefield promotion to this status. By the end of the Fascist regime, only eleven battalions had been fully formed. The MVSN fought in every theatre Italy did. Sixteen MVSN combat battalions served in Yugoslavia. Their numbers were: 3, 4, 8, 16, 29, 33, 54, 58, 61, 71, 81, 85, 115, 144, 162, 215. Six of

1350-735: The old Roman army as follows. Their ethos and sometimes their uniform were later copied by others who were influenced by Mussolini's fascism, some of which are listed below: "Blueshirts" can also refer to Canadian fascists belonging to the Canadian National Socialist Unity Party , the Chinese Blue Shirts Society and to the members of Falange Española , the most influential party within Franco's dictatorship in Spain . Additionally, both

1395-443: The 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. 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,

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1440-661: The paramilitary fascist Iron Guard members in Romania, the fascist Yugoslav Radical Union , and the successors to the Irish Blueshirts (the National Corporate Party , also founded by Eoin O'Duffy), wore green shirts. After the Armistice of Cassibile was signed, the Blackshirts were dissolved; in the pro-fascist Italian Social Republic they were replaced by the National Republican Guard and

1485-423: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Black Brigade . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Black_Brigade&oldid=1115416901 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

1530-492: The third regiment in Italian Army divisions as it was determined through operational experience that the Italian Army's binary divisions were too small in both manpower and heavy equipment. These mobile groups suffered heavy casualties due to being undermanned, underequipped and under-trained. In 1941, Mussolini decided to create twenty-two highly trained combat battalions called "M" Battalions . These battalions were given

1575-537: The units of the Blackshirts, except for the Moschettieri del Duce, which carried a small standard in black similar to those of the regular armed forces, were a modernized form of the standards used by the old Roman army. During the 1935–36 Second Italo-Ethiopian War against the Ethiopian Empire , seven CCNN Divisions were organized: The first six Divisions were sent to Ethiopia and participated in

1620-539: The war and in the Italian war crimes in Ethiopia . The seventh was deployed to Italian Libya but not fully equipped or trained before it was disbanded after the war had ended. The Blackshirts Rifle Battalions had three rifle companies but no MMG company. The rifle companies had three platoons (three squads with one LMG each). Each Legion had an MMG company with four platoons of three weapons each (plus two spares). The Blackshirts replacement battalions were organised as

1665-566: The war. The Italian government was taken over by Marshal Pietro Badoglio , who outlawed the National Fascist Party ( Partito Nazionale Fascista , PNF) and confiscated all of its assets. On 12 September Mussolini was rescued in the Gran Sasso raid by German Luftwaffe Fallschirmjäger (paratroopers) led by General Kurt Student and the Waffen-SS Obersturmbannführer (Lieutenant Colonel), Otto Skorzeny . He

1710-474: Was an all-black dress uniform worn by some officers and the Moschettieri del Duce ("The Leader's Musketeers", Mussolini's Guard). Mussolini as Comandante Generale was made Primo caporale onorario ( transl.  First honorary corporal ) in 1935 and Adolf Hitler was made Caporale onorario ( transl.  Honorary corporal ) in 1937. All other ranks closely approximated those of

1755-604: Was disbanded and consolidated with the 2nd CCNN Division in April 1937 after their defeat at Guadalajara . After the campaigns in Northern Spain ended in October 1937, the 2nd CCNN Division was consolidated with the 1st CCNN and renamed the XXIII de Marzo Division "Llamas Negras" . In 1940 the MVSN was able to muster 340,000 first-line combat troops, providing three divisions (1st, 2nd and 4th – all three of which were lost in

1800-571: 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 the RSI and the German occupants, and began to recruit armed clandestine formations for guerrilla and urban warfare, with support from

1845-557: 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 patterns as

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1890-848: Was reorganized into 14 zones controlling only 133 legions with two cohorts each one of men 21 to 36 years old and the other of men up to 55 years old. There were also special units in Rome, on Ponza Island and the black-uniformed Moschettieri del Duce ("The Leader's Musketeers", Mussolini's Guard), the Albanian Fascist Militia (four legions) and Milizia Coloniale in Africa (seven legions). The original organisation by Royal Decrees on 1 February 1923 and 4 August 1924 consisted of fifteen zones, as follows: Special militias were also organised to provide security police and gendarmerie functions, these included: The standards of each of

1935-736: 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 German-occupied northern Italy. As the Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale (MVSN, also known as " Blackshirts ", Camicie Nere ) had been disbanded in August by the terms of the armistice, the Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana

1980-544: Was to be first of all a combatant, and had to take arms for the defence 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 the 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

2025-399: Was very common in that period. Combat gear and carrying equipment was the same as 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. The Black Brigades wore

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