XTO Flottiglia Mas (Italian Social Republic)

The Xu ^{[N 1]} Flottiglia Mas (from 1 May 1944, with the unification of various battalions, renamed in Division fantry of marro ^[first] also known as Xª but ) was an independent military body, officially of the Infantry of Marina della Marina Republican National National Republic of the Italian Social Republic, active from 1943 to 1945. The XIA Flottiglia Mas in the North, under the command of the frigate captain Junio ​​Valerio Borghese following the armistice of Cassibile holds alliance agreements with the captain of Vascello Berninghaus of the German war navy.

During the two years they followed, he operated in coordination with the German departments, both to counter the ally advance after the landing of Anzio and on the Gothic line and in the Polesine, and in operations against Italian resistance with strong determination and significant losses. Activities during which the unit employed typical strategies of counter -tone and in some episodes he mucked of war crimes ^[2] , and finally in an attempt to defend the northeastern boundaries from the Iugoslav counter -offensive, also trying to affirm the Italianness of those regions in the face of the annexatione policies of the German occupant ^{[3] [4] [5]} supported by Serbian, Croatian and Slovenian collaborative elements ^[6] . Moreover, these attempts hindered by the Germans themselves did not obtain definitive results and the departments sent to Friuli were soon transferred beyond the Piave, to Thiene, by the Gauleiter Rainer, determined to maintain total control of the region ^[7] .

The XITO Mas Division surrendered on April 26, 1945 to the representatives of the National Liberation Committee (CLN) in the barracks of Piazzale Fiume (the current Piazza della Repubblica) in Milan after the flag ceremony ^[8] .

The armistice [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

In the confusion and flagitation of the armed forces caused by the circumstances of the armistice of 8 September, the XIO Flottiglia Mas (Self -Sealed Army Motorbarca – already called: Army Motobarca Svan in the First World War) unlike almost all the departments of the Royal Armed Forces He did not skid. The XITO remained in the south, constituted a unit called Mariassalto who participated in 1944 and in 1945 in a couple of actions, alongside homologous British units, to keep the port of La Spezia open, against the attempt of the Germans to sink ships to his entrance. The first of these actions took part Luigi Durand de la Penne once repatriated from captivity.

In the North, immediately after the armistice of September 8, many Marina riflemen of the Xito Flottiglia Mas returned home ^[9] or they take refuge on the hills waiting for the events ^[ten] , while the command stationed in the barracks of La Spezia did not skid and put in alarm at the time disciplinary orders ^[11] However, avoiding to destroy the small naval vehicles to the anchor outside the barracks of which he starts then fell momentarily in German hands ^[twelfth] . The same evening Junio ​​Valerio Borghese reached Admiral Aimone d’Aosta and unnecessarily tried together to contact Rome for confirmation of the armistice and receive orders ^[11] . The XITO MAS, continuing to remain without orders ^[13] , maintained the activity in the unchanged barracks and all the time the Italian flag remained on the flagpole ^[14] . Borghese also ordered to open fire against anyone who tried to attack the barracks ^[14] managing to reject some German attempts to disarm the rifles ^[15] . On 9 September the officers gathered to decide the way to take and bourgeois reiterated his intention to continue the war against the Anglo -American, choosing the alliance with Germany. On 11 September he gathered the sailors stationed in La Spezia explaining the situation and giving permission to take leave of those who were not felt to continue the war ^[16] . The majority took leave ^[16] .

The reconstitution [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

He would later explain this action by saying that he had done this “to redeem the military honor of Italy, regain the estimate of Germany and bring the two nations on the alliance plan” (according to his own words taken from an interview granted in post -war to the journalist and historian Ruggero Zangrandi). The tenth assumed, at least officially, entirely apolitical and non -partisan attitude, so much so that to be framed in the marines of the XIO Mas it was necessary not to be enrolled in any political party.

Borghese therefore squeezed on September 12 directly with the captain of Vascello Berninghaus of the German war navy, the Kriegsmarine, a singular alliance that allowed the continuation of the activity of the XIt Mas with the third Reich, preserving the flag (to which the emblem of the Savoy) and Italian uniform, albeit under German operational control.

Borghese-Berlinghaus agreement September 14, 1943

La Spezia, 14-9-1943 1) The XIO Flottiglia M.A.S. It is a complex unit belonging to the Italian Navy, with complete autonomy in the logistical, “organic”, justice and disciplinary, administrative field; 2) is an ally of the Germanic armed forces with equal rights and duties; 3) beats Italian war flag; 4) is recognized to those who are part of the right to use each weapon; 5) is authorized to recover and arm, with Italian flags and crews, the Italian units found in Italian ports; Their operational use depends on the command of the Germanic Navy; 6) The bourgeois commander is the recognized leader, with the rights and duties inherent in this assignment. Berninghaus Captain of vessel J. V. Borghese Commander

The Borghese project in mid -September joined about half of the two hundred officers present at the Spezia headquarters. The others asked regular license, granted by the commander ^[17] . Soon they joined what would have formed the nucleus of the future autonomous formation of the Decima Mas in the social republic the three hundred and fifty marines in command of the captain of Corvetta Umberto Bardelli.

Since the very first days after the armistice, young volunteers, often minors, attracted by the legend of the heroic deeds of the “pigs” and the fame of the bourgeois commander, celebrated by the propaganda posters that covered Italian cities began to arrive. The rolins of the tenth then came to count a total of 20,000 men, the extent of a infantry division. ^[4] . Deputy Commander of the Division was chosen the frequented captain Luigi Carallo, who was killed in December 1944.

Other elements that gave the young people of the social Republic of popularity remarkable to the body were the camaraderie that existed between the officers and the sailors (institution of the single ration for sailors and officers and the uniform of the same cloth) and its non -conformism (less formal greeting Compared to the traditional fees of the Navy) and the promotion earned on the field and not with seniority or competitions. The regulation of the tenth – revolutionary for the Italian armed forces of the time – was a derivation of Garibaldian voluntarism and the particular type of commercialism of the submarines, from whose row bourgeois, bardelli and other leaders of the body came.

The founding ideology of the body was based on nationalism and fighting, in search of “beautiful death” in battle and heroism “to redeem the honor of the Italian nation” (in the eyes of the volunteers who enlisted, betrayed by the armistice of September eight, which ended with the collapse of the army, the delivery of the ships of the Navy and the escape of the sovereign and Badoglio to the South, leaving the country in the chaos).
This found expression in the motto of the body “for the honor and the flag of Italy” and in the Scudetto in which an X were drawn by a skull with a rose in the mouth and in the hymn of the tenth, written by Borghese’s wife on Notes of an operetta song. ^[18] The image of the skull with the rose in the mouth came from the captain of Corvetta Salvatore Todaro: shortly before he died he had expressed the desire for a distinctive for the XITO that made the idea that death in combat was a sweet thing, like the perfume of a flower.

Despite the premise of wanting to participate only in the war for the “liberation of Italy invaded” the Decima departments were soon involved by the Germans in the counter -non -border operations, but the officers were left free to take leave without consequences if they had refused to raise the weapons against other Italians ^[19] . The exasperation and ferocity to which the civil war arrived led some elements of the tenth to stain in war crimes, such as the shooting of prisoners, the capture of hostages between civilians, the torture of partisans (or alleged civilians) captured. However, the Aja Convention was applied which did not allow the shooting of prisoners, the capture of hostages among civilians by right of retaliation.

The XIA MAS of Borghese rapidly increased its numbers, both with regular enrollments and accepting in its own rows of other departments (and even ex-partisans), attracted by the best wages, by the peculiar regulation of the tenth and above all by the prospect of being able to fight there against the Anglo -American. On the other hand, the tenth was one of the units of RSI who suffered less for desertions (instead epidemic in other units, especially in the national republican army). Borghese had sanctioned the death penalty for the desertion and cowardice in the face of the enemy well before this penalty was extended to the other weapons and armed forces of the RSI. ^[20]

Relations between XTO and RSI [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

There were numerous organizational problems that had materialized for the new body, both for the objective economic and military conditions of northern Italy, and due to the difficulties raised by the German and republican authorities.
Borghese shop directly with Nazi Germany the terms of his collaboration with the axis. This from the point of view of the legitimacy of the body and its subsequent insertion of the RSI in the staff posted many problems, and characterized the relationships between Borghese and RSI, so much so that some authors are struggling to consider the Xito Mas of Borghese a body of the social Republic Italian, but a real Franco body or Ventura company Inserted in the context of the axis forces: in reality, the XITO and the RSI maintained difficult relationships, because the political authority of the RSI tried hard to bring all the various armed and police forces back under its centralized control (as only The monopoly of the use of force is granted to the state, according to the law). On the other hand, Borghese had obtained legitimacy from the Germans, through the captain of Vascello Berlinghaus of the Kriegsmarine, with the recognition to fight under Italian flag, obtaining wide autonomy. While responding, in practice, to the German command and administratively by the Ministry of Republican Defense, the XITO MAS was formally equated to the Wehrmacht, and in practice it was a frank body. ^[21] The openly autonomistic behavior against the republican authorities (up to the arrogance) – to which formally the tenth should have belonged and on which administratively depended, having his men sworn according to the formula provided by the Republican government – caused many friction with other bodies of the Social Republic And even the ventilated possibility that Borghese attempted a coup against Mussolini.
Following the voices circulating on this eventuality, bourgeois, convened in Gargnano, was placed at the arrest on January 14, 1944. The voice of the arrest of bourgeois, through fortuitous circumstances, came to the command of the tenth, which even evaluated the hypothesis of marching On Salò. Probably the accident was also solved with the mediation of the Germans, who did not want an intestine struggle among their allies. ^[22] Everything was solved in a short time with the release of bourgeois and the following dismissal of the Undersecretary to the Navy, Ferruccio Ferrini, by Mussolini, who replaced him with the recipient of Giuseppe Sparzani. Borghese became subcapo of General Staff and had all the Operational Activities of the Navy to his orders. ^[23]

Borghese, on the other hand, had always flaunted contempt for parties and had the propensity for an organicist and militarist company model according to the model he made with the tenth. In the Xito Mas of Borghese the “was never done Greetings to the Duce “, but only the greeting” Tenth sailors! Tenth commander! “(Of this the same bourgeois was accused by those who wanted to be exhausted from the command of the tenth).

After the alliance with the Germans, the new body dedicated himself to the military organization in order to be able to go to the front to fight the Anglo-American. On the evening of March 3, 1944 ^{[24] [25]} The “Barbarigo” battalion (the first infantry department of the Navy, led by Bardelli) entered online near Anzio and Nettuno, where he was employed against the allies during the landing of Anzio, ^{[26] [27] [28]} However, operating to the 175th German division.

The division [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

The various infantry departments, with the 3rd San Marco regiment and the 1st including the “Barbarigo”, were grouped in the Marina “navy” division , established on May 1, 1944.
After the route followed to the breakthrough of Cassino, the Decima departments were employed in a disorganic way also in police operations and against guerrilla warfare in northern Italy against the partisans, while on the Gothic line front the “wolf”, the “wolf were sent in 1945 “Parachutist swimmers” or “NP” (Polesine), and the artillery group “Colleoni” (on the Senio river).
These departments had heavy losses in combat during the last enemy offensive, and received numerous decorations from the Germans; The “wolf” and the “np”, after the collapse of the green line, managed to fall back on Venice, where they remained until the arrival of the allies, to which they stopped with the honor of the weapons.

In 1945 Borghese reorganized the Decima division in the Veneto on two combat groups (one of which with incomplete ranks, because, as we have seen, two battalions and an artillery group were aggregated to the German divisions on the green line). The goal was to constitute a large mass of maneuver to be moved to Trieste and Fiume to avoid cities the predictable Titina occupation, while contacts were intensified with the secret, American and British secret services to encourage Italian-English landing in Istria in Istria . However, the precipitate of events and complete control of the sky by the allied side prevented the decima division from reaching the positions provided (nor on the other hand there was the promised Italian-British landing). The departments thus remained immobilized arrested the allied troops with the honor of arms between April 29 and May 2, 1945.

The eastern front [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

Immediately before the establishment of the Social Republic, the Germans started a policy of annexation of the three Venezie, bringing together the provinces of Bolzano, Trento, Belluno, at the Gau dell’Alto Tirolo, behind the pretext of the establishment of an area of ​​operations known with the name of Alpine foothills , and those of Udine, Gorizia, Trieste, Pola, Fiume and Ljubljana (already aggregated as an autonomous province to Venice Giulia) at the Gau della Carinzia as part of the area of ​​operations called Adriatic coastal country (Zara remained, even under German military occupation, under the control of the RSI authorities).

Above all, the oriental lands, already threatened with annexation from the Ustasha Croatians allies of the Nazis, were the scene of harsh clashes with the partisans of Tito, who – organized in formations of considerable size and war potential – tried to trespass in Venice Giulia in order to claim, just the right principle of use your property , the annexation of this to Yugoslavia.

Therefore the tenth had a significant use on the Istria and Carso front and in the rear of the German army especially in 1944, collaborating with the Germans in the clash with the titine partisans (together with the other five Italian regiments framed in the German armed forces as militia Territorial defense and the departments and coastal defense batteries). The clashes with the Titini often assumed the typical aspect of the guerrilla war, with cruel actions and atrocities which followed equally cruel raids on the side of the Nazi -fascist, while usually the troops Titine refused the battle in the open field, where they could not yet have reason for the Germans and of their allies.

On the eastern border the battalions Sagittarius , Barbarigo , Wolf , supported by artillery groups St. George ed Alberto da Giussano and by the battalions Parachutist swimmers , Guastators Avalanche and genius And arrow they were involved in the Aquila operation ( Adler action ) for the destruction of the forces of the IX Korpus Iugoslavo, and therefore the Lightning He was used to stem the attempts of Iugoslav invasion of Venezia Giulia, remaining involved in a bitter clash with the Iugoslav partisans in the battle of Tarnova, where he was almost destroyed, however managing to bar of enemy forces.

Later the German authorities demanded by Mussolini that the Decima departments were withdrawn from Venezia Giulia, where even bloody clashes had occurred with the Iugoslav collaborators ^[29] And with Gauleiter Rainer himself. Only some minor units remained that presided over the islands of the Qualnaro and Trieste. ^[30]

In Istria therefore only a few hundred men of the tenth remained in various garrisons alongside the German departments, mostly captured by the titini during the occupation of Venezia Giulia together with the Germans and other soldiers of the RSI and massacred in the sadly well -known Foibe, or deported to the Iugoslav prison camps.

The others died alongside the last German resistance nuclei in the fighting that flared up with the advance of the titini towards Friuli and Venezia Giulia. Together with these remains of the German army, they had to resist to cover the retreat of the bulk of the German troops aquailed in Istria and Slovenia to Austria. The chaos that shocked the German troops without unique orders and divided in trying to resist or retire also dragged the republican departments, and among these obviously those of the tenth.

The last outbreaks of resistance that continued until the beginning of May were all crushed by the titini, fighting or – more often – promising life saving in case of surrender. Among the latter fights, noteworthy what took place in Pula. Here, after the signing of the surrender of the latest German troops flanked by some departments of the tenth decimated by the battle to the Iugoslave forces on May 8, 1945, the German admiral who had signed the capitulation was immediately after shot together with a group of his officers, Together with a dozen Italian officers of the Decima Mas.

Shortly before the occupation of Istria by Iugoslava, bourgeois sought an unlikely alliance with the allies to face the Iugoslav army of Tito, who was quickly advancing: in those times, he was alive in many Nazi and fascists the hope of Getting to an armistice with the western allies in order to continue the war against the Soviet Union and Bolshevism in general. ^{[thirty first]}

Similarly, between September and December 1944, contacts with the partisan brigade Osoppo were taken, in order to constitute a mixed body that could organize a common defense of that front, but the English command to which the Osoppo referred, albeit with Some hesitations refused the offer. Shortly afterwards in Porzûs all the main exponents of the partisan brigade were killed as they are accused of betrayal and for having given hospitality to a young man, Elda Turchetti, denounced as a spy by Radio London upon reporting of British agents, and the attempt of collaboration did not have following.

In the last months of the conflict, in order to defend the Italianness of Istria, bourgeois started contacts with the Royal Navy in the South (Admiral de Courten) to encourage an Italian-high landing in Istria and save the oriental lands from the advance of the forces Iugoslave ^[32] . The landing designed by the Italian Navy of the South would have made use of the support of the fascist and tenth formations, with or without the allied intervention ^[33] . The English opposition made this plan fail ^[34] , not wanting to take Stalin after the Yalta agreement ^[35] And thus favoring the advance of the Iugoslavs, who also had the active support of the British Royal Navy.

Involvement in the civil war [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

The tenth , born to continue the war against the Anglo -Americans, was initially spared by the partisan and gappisti actions, until January 23, 1944, when a dynamite attack jumped to the spice the tram that connected the city center with the headquarters of the tenth in the San Bartolomeo barracks, causing The death of three riflemen of Marina and two citizens.

At this point, however, his members were placed in front of the free choice to take leave or continue with the civil war

Following this episode, the tenth sent the departments in support of the Germans for a raking in the mountains overlooking La Spezia, during which there were no fire clashes, but only seizures of weapons.

The first retaliation made by the tenth dates back to March 1944, when the Parma-La Spezia train was blocked by the partisans to free some prisoners that the fascists had to transport to Parma and, in the action, died the second lieutenant Gastone Carlotti of the X Mas, the MANUFTIENTEnte Domenico Piropan, the Republican National Guard Luigi Comelli and the military Riziero Biancardi was seriously injured. ^[36] . The tenth ordered a raking, during which 13 partisans were surprised: four died in the fire clash and nine were brought to La Spezia. Of these, a minor was released, and the other eight were shot. Moving the units in Piedmont to the tenth, participation in the operations of great police was increasingly requested, requests to which the training always adhered to reluctance and providing available to the company less than the company ^[37] .

To face the increasingly frequent actions of the partisans, a special “company or” (operational) is constituted, consisting of 120 men under the command of Lieutenant Umberto Bertozzi. On the other hand, his relationship with bourgeois and with the commands of the tenth is not clear: it seems rather plausible that called the company “or” has been maltolled what is necessary to meet the urgencies of spring-summer 1944, and as soon as possible loose and its elements sent to the detachment “Milan” ^[38] .

However, on July 4, 1944 the episode of the killing of the commander Umberto Bardelli pushed bourgeois to return to his decision not to employ his men in the counter -binding. So from autumn 1944 the tenth was also massively involved in the civil war against Italian partisans, deploying impressive strength and violence.

«While the other formations operated in an anti -partisan function, the tenth expected that the partisans attacked and then proceeded, with reluctance, to the anti -partisan war. However, the difference is very thin, given the civil war. In any case, at least in the leaders and intentions, the tenth did not want to fight against other Italians, but to complete the commitment of honor towards the nation concluding the war even with a defeat. This determined, in some cases, moments of cavalry and respect between the two parties in struggle and even some momentary political agreement ”

( Preface by Giuseppe spoken to the volume of Sergio Nesi, “Junio ​​Valerio Borghese”, cit. )

On July 8, 1944 Bardelli personally went in search of the guardiarina Gaetano Oneto, a deserter of the “Sagittarius” who, together with other riflemen, had fled with the Battalion case. Arriving in the village of Ozegna with a escort, he found himself face to face with the guerrillas of the “Matteotti” training in command of the partisan Piero Urati, said Piero Piero . To avoid a fratricidal clash, Bardelli deposed the weapons and ordered his own to do the same. Thus began to parliamentary with the partisans to obtain the delivery of the deserter, in an atmosphere of growing tension. After agreeing on the exchange of the Oneto deserter with partisan prisoners, Bardelli left the conference with Piero Piero , but found herself surrounded by “Matteotti” men. Piero Piero He ordered the surrender to the Republican commander, who refused screaming “Barbarigo does not give up! Fire!”. In the rapid gunfight that followed Bardelli and 10 riflemen were killed. The corpses were recomposed in the current oratory of the country and the wounded edited by some local religious. The prisoners, on the other hand, were captured by the partisans and brought “to the mountains”, where they would undergo various pressures (including the “false shooting”) to induce them to desert and pass with the “Matteotti”. They were then released a week later, following an exchange with partisan prisoners.

Seven partisans and a civilian also fell ^[39] The propaganda office of the tenth the body of Bardelli was found without two golden teeth, while two fallen were found by the villagers piled up against a wall and smeared with steco and with straw in the mouth (according to some due to transport with a dirty cart, but this version is rejected by other historiography ^[40] ).

Following this bourgeois event he gathered the general staff of the tenth by communicating his decision and reaffirming the voluntary character of the tenth. Anyone who had not wanted to stay in the tenth, who was born to fight the Anglo-American front, and who from that moment was involved in the civil war, would have obtained unlimited leave: fifteen officers on two hundred asked and obtained to be put in leave for not having to participate in the civil war. ^[41]

After another two months of ambushes and raids, a new challenge came between the departments of the tenth and the formation of Piero Piero which led to the Constitution, a more unique than rare case, of a mixed execution platoon for the execution of the Oneto deserter. ONETO after being degraded he is shot near Configlietto Val Soana by a picket commanded by the Montanari vessel lieutenant made up of six riflemen of the Barbarigo battalion and six partisans of the De Franchi brigade on September 4, 1944. The execution witnessed a stake of twenty riflemen of the tenth and twenty partisans. ^{[3] [40]} .

Despite this episode (which had the arrest of Piero Piero by order of other partisan leaders, also following the exhaustions carried out by the group in Valchiusella. The discontent of the population resulted in an investigation by the partisans of the area that had ceased the requisitions and thefts of food and livestock), the tenth found itself involved more and more deeply in the civil war. Undergoing – as the allied military force of the Germans and like the military forces of these – attacks, catches and ambushes ^[42] In growing numbers, his men reacted more and more violently, until they perpetrate real war crimes against civil populations.

Among the most significant episodes, the summary execution of the partisan Garibaldi Ferruccio Nazionale, called “Carmela”, whose body, immortalized in a macabre photo, has become one of the symbols of the ferocity to which during the civil war, is framed. In Ivrea, the National Partisan decided to attentive to the life of the military chaplain of the Decima, Don Augusto Bianco. Blocked with a hand bomb in hand, just an instant before he could throw it, he was summarily executed on July 29 through hanging in the town hall square ^[43] . The body, left hanging with a sign around the neck that has become sadly famous for a photo taken by a rifle (see photo), should have remained hanging as a warning for the population, which was grouped and made to parade in front of its corpse ^[44] . According to the testimonies of some partisans (however collected subsequently to the facts), at the time of the national implementation it was practically already dead due to the torture suffered by the riflemen of the company “or”, generally considered the most violent of the tenth, and, always According to these testimonies, in the context of torture the language would also have been severed ^{[45] [forty six]} . However, after a few hours, an officer of the “lightning” battalion, not considering a similar show of ferocity with the honor of his department, ordered that the body was deposed, and Christianly buried in the city cemetery, in the presence of a picket of rifles. ^[3] .

The particular crudeness that characterized the actions of the tenth during the anti -partisan operations was explained thus by the historian Renzo De Felice:

“Typical in this sense are the three stages that are often found in their attitude […] first, the tenth fights for the honor of the homeland; His war is against the invading enemy of Italy and not ideological and party, which divides the Italians instead of unite them in the name of the homeland, and, therefore, the tenth does not fight against the partisans; Second, if the partisans are fierce against it, take off his deaths; Third, any form of clemency towards the partisans dictated by the government or by the PFR by political considerations cannot be accepted and does not concern the tenth, the active enemies of the homeland, those who kill those who defend their honor and the territory cannot find clemency. ”

( Renzo De Felice, Mussolini the ally , Einaudi )

War crimes [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

The war crimes of the Xth Mas took place essentially in countries and hamlets, where the partisan activity was concentrated. The following episodes against the tenth during the trial of his commander after the war were mentioned:

• Valmozzola (PR): March 17, 1944 Shotting of eight partisans taken prisoner after the killing of two officers of the wolf battalion of the Xito Flottiglia Mas Carlotti and Pieropan ^[47] .
• Oven (fraction of Massa), June 13, 1944: 68 people (including the marshal of the carabinieri Ciro Siciliano, who tried to prevent the raking), mostly civil and a few partisans, are killed by a department of SS and by men Of the company “O” of the Decima in command of Umberto Bertozzi (who according to some sources was the one who selected who among the prisoners would have been shot) in what is remembered as the “oven massacre”. ^{[48] [49]}
• Borgo Ticino (No), 13 August 1944: 12 civilians are shot, in collaboration with the SS, while the country is sacked and set on fire, in what is remembered as the “massacre of Borgo Ticino”. For the first time, the Kesselring of retaliation is applied for the injury of four German soldiers: the country was asked for compensation of 300,000 lire to compensate for the fact ^[50] And to avoid execution, but after having received the figure, as admitted to the trial by Captain Krumhar who led the group of SS, the shooting and subsequent violence occurred equally. ^{[51] [52]}
• Guadine (Fraz. Di Massa), August 24, 1944: retaliation on the civilian population, believed to support the partisans, with 13 civilians killed ^[53] . The country and its hamlets were almost completely burned and destroyed. The operation probably also aimed to block any fugitives from the simultaneous action of the 16th. SS-Freiwilligen-Panzergrenadier-Division Reichsführer SS, under the orders of the major Walter Reder and the men of the black brigade of Massa, who was taking place in Vinca ( Municipality of Fivizzano). ^{[54] [55]}
• Castelletto Sopra Ticino (NO), November 2, 1944, after the killing by the partisans of the second lieutenant of Vascello Leonardi, exemplary execution: an officer of the Xito Mas makes five partisans Garibaldi detained in Arona shot in public in public ^{[56] [57]} , after collecting an obligatory crowd to assist. ^[58]
• Crocetta del Montello (TV): torture of six partisans through flogging and burns with rags soaked in petrol and lit ^{[59] [60]} . The six partisans, who took prisoners from the lieutenant by the 10th Mas Filippo Mariucci, perhaps following the delay of another partisan, had been indicated as the managers of the kidnapping and the killing that took place on 7 October 1944 of the brigadier of the carabinieri Ettore Buggio therefore were summarily shot along the external wall of the Ciano del Montello cemetery on January 2, 1945 ^{[sixty one] [62]}

In the process that Borghese suffered after the war, a testimony also suggested that in some of the reprisals they were protagonists, the men of the tenth wore German uniforms, probably to have them attributed exclusively to the Nazi army. ^[52] .

In the sentence of indictment of the trial against Junio ​​Valerio Borghese, the accusations were to have carried out, among other things:

«Continuous and fierce actions to rake about partisans and anti -fascist elements in general, sometimes in close collaboration with the Germanic armed forces, actions that usually ended with the capture, the particularly heinous toilets, the deportation and the killing of the arrested, e All this always in order to help make the rear of the enemy calm, so that these could more easily counteract the step to the liberating armies […] unjustified actions of looting and violent and arbitrary removal of belongings of all kinds, what that Most of the time he resolved in an unfair personal profit of those who participated in these operations ”

( From the sentence of indictment of the trial against bourgeois, article of the ANPI website [63] )

However, in the device of the sentence, Borghese was sentenced to 12 years in prison and exclusion from public offices only for “military collaboration” with the Germans, excluding his involvement in war crimes as his participation in murder and looting crimes ^{[sixty four]} .

During the sixties six hundred and ninety -five files concerning the Nazi -fascist massacres in Italy were “provisionally archived” by the military attorney general, mainly for reasons of political convenience, and the various proceedings were blocked, thus guaranteeing the impunity for those still in life. Subsequently, in 1994, during the search for tests against Erich Priebke for the massacre of the Fosse Ardeatine, the existence of these files was discovered (found in what the wardrobe of shame has been defined as journalistically): among these VE They were several referred to facts made by staff of the Decima Mas of Borghese. ^[65] .

Behavior in war [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

The troops involved in the operations of “Great Police” or Controguerriglia against the Italian partisan forces have been the subject of numerous criticisms. The XITO MAS was active in large police operations in Monferrato, Langhe, Canavese, Carnia, Val di Susa and Val d’Ossola. The men of the tenth were stained with war crimes, such as torture, reprisals, summary shotguns.

Some belonging to the Decima Mas also distinguished themselves in looting and theft actions to the detriment of the civilian population, persevering in the abuse of their authority so as to make the legitimate and non -military authorities worry:

«The illegal actions committed by the members of the XTE MAS continue with constant concern. Thefts, robberies, serious provocations, stopped, searches, incorrect contents in public, represent almost the special feature of these military. Also on November 12, 1944, among other things, around 20 four of them presented themselves in a warehouse of fabrics: after immobilizing the custodian they removed four hills for a huge value […]. Citizenship, in addition to being alarmed for these continuous harassment, wonders as them, which should be subjected to a rigid military discipline, can act impunity and without any possibility of punishment […]. It would therefore be advisable that the whole department, including command, is made to remove from Milan. ”

( Precisely for the Duce of Mario Bassi, prefect of Milan [63] )

Sergio Nesi, a former XIO officer, claims that Borghese and the tenth held a courageous and intrepid behavior in front of the enemy (he talks about it in this regard to the battles on the Nettuno front , on the green line, during the Aquila operation and in the battle of Tarnova) ^[66] And he claims that overall the desertions of the tenth would have been significantly lower than those recorded in other armed forces and departments of the RSI. ^{[sixty seven]} Many theft and looting actions attributed to departments of the RSI or Germans would be, according to him, instead to be attributed to the numerous bands of common criminals that infested the territory, which masked behind uniforms of the tenth that they would have managed to obtain during the budding of the 8 September 1943, cut the civilian population with relative impunity. Also according to what reported by Nesi, operations of the same kind – for the purpose of anti -fascist propaganda – would have been conducted, always with uniforms of the tenth in some way stolen, by partisan nuclei (according to Nesi, in the area of ​​Liguria and Cunense) ^[68] .

Nesi then argues that some police reports would prove from republican offices and commands hostile to the tenth, who would have pursued not the purpose of repairing the numerous wrongs suffered by civilians, but that of putting it in bad light at the high commands as well as Mussolini himself in the The scope of the fierce struggles for the power that characterized the social republic. However, these relationships would have been magnified and exaggerated. ^[69] In fact, to finance the war against the Anglo -American, the black market was also employed, purchasing weapons in Switzerland through a smuggling of calm assets. The same prefect of Milan expressed concern for the numerous illegal actions committed by rifles.

Always according to the former officer, towards the Germans the tenth was not, as supported by others, servile and collaborative, but instead he would always follow an attitude of dubbing clever, trying to subtract any type of refueling and material from the ally with Any means (including corruption, theft, drunkenness and deception). According to the former officer, the beating and arrest of the Gauleiter Friedrich Rainer, an episode that led to the almost total expulsion of the bourgeois forces from Venezia Giulia, subjected to the “Operation Area”, is also to be framed in this perspective. ^[70] .

The end of the war [ change | Modifica Wikitesto ]

Towards the end of the war, the Xito Mas of Borghese moved his headquarters to Piedmont. On April 26, the first of the three days of insurrection that led to the liberation, Borghese dissolved the tenth at the barracks of Piazzale Fiume (today’s Piazza della Repubblica) in Milan.

The various departments of the tenth followed several destinies, depending on the place and enemy to whom they stopped ^{[3] [4] [71]} .

• The battalions “Barbarigo”, “Lupo”, “Np” and “Arrow” and the “Colleoni” Artillery Group, employed in defense of the Gothic line, after having undergone very serious losses in the fighting against the British and Commonwealth forces, retired In small nuclei beyond the Adige towards Padua in Albignasego (“Lupo” and “Barbarigo”) where they arrested when they were reached by the enemy, obtaining the honor of weapons. The “arrow” and the “Colleoni” were totally destroyed in the battle, and ceased to act as organic units since the last days of April 1945, folding disorderly.
• The unwanted departments in the Decima division in the Vicenza area (“Sagittarius”, “Fulmine”, “avalanche”, “Castagnacci”, “San Giorgio”, “Alberto da Giussano”, “Pegaso”, “Vega”) attested the arrival of the Weapon-end enemy, after an initial attempt to reach Venezia Giulia to stem the Iugoslav invasion, frustrated by the total air control by the allied aviations. These departments also arrested with the honor of arms. The concentrated departments in Bassano del Grappa instead confronted with the partisans, sometimes fighting sometimes surrendering: in the latter case the men who delivered were often the subject of fierce summary executions.
• The Infantry Departments of Marina in Venice (BTG. “Serenissima” and Parachain Swimmer -np- and others) arrested with the honor of weapons to the allies on April 30, 1945, at the former Gil Naval College in Sant’Elena ^[72] .
• The territorial departments in Turin and Milan followed the fate of the other republican units present there. Those of Turin were unable to fall back to the “Franca Zone” of Ivrea to surrender to the Americans on the following May 5, and they followed to fight in the barracks besieged by the partisans. After finishing the ammunition, they stopped, and over 60 of the survivors were briefly shot. Those of Milan suffered the impact of the partisan insurrection on April 26th.
• The departments in the Novarese (btg. “Scirè”) were involved in fire clashes with the partisans. Those who armed behind the promise of having saved their lives were largely passed through weapons.
• The departments in Istria, in Fiume and on the islands of Carnaro were systematically annihilated by the Iugoslavs. The “San Giusto” battalion of Trieste instead managed to reach Venice by Mare where he surrendered to the allies on April 30th.
• The Marina departments in Sanremo released on April 26 for a last mission against the Franco-Americans, after which their vehicles sank and dispersed men. Those who were captured by the partisans were briefly killed.

The fallen ascertained in war and counter -tenth operations of the tenth resemble more than 600. To these must be added the men killed summarily at the end of the hostilities after giving up the weapons, in not specified (remember, for example, the massacre of Valdobbiadene of the parachutic swimmers of the Decima, NP, in May 1945, where 50 prisoners of war were killed).

Departs of Subpti Decima were employed against the forces of Scenic and Anglo -American refueling forces. Employed almost exclusively Mas and fast motorboats modified in torpedoes, MTM. The naval departments were stationed in Genoa (Tyrrhenian Command) together with the “Gamma Men” (divers), while the 1st and 2nd Mas Squadron were stationed in La Spezia.

At the end of the war, the “Tyrrhenian Command” made contact with the CLN club, taking effective countermeasures in contrast to the work of the German spoilers who intended to blow up the port installations. The divers of the department disarmed the 80 demolition offices prepared by the Germans and self -employed their Mas and Vas units and deliver to the partisans. ^{[seventy three]}

Regulation of the tenth

Rancio is unique for everyone, officers, non -commissioned officers and sailors The uniform cloth is the same for everyone All promotions are suspended until the end of the war, except those by the merit of war on the field The recruitment is exclusively voluntary The death penalty for the military of the “tenth” who are recognized guilty of theft or looting, desertion, or cowardice in the face of the enemy

• Command Xito Mas (c.f. Junio ​​Valerio Borghese)
  • Press Office and Propaganda (s.t.v. Pasca Piredda ^[74] ) ^{[N 2]}
  • Women’s auxiliary service (SAF) (Vol. Fede Arnaud Pocek) ^{[N 3]}
  • Administrative Service (T.Col. Ivan Tiana)
  • Health service
  • Supply service (chapter Guido DL Judge)
  • Naval weapon genius service (Col. Mantovani)
  • Cervisable services (C.C. Mario masciulli)
  • Motorization service (Magg. Angelo Antico ^{[N 4]} )
  • Radio Telegraphy service (T.Col. Pietro Rosselli)
  • Information service (chap. Renato Carnevale) ^{[N 5]}
  • Justice and Discipline Office (T.Col. Ivan Tiana)
  • Assistance Office (vol. Luigia Maresca Bardelli)
  • Personal Office (T.V. Mario Ducci)
• Division fantry of marro ” (C.F. Luigi Carallo) ^{[N 6]} structured on ^[75] :
  • Divisional exploring group
  • 1st “San Marco” Infantry Regiment ^{[N 7]}
  • 2nd “Scirè” Marina Infantry Regiment ^{[N 11]}
  • 3rd Marina Artillery Regiment “Leaders” (Mag. Guido Boriello) ^{[N 15]} are:
  • “Freccia” genius battalion (c.c. Filippo di Bernardo Amato) ^{[N 20]}
  • “Castagnacci” Battalion (T.V. Alfredo Maestroni) ^{[N 21]}
• Autonomous land departments:
  • Ardimento Group “Gold Gold Medal” (C.C. Pascal Pascali) ^{[N 22]}
  • “Longobardo” battalion (s.t.v. Giuseppe Parello) ^{[N 23]}
  • “Pegaso” Battalion (C.C. Raffaele Pilato) ^{[N 24]}
  • “Resolved” battalion (chief 1st cl. Felice Bottero) ^{[N 25]}
  • “San Giusto” Battalion (C.C. Enzo Chicca) ^{[N 26]}
  • “Scirè” Battalion (C.C. Antonio Di Giacomo) ^{[N 27]}
  • “Serenissima” Battalion (C.C. Ettore De Francesco) ^{[N 28]}
  • “Vega” battalion (T.V. Mario Rossi) ^{[N 29]}
  • Fiat detachment, then “Umberto Cumero” (subsequently absorbed in the “Turin” detachment) (T.V. Aldo Campani) ^{[N 30]}
  • Detachment “Milan” (Cap. Gennaro Riccio) ^{[N 31]}
  • Detachment “Rome” (T.V. Ettore Falantola) ^{[N 32]}
  • Detachment “Turin” (Mag. Antonio Lisi) ^{[N 33]}
  • Company “Adriatica” (T.V. Enrico Giannelli) ^{[N 34]}
  • Compagnia “D’Annunzio” (s.t.v. Francesco Vigjak) ^{[N 35]}
  • “Never dead” company (T.v. Bernardino Fumai) ^{[N 36]}
  • Operational Company “O” (subsequently absorbed in the “Milan” detachment) (s.t.v. Umberto Bertozzi) ^{[N 37]}
  • Company “Sauro” (C.C. Stefano Baccarini) ^{[N 38]}
  • Contractors Group “Q” (T.V. Carlo Paladino) ^{[N 39]}
• Sea departments . are:
  • Squadriglia Mas “Commander Castagnacci” (T.V. Spartaco Fresh) ^{[N 40]}
  • “Moccagatta gold medal” surface storage department, on:
    • Command and Command Department (C.C. Mario Arillo)
    • Group “Todaro gold medal” (School of Surface Assault) (T.V. Domenico Mataluno) ^{[N 41]}
    • Connecting operational base (T.V. Gustavo Fracassini) ^{[N 42]}
    • South operational base (T.V. Domenico Mataluno) ^{[N 43]}
    • West Operational Base (Cap. G.N. Umberto Andreoli of Sovico) ^{[N 44]}
    • Base operative (s.t.v. Sergio NESI) ^{[N 45]}
  • Department of Underwater Assault (C.C. Alfieri Uxa), on:

The first magazine ^[76] Published by the XITO Mas was the ephemeral “Xth for the honor” , released in a single number of two pages on February 20, 1944, followed shortly after by “La Cambusa” , born at the Muggiano alla Spezia barracks, whose first issue, of only 4 pages, was published on May 15, 1944. After the damage suffered by the installations of La Spezia due to the allied bombings, the command of the 10th was transferred to Milan in Piazza Fiume and with it also the press and propaganda office. The Milanese detachment was at the time commanded by Captain Gennaro Riccio. The volunteer Pasca Piredda took care of the magazine, flanked by several war correspondents such as Ugo Franzolin. Problems were soon born with the German press office of Lieutenant Schaffer who claimed to impose censorship but the tenth, strong of the agreements directly between the German commander Berninghaus managed to avoid any interference. On 9 December 1944 Pasca Piredda had a serious road accident that forced her to a long hospitalization. In the meantime, his office was entrusted to the lieutenant of Vascello Mario Ducci and following the journalist Bruno Spampanato. The frequency, which was supposed to be weekly, was actually quite irregular (the eighth issue came out only on October 10, 1944) but increased the number of pages over time, which in the last numbers reached 16, including the two color cover.

In January 1945 “La Cambusa” was replaced by ” The horizon “whose first issue (January 20, 1945), with 12 pages including a color photographic insert, attracted the ire of the Ministry of Popular Culture which, due to the deficiency of paper, had authorized a publication of only 10 pages and ordered that from the second number The number of pages was reduced to 6. Order disregarded, so much so that it is the second number (February 5, 1945) that the third and last issue (12 February 1945) came out on 8 pages, being distributed on the streets and in some newsstands manned by soldiers of the XITO Mas. ” The horizon “, subtitled” current weekly “, assumed a more political cut compared to the previous magazine by addressing topics that had previously been left on the margins. The question of anti -Semitism was addressed by the general inspector for the breed Giovanni Preziosi, who began to write articles strongly anti -Semites, in which he advocated the theory of the Jewish conspiracy: “It is historically shown that the current war was wanted, implemented and prepared by Judaism, which had the main tool as the masonry …”

There were also numerous magazines published by the individual departments of the XIO, including “Our things” of the women’s auxiliary service, “XTE Barbarigo” of the homonymous battalion, “Franchise” of the battalion swimmers Paracadusti e “The resolved” of the “resolved” battalion in Genoa ^[77]

A total of at least 466 soldiers of the XIo Mas Flottiglia of the Republican Navy were awarded decorations to the military value of the Italian Social Republic ^{[N 52]} . Among them:

4 gold medals for military valor ^{[78] [79]} (all granted to memory) ^{[N 53]}

* Guardiamarina Alessandro Tognoloni ^{[N 54]} , “Barbarigo” battalion, Latina cistern 24/5/1944 ^{[N 55]}

* MANUFTING ALFONSO Guadagni, Battalion “N.P” and Information Service xo Mas, Nisida 14/6/1944

* Lieutenant of Vascello Leone Bognani, Todaro gold medal group, Cerignale 28/6/1944

* Greater naval genius Umberto Bardelli, “Barbarigo” battalion, Ozegna 8/7/1944 ^{[N 56]}

At the time of the rendering of the RSI, four other proposals were still being examined by the assignment commission, namely:

* S.TEN. Sergio Denti, surface assault department, Tyrrhenian Sea 1944-1945 (living)

* Marò Giorgio Agostini, battalion “Sagittarius”, Casali Nenzi 25/12/1944 (in memory)

* Marò Eugenio Bampi, battalion “Fulmine”, Tarnova della Selva 18/1/1945 (in memory)

* S.TEN. Giovanni Biggio, detachment “Umberto Cumero”, Sommariva Pivio 14/4/1945 (in memory) ^{[N 57]}

96 silver medals for military valor

122 bronze medals for military valor

245 War crosses to military value

To which are added 122 solemn ecooms, always granted by RSI.

At the command x Flottiglia Mas was assigned ^[80] :
FP. 80015 (from 4.5.1944) and the FP 81200 (from 5.3.1945);
to La Spezia PDC.781;
in Milan PDC.795;
to Lonato (BS) PDC.755.

Note

Sources

• Edited by Victoria De Grazia and Sergio Luzzatto, Dictionary of Fascism , first volume, Einaudi Editore, 2002
• Nino Arena, History of the Armed Forces of the RSI , Ermanno Albertelli
• Guido Bonvicini, Tenth sailors! Tenth commander! , Mursia, Milan
• Mario Bordogna, Junio ​​Valerio Borghese and the XTE Flottiglia Mas , Mursia, Milan, 2007. ISBN 978-88-425-387777
• Sergio Bozza, Tenth! Ennepì tell each other , GRECO E GRECO, 1997 ISBN 978-88-7980-132-4
• Nino buttazzons, Only for the flag. The paratrooper swimmers of the Navy , Mursia, Milan, 2002
• Arrigo Carnier, The missing extermination , Mursia, Milan
• Sole De Felice, The tenth Flottiglia Mas and Venice Giulia 1943-1945 , Ease seal
• Aurelio Lepre, The history of the Republic of Mussolini. Salò: the time of hatred and violence , Mondadori, 1999, ISBN 88-04-48141-2
• R.Maculan, M.Gamberini, Lightning Battalion – x Flottiglia Mas , Menin Edizioni, Schio (VI), 2009 ISBN 978-88-89275-11-5
• Sergio Nesi, Tenth Flottiglia Nostra … , The Scarabeo, Bologna, 2008
• Sergio Nesi, Junio ​​Valerio Borghese. A prince, a commander, an Italian , The Scarabeo, Bologna, 2004
• Sergio Nesi, Ozegna, July 8, 1944 , Lo Scarabeo, Bologna, 2008 ISBN 978-88-8478-16-1
• Sergio Nesi, Revisiting stories already known by a well -known flotilla – second part , The Scarabeo, Bologna, 2000
• Marino Perissinotto, Hard to die – History of the Barbarigo battalion , Ermanno Albertelli
• Giorgio Pisanò, The last in grayoverde , CdL Edizioni, Milan, 1994
• Giorgio Pisanò, History of the Civil War in Italy , CdL Edizioni, Milan, 1994
• Giuseppe Rocco, The military organization of the RSI at the end of the Second World War , Greco & Greco Editori, Milan 1998
• Federico Maistrello, The X Mas and the office “I”. Violence between the provinces of Treviso and Pordenone (1944-1945) , ISTRESCO, 2018.