Blackshirts

The Blackshirts or the camica nera were Fascists paramilitary groups in Italy during the period immediately following World War I and until the end of World War II. They were organized by Benito Mussolini after his disgust with the corruption and apathy of the liberal Italian government. Originally envisioned as reformers, their methods became harsher as Mussolini's power grew, and they used violence, intimidation, and murder against Mussolini's opponents. One of their distinctive techniques was force-feeding castor oil, often laced with petrol.

History

Established as the squadrista in 1919 and may have numbered in 20.000 by the March on Rome in 1920. In 1922 the squadrista were reorganized into the milizia and formed numerous bandera and on 1 February 1923 they became the MVSN or Milizia Voluntaria per la Sicurezza Nationale, which lasted until the Italian Armistice in 1943. The The Italian Socialist Republic, northern Italy occupied by Nazi Germany, reformed them into the GNR or Garda Nationale Repubblicca.

Organization

Benito Mussolini was always the Commandant General by executive functions were carried out by the Chief of Staff, equivelant to any army general. The MVSN especially was formed in imitation of the old Roman army as follows:

Zona = division
Legionne = regiment
Coorte = battalion
Centuria = company
Manipolo = platoon
Squadra = squad or section

These units were also organized on the triangular principle as follows:

3 squadra = 1 manipolo(maniple)
3 manipolo = 1 centuria(century)
3 centuria = 1 coorteCohort)
3 coorte = 1 legio(legion)
3 legio = 1 divisio (field division) or
3 or more legio = zona (zone - an administative division)

The MVSN was originally organized into 15 Zonas controlling 133 legions of three coortes each and one Independent Group controlling 10 legions. In 1929 it was reorganized into four Raggagruppamentos but later in October of 1936 was reorganized into 14 Zonas 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, plus special units in Rome, on Ponza Island and the black uniformed Moschettiere del Duce (The Leader's Musketeers), Mussolini's Guard and the Colonial Militia in Albania and Libya. Special Militias were also roganized to pvide security police functions, these include the Railway Militia, the Port Militia, The Posts and Telegraph Militia, the Forestry Militia, the Anti-aircraft and Coastal Artillery Militia and the Frontier and University Militia. During the 1936 Abyssianian Campaign or Invasion of Ethiopia, the MVSN were able to raise six field divisons:

1st MVSN Division "23 Marzo"
2d MVSN Division "28 Ottobre"
3d MVSN Division "21 Aprile"
4th MVSN Division "3 Gennaio"
5th MVSN Division "1 Febbraio"
6th MVSN Division "Tevere"

In 1940 the MVSN was able to muster 340,000 first line combat troops, three divisions, 1st, 2d and 4th and provided a Gruppo di Asalto of two coortes (each of three centuria of 3 manipolos of 2 squadras each) plus Gruppo Support company of two heavy machine gun manipolos and two 81 mm mortar manipolos, to each army division. The three divisions were wiped out in combat in North Africa. The MVSN fought in every theater that Italy did.

Ranks

Mussolin as Commandante Generale was made Primo Corporale Honoria in in 1935 and Adolf was made Corporale Honoria in 1937. all other ranks closely approximated those of the old Roman army as follows:

Legio was commanded by a console
Centuria was commmanded by a centurione

Uniforms

The MVSN wore the basic army uniform, either the grey green or khaki drill with a black shirt and tie, black collor patches bearing silver metal fascia, the Roman bunle of sticks wrapped around an axe) and a black fez. Enlisted rank stripes were in black braided chevrons and officer ranks consisted of black cuff stripes with top most having a lozenge shaped loop. They also wore a black colored version of the standard Italian army helmet again with a silver fascia on the front, although later in the war they war a standard grey-green army helmet with a black stenciled fascia on the front. The GNR wore a black shirt or turtle necked shirt or sweater with black helmets and Italian army trousers. The uniform and ethos were later copied by others who shared Mussolini's political ideas, including Adolf Hitler in Germany and Oswald Mosley in the United Kingdom.

See also: Sturmabteilung, the brownshirts of Nazi Germany.