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The Italian resistance movement was a partisan force during World War II. It became massive after the capitulation of the Italian Royal Army on September 8, 1943. Military formations of the Italian resistance movement, the Italian partisans fought German occupying forces in Italy and Greece, and the formations of the Fascist Italian Social Republic (Republic of Salò).

Origins of the movement

Initially, the movement was composed of independent troops, spontaneously formed by members of political parties previously outlawed by the Fascist regime or by former officers of the disbanded Royal Army loyal to the monarchy. Later, the Committee of National Liberation created by the Italian Communist Party, the Italian Socialist Party, the Partito d'Azione (a republican liberal party), Democrazia Cristiana and other minor parties took control of the movement, in accordance with King Victor Emmanuel III's ministers and the Allies.

In the end, the bands were separated in the communist Garibaldi's Brigades, Giustizia e Libertà Brigades (related to Partito d'Azione), socialist Matteotti's Brigades, and several Catholic and autonomous groups; the greater part of fighters were in the former two. Between the autonomous formations there were the Green Flames, Di Dio and Mauri, that were composed of monarchists or former soldiers, and some anarchist formations. Relations between the different groups weren't always good; for example, in 1945 in Porzus (in the province of Udine), Garibaldi Brigade partisans under Yugoslav command attacked and killed partisans of the Catholic and azionista Osoppo band, who had refused to accept Tito's authority.

While the largest troops operated in mountainous districts of the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, there were also big formations in the Po plain; in the principal towns, the Gruppi di azione patriottica (G.A.P., Patriotic Action Groups) carried out many acts of sabotage and guerrilla warfare, and the Squadre di azione patriottica (S.A.P., Patriotic Action Squads) arranged massive strike actions and campaigns of propaganda.

New territorial structures

In 1944, with the Allied forces nearby, the partisan resistance in Italy staged an uprising behind German lines, led by the Committee of National Liberation of Upper Italy (CLNAI). This rebellion led to the establishment of a number of provisional partisan governments throughout mountainous regions of northern Italy, of which Ossola was the most important and received recognition from Switzerland and from Allied consulates in Switzerland. By the end of 1944, German reinforcements and Benito Mussolini's remaining forces had crushed the uprising, and the area's liberation had to wait until the final offensives of 1945.

List of partisan governments

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Italian resistance movement".

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