Italian Blackshirts
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Freiritter
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Italian Blackshirts
I've heard of Italian units called the Camicci Nere(?). I heard that these troops were called Blackshirts and they were Fascist party soldiers. Were they equipped as the same as the Army? Did they serve in North Africa?
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Enrico Cernuschi
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They had the same weapons and, if possible, a still worste training as their officiers and NCO had often an appoinmen far highter than their army grade.
They had no artillery or pioneer units which were assured, like the Divisiona command and staff, by the army. They were only infantry. In North Africa the three little divisions used in 1940-1940 (3 Gennaio, 28 Ottobre and 23 Marzo) were destroyed during the British Compass offensive. 3 Gennaio gained the respect of the enemy at Sidi el Barrani for her three days resistence, the other two units were bagged at Bardia and Tobruch not letting. behind them, any record. After that fatal disaster only small units of the Camice Nere were used in 1941-1942. A battalion formed by men who had been able to escape form captivity hidding
themselves in the country or who were liberated during the first Rommel advance (more than 5.000 Italian soldierc could come to the colours in such a way; they formed a brigade in the Z.b.V. Division which was destroyed again at Bardia in Jan 1942 after a mouth siege); a further battalion of recovered soldiers was used in the Sahara Libico in 1941-1942 with good results in the deep desert (they smashed, with the German Oasis company, the Free French in Spring 1941 in such a way that there was no more danger from that direction until beginning of 1943 when Lybia was going to be evacuate).
A last "M" black shirt battailon from Voghera wa ssent in Tunisia in late Jan. 1943. The "M" were well trained battalions with good cadres, all with a war experience and this last unit fought well with the Giovani Fascisti (Mussolini's boys) until the final surrender order of 13 May 1943.
Bye EC
They had no artillery or pioneer units which were assured, like the Divisiona command and staff, by the army. They were only infantry. In North Africa the three little divisions used in 1940-1940 (3 Gennaio, 28 Ottobre and 23 Marzo) were destroyed during the British Compass offensive. 3 Gennaio gained the respect of the enemy at Sidi el Barrani for her three days resistence, the other two units were bagged at Bardia and Tobruch not letting. behind them, any record. After that fatal disaster only small units of the Camice Nere were used in 1941-1942. A battalion formed by men who had been able to escape form captivity hidding
themselves in the country or who were liberated during the first Rommel advance (more than 5.000 Italian soldierc could come to the colours in such a way; they formed a brigade in the Z.b.V. Division which was destroyed again at Bardia in Jan 1942 after a mouth siege); a further battalion of recovered soldiers was used in the Sahara Libico in 1941-1942 with good results in the deep desert (they smashed, with the German Oasis company, the Free French in Spring 1941 in such a way that there was no more danger from that direction until beginning of 1943 when Lybia was going to be evacuate).
A last "M" black shirt battailon from Voghera wa ssent in Tunisia in late Jan. 1943. The "M" were well trained battalions with good cadres, all with a war experience and this last unit fought well with the Giovani Fascisti (Mussolini's boys) until the final surrender order of 13 May 1943.
Bye EC