The M Battalions (M standing for

Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

) were an elite

special forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

unit of

Italian Blackshirts The Voluntary Militia for National Security ( it, Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale, MVSN), commonly called the Blackshirts ( it, Camicie Nere, CCNN, singular: ) or (singular: ), was originally the paramilitary wing of the Natio ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

History

Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-307-0768-20A, Italien, italienischer Soldat

They were created during World War II, in October 1941 as a transformation and strengthening of the assault and mountain battalions of the ''Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale'' ( Blackshirts) which had particularly distinguished themselves in combat. The first "M" battalions were those coming from the Galbiati Group (VIII of Varese, the XVI of Como and the XXIX of Arona), veterans of the Battle of Marizai, and the battalions of the (XIV of Bergamo and XV of Brescia), mentioned in the war bulletin №248 of 10 February 1941, followed by other assault battalions always distinguished in war actions. To further improve their war efficiency, the "M" battalions were subjected to special training courses at the "Campo Battaglioni M" in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Trastevere Trastevere () is the 13th ''rione'' of Rome: it is identified by the initials R. XIII and it is located within Municipio I. Its name comes from Latin ''trans Tiberim'', literally 'beyond the Tiber'. Its coat of arms depicts a golden head of a lio ...

, and were classified in the "M" Battalion Inspectorate of MVSN, who supervised the training and managed the replacement flow. For operational use the "M" battalions were usually assigned directly to the dependencies of the

Corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

of the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

, with general reserve functions and from these reassigned in support of units engaged in particularly demanding actions. They were employed mainly in the Russian campaign, in the

Greco-Italian war The Greco-Italian War (Greek language, Greek: Ελληνοϊταλικός Πόλεμος, ''Ellinoïtalikós Pólemos''), also called the Italo-Greek War, Italian Campaign in Greece, and the War of '40 in Greece, took place between the kingdom ...

and for the planned invasion of Malta. With the fall of the Fascist regime, on 25 July 1943, the XVI Battaglione "M" of

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco dialect, Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and ...

, marching on

, he was stopped not far from the capital following an order given by the head of S.M. of the Militia, general Enzo Emilio Galbiati. The same "M" Division received the order between 25 and 26 July to continue the training activity. On September 8, the departments deployed north of the peninsula, in France and the Balkans largely adhered to the newborn

Italian Social Republic The Italian Social Republic ( it, Repubblica Sociale Italiana, ; RSI), known as the National Republican State of Italy ( it, Stato Nazionale Repubblicano d'Italia, SNRI) prior to December 1943 but more popularly known as the Republic of Salò ...

, like those landed in Corsica they partly cooperated with the fascists and the Germans. The departments passed to the RSI were absorbed by the

National Republican Army The National Republican Army (Esercito Nazionale Repubblicano, or ENR) was the army of the Italian Social Republic ( it, Repubblica Sociale Italiana, or RSI) from 1943 to 1945 that fought on the side of Nazi Germany during World War II. The ENR ...

excluding the 1st Battalion "IX Settembre" which, established in September 1943 in

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

, fought in Italy in various locations, also participating in the conflict of the landing of Anzio and on the eastern front.

Structure and organization

"M" battalions could be structured as assault battalions or battalions of accompanying weapons.

Assault battalions

The assault battalions were organized as follows: * HQ and hq platoon * Scout platoon * 3

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...

of assault troops. Each company was in turn organized into: * Command and command platoon * 2 assault platoons * machine gun platoon

Support weapon battalion

The accompanying weapons battalions were organized as follows: * HQ and command platoon * Company of 81mm mortars. * Company of

infantry support gun Infantry support guns or battalion guns are artillery weapons designed and used to increase the firepower of the infantry units they are intrinsic to, offering immediate tactical response to the needs of the unit's commanding officer. They typicall ...

s and

anti-tank guns Anti-tank warfare originated from the need to develop technology and tactics to destroy tanks during World War I. Since the Triple Entente deployed the first tanks in 1916, the German Empire developed the first anti-tank weapons. The first devel ...

equipped with 47/32 gun. * Machine-gun company

Battalions

* V assault battalion "M" (from 5ª Legione "Valle Scrivia" of

Tortona Tortona (; pms, Torton-a , ; lat, Dhertona) is a ''comune'' of Piemonte, in the Province of Alessandria, Italy. Tortona is sited on the right bank of the Scrivia between the plain of Marengo and the foothills of the Ligurian Apennines. History ...

) * VI assault battalion "M" (from Legione "Sforzesca" of Vigevano) * VIII assault battalion "M" (from Legione "Cacciatori delle Alpi" of

Varese Varese ( , , or ; lmo, label= Varesino, Varés ; la, Baretium; archaic german: Väris) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 has reached 80,559. It is the c ...

) * X assault battalion "M" (from Legione "Montebello" of

Voghera The Castle of Voghera in a 19th-century etching. Voghera ( Vogherese dialect of Emilian: ''Vughera''; Latin: ''Forum Iulii Iriensium'') is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Pavia in the Italian region Lombardy. The population was 39,374 ...

) * XII assault battalion "M" (from Legione "Monte Bianco" di

Aosta Aosta (, , ; french: Aoste , formerly ; frp, Aoûta , ''Veulla'' or ''Ouhta'' ; lat, Augusta Praetoria Salassorum; wae, Augschtal; pms, Osta) is the principal city of Aosta Valley, a bilingual region in the Italian Alps, north-northwest of ...

) * XIV assault battalion "M" (from Legione "Garibaldina" of

Bergamo Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes Como ...

) * XV assault battalion "M" (from Legione "Leonessa" of

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo. ...

) * XVI assault battalion "M" (from Legione "Alpina" of

) * XXIX assault battalion "M" (from Legione "Antonio Chinotto" of Arona) * XXX assault battalion "M" (from Legione "Roberto Forni" of

Novara Novara (, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It is ...

) * XXXIV assault battalion "M" (from Legione "Premuda" of

Savona Savona (; lij, Sann-a ) is a seaport and ''comune'' in the west part of the northern Italy, Italian region of Liguria, capital of the Province of Savona, in the Riviera di Ponente on the Mediterranean Sea. Savona used to be one of the chie ...

) * XXXVIII assault battalion "M" (from Legione "Vittorio Alfieri" of

Asti Asti ( , , ; pms, Ast ) is a ''comune'' of 74,348 inhabitants (1-1-2021) located in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, about east of Turin in the plain of the Tanaro River. It is the capital of the province of Asti and it is deemed t ...

) * XLI assault battalion "M" (from Legione "Cesare Battisti" of

Trento Trento ( or ; Ladin and lmo, Trent; german: Trient ; cim, Tria; , ), also anglicized as Trent, is a city on the Adige River in Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol in Italy. It is the capital of the autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th centu ...

) * XLII assault battalion "M" (from Legione "Berica" of

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan. Vicenza is a th ...

) * XLIII assault battalion "M" (from Legione "Piave" of

Belluno Belluno (; lld, Belum; vec, Belùn) is a town and province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Located about north of Venice, Belluno is the capital of the province of Belluno and the most important city in the Eastern Dolomites region ...

) * L assault battalion "M" (from Legione "Trevigiana" of

Treviso Treviso ( , ; vec, Trevixo) is a city and ''comune'' in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Treviso and the municipality has 84,669 inhabitants (as of September 2017). Some 3,000 live within the Veneti ...

) * LX assault battalion "M" (from Legione "Istria" of

Pola Pola or POLA may refer to: People *House of Pola, an Italian noble family *Pola Alonso (1923–2004), Argentine actress *Pola Brändle (born 1980), German artist and photographer *Pola Gauguin (1883–1961), Danish painter *Pola Gojawiczyńska (18 ...

) * LXIII assault battalion "M" (from Legione "Tagliamento" of

Udine Udine ( , ; fur, Udin; la, Utinum) is a city and ''comune'' in north-eastern Italy, in the middle of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic Sea and the Alps (''Alpi Carniche''). Its population was 100,514 in 2012, 176,000 with t ...

) * LXXI assault battalion "M" (from Legione "Manfreda" of

Faenza Faenza (, , ; rgn, Fènza or ; la, Faventia) is an Italian city and comune of 59,063 inhabitants in the province of Ravenna, Emilia-Romagna, situated southeast of Bologna. Faenza is home to a historical manufacture of majolica-ware glazed eart ...

) * LXXIX assault battalion "M" (from Legione "Cispadana" of

Reggio Emilia Reggio nell'Emilia ( egl, Rèz; la, Regium Lepidi), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has abou ...

) * LXXXI assault battalion "M" (from Legione "Alberico da Barbiano" of

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the cap ...

) * LXXXV assault battalion "M" (from Legione "Apuana" of

Massa Massa may refer to: Places *Massa, Tuscany, the administrative seat of the Italian province of Massa-Carrara. *Massa (river), river in Switzerland * Massa (Tanzanian ward), administrative ward in the Mpwapwa district of the Dodoma Region of Ta ...

)

Deployment

The "M" battalions in the Balkans

The assault battalions "M" X (until February 1943), LXXI, LXXXI and LXXXV operated in the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

in garrison duties and counter-insurgency operations.

The "M" battalions on the Russian front

The "M" Battalions used on the eastern front they were framed in Groups, each consisting of two Battalion Groups "M", each consisting of two assault battalions and an accompanying weapons battalion, as follows: : Raggruppamento Camicie Nere "III Gennaio" :: Group of "M" battalions " Tagliamento" ::: LXIII assault battalion "M" ::: LXXIX assault battalion "M" ::: LXIII support weapons battalion "

Sassari Sassari (, ; sdc, Sàssari ; sc, Tàtari, ) is an Italian city and the second-largest of Sardinia in terms of population with 127,525 inhabitants, and a Functional Urban Area of about 260,000 inhabitants. One of the oldest cities on the island, ...

" (of

Royal Italian Army The Royal Italian Army ( it, Regio Esercito, , Royal Army) was the land force of the Kingdom of Italy, established with the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy. During the 19th century Italy started to unify into one country, and in 1861 Manfre ...

) :: Group of "M" battalions " Montebello" ::: VI assault battalion"M" ::: XXX assault battalion "M" ::: XII support weapons battalion "M" : Raggruppamento Camicie Nere "XXIII Marzo" :: Group of Battalion "M" "Leonessa" ::: XIV assault battalion "M" ::: XV assault battalion "M" ::: XXXVIII support weapons battalion "M" :: Group of "M" battalions "

Valle Scrivia Valle may refer to: * Valle (surname) Geography *"Valle", the cultural and climatic zone of the dry subtropical Interandean Valles of the Andes of Peru, Bolivia, and northwest Argentina * University of Valle, a public university in Cali, Colomb ...

" ::: V assault battalion "M" ::: XXXIV assault battalion "M" ::: XLI support weapons battalion "M" The Black Shirts of the "Tagliamento" Group were not originally an "M" unit but were promoted to this qualification in the field as recognition of the value demonstrated during the operations of the CSIR (Italian Expeditionary Corps in Russia). As such, they were the only "M" battalions not to have been trained in the Battalions "M" Camp of

. The "M" Battalions repeatedly proved to be among the best units of the ARMIR (Italian Army in Russia), operating mainly in support of the XXXV Army Corps.

The "M" landing battalions for the invasion of Malta

Given the planned invasion of

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

( Operazione C3), the MVSN constituted a special landing group, the Battalions Group "M" of Black Landing Shirts, structured as follows: : HQ and command company : XLII landing battalion "M" "

" : XLIII landing battalion "M" "

" : L landing battalion "M" "

" : LX landing battalion "M" "

" : 2 infantry support guns company with 47/32 guns : 1 company 81mm mortar : 1 company of guastatori (sappers) With the cancellation of Operation C.3, the Black Landing Shirts were reorganized as two Battalion Groups, as follows: : I landing Blackshirt Battalion group "M" :: XLIII landing battalion "M" :: LX landing battalion "M" :: V support weapons battalion (of Royal Italian Army) : The I Battaglioni Group participated in the occupation of

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

, and remained a garrison until 8 September 1943, when it participated in the fighting against the Germans. : II landing Blackshirt Battalion group "M" :: XLII landing battalion "M" :: L landing battalion "M" :: V support weapons battalion (of Royal Italian Army) : The II Battalion Group participated in the occupation of Corsica and then moved to France where it remained garrison in the area of

until 8 September 1943, when it broke up with the other units of the 4th Army.

The "M" battalions in Tunisia

The X Assault Battalion "M" was transferred to

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

in February 1943 and initially assigned in support of the 136ª Armored division "Giovani Fascisti" on the

Mareth line The Mareth Line was a system of fortifications built by France in southern Tunisia in the late 1930s. The line was intended to protect Tunisia against an Italian invasion from its colony in Libya. The line occupied a point where the routes into T ...

and then to the 101ª motorized division "Trieste" until the surrender of the Axis forces in Africa.

The Armored Black Shirts Division "M"

It was formed in May 1943 starting from the few survivors of the "M" Battalions returned from Russia and supplemented by volunteers. The unit, equipped with armoured vehicles supplied by the Germans, was still being trained at the time of the fall of fascism (25 July 1943), renamed the 136th Armored Division "Centaur II" and purged of its most markedly fascist elements, to then be dissolved after the armistice of 8 September 1943.

Uniform

The components of the Battalions "M" wore the normal uniforms of the MVSN, with the only difference of the black insignia on which the silver fasces used by the MVSN units instead of the stars of the Royal Italian Army was replaced by a fasces twisted with a letter "M "capitalized in red, reproducing the spelling of Mussolini. Even the pennants of the various battalions used the same symbology: on them, made in the shape of a tail of swallow, the same red "M" embroidered with a littorium appeared, embroidered "Seguitemi" (which expressed loyalty to the Fatherland and to

Fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

) with the same calligraphy as the "M" and the department number.

Note

External links

* {{YouTube, id=MKOWbcTcgrE, title=Benito Mussolini reviews the Battaglioni M. 1942 Italian newsreel Military units and formations of Italy in World War II Military units and formations established in 1941 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 Blackshirts