First Partisan battalion Pino Budicin was a
military unit
Military organization or military organisation is the structuring of the armed forces of a state so as to offer such military capability as a national defense policy may require. In some countries paramilitary forces are included in a nation' ...
of the” Vladimir Gortan” Brigade, 43rd Division of the 4th Army Corps of the
Yugoslav National Liberation Army
The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НОВ); mk, Народноослобод ...
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 ...
. The battalion was almost entirely made up of
Italians
, flag =
, flag_caption = The national flag of Italy
, population =
, regions = Italy 55,551,000
, region1 = Brazil
, pop1 = 25–33 million
, ref1 =
, region2 ...
, most of them from the former Italian region of
Istria
Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian, Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the larges ...
.
History
Initially formed as a company around mid-September 1943 the unit grew up until restructured and was granted the
battalion
A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...
status, during a small ceremony held at Stanzia Bembo, or Bembo farm, few miles away of Istrian village of
Valle
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, Colombia ...
, on April 4, 1944; this was also the place of the first engagement of the newly endorsed unit. In fact that day during the ceremony the battalion was attacked by a German Unit. As first battalion's commander was appointed, Giuseppe Alizzi: a
Sicilian from
Giarre
Giarre ( scn, Giarri) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania, Sicily. The town is located about southeast of Palermo and around north of Catania.
Geography
Giarre is bounded by the municipalities of Acireale, Mascali ...
, a former Lieutenant of the Italian Army who had joined the
Partisans after the
Italian capitulation
The Armistice of Cassibile was an armistice signed on 3 September 1943 and made public on 8 September between the Kingdom of Italy and the Allies during World War II.
It was signed by Major General Walter Bedell Smith for the Allies and Brig ...
of September 8, 1943.
When reorganized as a battalion, the strength was about 120 officers and men, including some
political commissars, in charge of the political control. The original three companies were: the 1st company, commanded by Milan Iskra, where Giorgio Pascucci was the Political Commissar; the 2nd company commanded by Nando Sacco, the political commissar was Benito Turcinovich, and the 3rd company commanded by (?) Deotto, whose political commissar was Riccardo Daveggia. All the mentioned commanders and commissars have been appointed with order n. 29 – 273/1944 issued on June 15, 1944 by the Partisan HQ of the
People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia
The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НОВ); mk, Народноослобод ...
. The battalion also included a semi-autonomous Commandos company led by the ''Popular Hero''
Matteo Benussi nicknamed Cio, and a supply platoon. A month later being turned into a battalion, its strength had risen up to 400 men. According to the partisan warfare, this number would have been enough for the creation of another battalion or even a new Partisan Brigade, following the example of the Partisan Assault Battalion Trieste turned into the new 20th Partisan Brigade Garibaldi-Trieste in April 1944, operating within the 9th Korpus. The 20th Partisan Brigade Garibaldi from May through December 1944 had the Partisan Battalion,” Alma Vivoda” also an ethnic Italian unit, that was operating in
Capodistria area, under its direct control. However, for undisclosed reasons the creation of new Italian unit was not authorized by the senior Partisan authorities. A possible explanation may be that, an all-Italian-partisan-unit, organized as major tactical military formation, operating in the area would have been a possible future complication to the annexing plan of the Istrian area to the new
Communist Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yugo ...
. Therefore, to decrease the number, many Italian partisans who had joined the unit, were subsequently mustered to other non-ethic-Italian-partisan units; to mention one of them, the partisan Giusto CURTO a veteran of the Budicin Battalion. A peculiarity of the Pino Budicin Battalion was the use of the Italian language, for communication between rank and files, and with senior commands.
Because the majority of the unit was composed by Italians from Istria, most of them could not properly read and write, and in many cases even speak the
Croatian language
Croatian (; ' ) is the standardized variety of the Serbo-Croatian pluricentric language used by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojvodina, and other neighboring countries. It is the official ...
, the language spoken by almost all the partisan units in the Croatian area, and even those who spoke the language at home, had no full command of the written language; this mainly because the
Fascist
Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...
policy from 1920s onward had highly discouraged the use of non-Italian languages in the Istria and Krast areas, two of the territories annexed to Italy after the dissolution of the
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...
which had a mixed population of Italians and Slavs. Orders were therefore given in Italian as well as the communication with senior commands. This fact is mentioned in a letter of IX Yugoslav Army Corps (IX Corpus) dated April 23, 1944. The same letter also remarked the poor training of the Battalion Officers, and the lack of efficient equipment and weapons, most of it coming from the
looting
Looting is the act of stealing, or the taking of goods by force, typically in the midst of a military, political, or other social crisis, such as war, natural disasters (where law and civil enforcement are temporarily ineffective), or rioting. ...
of the Italian Army posts after its dissolution on September 8, 1943.
The origin of the name
The battalion, ”Pino Budicin” was named after the communist activist, and Yugoslav Popular Hero, nicknamed Pino; born on April 27, 1911 in
Rovigno d’Istra, a small city on the Istrian coast then under
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
, passed at the end of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
under the Italian sovereignty. At the age of 21, Pino Budicin then a barber, was drafted into the Italian Armed Forces, and served in the
Italian Royal Navy
The ''Regia Marina'' (; ) was the navy of the Kingdom of Italy (''Regno d'Italia'') from 1861 to 1946. In 1946, with the Italian constitutional referendum, 1946, birth of the Italian Republic (''Repubblica Italiana''), the ''Regia Marina'' ch ...
at the naval base of
La Spezia
La Spezia (, or , ; in the local Spezzino dialect) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy.
La Spezia is the second largest city ...
from 1931 to 1933; it was during this period that his communist activity was noted by the military authority. At the end of his military obligation Pino BUDICIN went back to his native city. Between 1933 and 1943, he was arrested many times for his activity within the
Italian Communist Party
The Italian Communist Party ( it, Partito Comunista Italiano, PCI) was a communist political party in Italy.
The PCI was founded as ''Communist Party of Italy'' on 21 January 1921 in Livorno by seceding from the Italian Socialist Party (PSI). ...
. Released in August 1943 from the
Castelfranco Emilia
Castelfranco Emilia ( Western Bolognese: ; Modenese: ) is a town and ''comune'' in Modena, Emilia-Romagna, north-central Italy. The town lies about northwest of Bologna.
Castelfranco either occupies or lies near the site of the ancient For ...
prison, where he had been confined after the last arrest, he returned to his native city, where he immediately resumed his clandestine activity, organizing communist cells in town and in the surrounding area. On September 8, 1943 after the Italian Radio had broadcast the term of the
Armistice
An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...
between Italy and the allied forces, he quickly acted addressing locals in the city's main square, and organizing the uprising in
Rovigno
Rovinj (; it, Rovigno; Istriot: or ; grc, Ρυγίνιον, Rygínion; la, Ruginium) is a city in Croatia situated on the north Adriatic Sea with a population of 14,294 (2011). Located on the western coast of the Istrian peninsula, it is a po ...
. When the German army retook the city, few weeks later, he moved out of town, and together with his comrades, actively joined the partisans. Slightly wounded after a small engagement he was captured on February 7, 1944 around “Santa Brigida” with another partisan, Augusto FERRI, a former Italian Army Commissioned Officer, also known as the, ”Bolognese”, and together with him executed by the
firing squad
Execution by firing squad, in the past sometimes called fusillading (from the French ''fusil'', rifle), is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war. Some reasons for its use are that firearms are us ...
, the day after at the Valdibora Harbor in Rovigno. As he was going to be shot, Budicin defiantly, shouted to the firing squad, ”out of every drop of my blood, hundred partisans!”. After the war the local authorities erected a bust on his memory naming Pino BUDICIN on September 26, 1973 a, ”Popular Hero”. At the time of his death, Pino BUDICIN was the Secretary of the Communist Party in the Rovigno area, and the local representative to the National Anti-Fascist Council of the People's Liberation of Croatia or ZAVNOH.Augusto Ferri was born in Bologna, Italy, in 1914. A militant communist from his youth, during Fascism he was arrested and served few years of confinement for political crimes. As WW2 broke out he was reactivated into the Royal Italian Army, and took part in the occupation of Yugoslavia in 1941. During his service with the Italian Army he secretly collaborated with the Yugoslav partisans. In January 1943 he deserted the army and joined the Communist Resistance, who sent him to Rovinj, and from autumn 1943 he actively cooperated with Budicin in organizing the local clandestine Communist Party. However, in his 1995 autobiography, “ Nemico del Popolo” (A People's Enemy) Antonio Budicin, Pino's brother, gives another account regarding the arrest of Pino Budicin and
Augusto Ferri
Augusto is an Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish given name or surname. Notable people with the name include:
* Augusto Aníbal
*Augusto dos Anjos
* Augusto Arbizo
*Augusto Barbera (born 1938), Italian law professor, politician and judge
*Augusto Be ...
, affirming that they were betrayed by a Croat communist, when with a ruse they were sent back to the spot of a previous engagement with the local Fascist militia. When the two arrived there they found the Fascist militia, recovering the bodies of their fallen comrades, and were arrested.
Actions 1944-1945
The battalion saw action mainly in the territory comprised in, the
Istrian Peninsula
Istria ( ; Croatian and Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian, Italian and Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the largest peninsula within the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic betwe ...
and
Karst Plateau
The Karst Plateau or the Karst region ( sl, Kras, it, Carso), also locally called Karst, is a karst plateau region extending across the border of southwestern Slovenia and northeastern Italy.
It lies between the Vipava Valley, the low hills sur ...
, the former Italian eastern provinces of
Fiume
Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...
and
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 ...
, and was involved in many engagements, against German and Italian Republican Fascist forces and took part the battle of Gumanac, nearby Mount Nevoso, at the battle of Clana and at the battle of Stazia Camus near
Pisino
Pazin ( it, Pisino, german: Mitterburg) is a town in western Croatia, the administrative seat of Istria County. It is known for the medieval Pazin Castle, the former residence of the Istrian margraves.
Geography
The town had a population of 8,6 ...
. The battalion also fought against the Croatian Ustascia in the
Ogulin
Ogulin () is a town in north-western Croatia, in Karlovac County. It has a population of 7,389 (2021) (it was 8,216 in 2011), and a total municipal population of 12,251 (2021). Ogulin is known for its historic stone castle, known as Kula, and the ...
area. During the night of April 29, 1945 the battalion joined the other Gortan Brigade Units at Erjavce, and through Slivjia marched down by the,” Camionale road” towards
Trieste
Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...
. On its way to the city the battalion was engaged in a fight by German forces. Its vanguard made contact with the 20th Dalmatian Partisan Division around
Kozina
Kozina (; it, Cosina) is a settlement in the Municipality of Hrpelje-Kozina in the Littoral region of Slovenia, close to the border with Italy.Pula
Pula (; also known as Pola, it, Pola , hu, Pòla, Venetian language, Venetian; ''Pola''; Istriot language, Istriot: ''Puola'', Slovene language, Slovene: ''Pulj'') is the largest city in Istria County, Croatia, and the List of cities and town ...
in
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
, on May 8, 1945.
After the war and dissolution
When US and British forces landed in Pola on June 12, 1945, to establish the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
administration the battalion withdrew on the
Demilitarization
Demilitarisation or demilitarization may mean the reduction of state armed forces; it is the opposite of militarisation in many respects. For instance, the demilitarisation of Northern Ireland entailed the reduction of British security and military ...
line running from Medolino- Altura -Gallesano -
Dignano
Dignano ( fur, Dignan) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Udine in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about northwest of Trieste and about west of Udine.
Dignano borders the following municipalities: Coseano, Flai ...
d’Istria, and was subsequently garrisoned as occupation force in the city of Fiume, now Rijeka in Croatia. The unit left Fiume at the beginning of 1947 and was sent to
Parenzo on the Istrian Coast, and established its headquarters at
Plava Laguna
Plava Laguna is a Serbo-Croatian phrase meaning "'' blue lagoon''". It is also the name of a tourist group based in Poreč in Istria, Croatia.
Notes
The Bay of Poreč is a favorite holiday place of French film director Luc Besson, whose box-of ...
. Shortly afterwards the Battalion was mustered back to Rovigno again. The unit was officially disbanded on September 16, 1947 after the effects of the Paris Treaty who had transferred Istria and the Italian
Dalmatia
Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...
to the
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...
.
Legacy
The first Battalion commander Giuseppe Alizzi survived the war, and returned to his native city of Giarre in
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
. There he became a well-known communist local leader. He died in September 1991.
Giusto Curto (1909-1988), a veteran in the Budicin's Battalion who was later assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Brigade of the 13th Partisan division, after the war became a poet, and a writer in local Rovignese dialect, and lived until his death in his native Rovigno.
Benito Turcinovich, was the Political Commissar of the second company; after the war he migrated to Italy and was listed as an anti-communist refugee, as well as many other Italian communists from Yugoslavia, after Tito severed ties with Stalin's Soviet Union.
Major Bruno Tomini, the last battalion commander suffered a worse fate. Born in 1918, the son of a metal worker, after a brief experience as a school teacher during which, he said, he was ill-treated by
Fascist Party
The National Fascist Party ( it, Partito Nazionale Fascista, PNF) was a political party in Italy, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of Italian Fascism and as a reorganization of the previous Italian Fasces of Combat. The ...
members due to his communist ideas, at the outbreak of World War II he enlisted the Italian Army and was commissioned from the Army Officer School of Fano a second Lieutenant. At the outbreak of the War with Yugoslavia, he was deployed along with his Regiment, the 94 Infantry “Messina”, in the Balkan area. In 1942 he deserted and joined the partisans and assigned to the XIII Partisan Division in Gorski Kotar. When Italy signed the armistice with the allied powers on September 8, 1943 he was quickly mustered to the Histrian area to help organizing the new partisan units formed after the Italian surrender. For a long period he was the battalion's Chief of Operations. In 1948, when
Marshal Tito
Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his death ...
severed ties with
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, Bruno TOMINI was one of the 50,000 Yugoslavs that because of their loyalty to the International and
Soviet communism
The ideology of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) was Bolshevist Marxism–Leninism, an ideology of a centralised command economy with a vanguardist one-party state to realise the dictatorship of the proletariat. The Soviet Union's ...
, were incarcerated at Goli Otok island prison opened in 1949. There under harsh conditions and humiliations, many of them did not return to their homes.
Orlando Garlato was the first fallen of the battalion, while Arnaldo De Franceschi, born 1928, was the last one to fall on May 6, 1945 around Pisino in Istria.
Domenico,” Uccio” Medelin a veteran of the Battalion, left the active service in the Yugoslav People's Army in 1965 with the rank of Major.
Battalion commanders 1944-1947
* Giuseppe Alizzi until June 6, 1944;
* Oskar Turilli until June 11, 1944;
* Giorgio Tomini until September 17, 1944
* Arinaldo Demartini, acting commander and then commander from September 21, 1944 until March 1, 1945;
* Major Bruno Tomini until September 16, 1947.
Casualties and losses
The casualties suffered by the Pino Budicin Battalion can only be approximately determined as the battalion archives went lost at least three times during the war. However, on June 28, 1945 while addressing people in Fiume, the then battalion's Political Commissar Mario Jedreicich mentioned these figures; 75 men killed in action, 150 men wounded, and 120
missing in action
Missing in action (MIA) is a casualty classification assigned to combatants, military chaplains, combat medics, and prisoners of war who are reported missing during wartime or ceasefire. They may have been killed, wounded, captured, ex ...
. On June 6, 1946 the last battalion's commander, Bruno Tomini, during an interview released at the Fiume/Rijeka newspaper, ''
La Voce del Popolo
''La Voce del Popolo'' () is an Italian-language daily newspaper published by ''EDIT'' (''EDizioni ITaliane'') in the Croatian city of Rijeka.
History and profile
''La Voce del Popolo'' was first published in October 1944. The paper was supported ...
'' declared that the battalion losses were as follow; 100 men killed in action, 120 wounded and 80 men missing in action.
Awards
As recognition of valor in action the Partisan Battalion Pino BUDICIN, on April 4, 1945 was rewarded with the war flag, the
Italian flag
The national flag of Italy ( it, Bandiera d'Italia, ), often referred to in Italian as ''il Tricolore'' ( en, the Tricolour, ) is a tricolour (flag), tricolour featuring three equally sized vertical Pale (heraldry), pales of green, white and red, ...
defaced with the red communist star.
During the years of service more than 200 Battalion's members were awarded with decorations, many of them with the Yugoslav Medal of Valor.
After the war the battalion was also awarded with a permanent display at the Civic museum of Rovigno, to show to the new citizens of Yugoslavia the contribute that the Italians had given to war against the Fascist and
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
s tyranny in the area. A few years later the permanent display was disbanded to be briefly restored only in 1974 at the thirstiest anniversary of the Battalion foundation. The present day Italian council of Rovigno had hopes to restore the permanent display as it was in its origin.
References
*Article from "La Voce del Popolo" del 6.4.2009 by Sandro PETRUZ.
*Zbornik Dokumenata, book # 26 pages 287 -289
*“Rossa una stella” (A red star) by Giacomo SCOTTI and Luciano GIURICIN . Edit Rovigno 1975, The history of The Pino BUDICIN Battalion.
*“L'esodo”. La tragedia negata degli italiani d'Istria, Dalmazia e Venezia Giulia -The exodus. A tragedy denied; the Italians from Istria, Dalmatia, and Venezia Giulia. By Petacco Arrigo
*The Race for Trieste, by Geoffrey Cox.
*“History in exile”, page 212 by Pamela Bellinger.
{{Authority control
Battalions of the Yugoslav Partisans
Military units and formations established in 1944
Military units and formations disestablished in 1947
People from Istria
Italians of Croatia