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| Voluntary Militia for National Security Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale | |
|---|---|
 Institutional emblem (1929–1943) | |
| Active | 23 March 1923 – 8 December 1943 |
| Country |  Kingdom of Italy |
| Allegiance |  National Fascist Party |
| Type | Paramilitary,militia |
| Size | 351,000 |
| Garrison/HQ | Rome |
| Engagements | Second Italo-Senussi War Second Italo-Ethiopian War Spanish Civil War Italian invasion of Albania World War II |
| Commanders | |
| Commandant-General | See list |
| Chief of Staff | See list |
| Insignia | |
| Mod. 41 helmet decal |  |
TheVoluntary Militia for National Security (Italian:Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale,MVSN), commonly called theBlackshirts (Italian:Camicie Nere,CCNN, singular:Camicia Nera) orsquadristi (singular:squadrista), was originally theparamilitary wing of theNational Fascist Party, known as theSquadrismo, and after 1923 an all-volunteermilitia of theKingdom of Italy underFascist rule, similar to theSA. Its members were distinguished by their black uniforms (modelled on those of theArditi, Italy's elite troops of World War I) and their loyalty toBenito Mussolini, theDuce (leader) ofFascism, to whom they swore an oath. The founders of the paramilitary groups were nationalist intellectuals, former army officers and young landowners opposing peasants' and country labourers' unions. Their methods became harsher as Mussolini's power grew, and they used violence and intimidation against Mussolini's opponents.[1] In 1943, following thefall of the Fascist regime, the MVSN was integrated into theRoyal Italian Army and disbanded.
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The Blackshirts, formally established as theSquadrismo in 1919, comprised numerous disgruntleddemobilized soldiers. It was given the task of leading fights against their bitter enemies –the Socialists. They may have numbered 200,000 by the time of Mussolini'sMarch on Rome from 28 to 31 October 1922. In 1922 thesquadristi were reorganized into themilizia and formed numerousbandiere, and on 1 February 1923, the Blackshirts became the Voluntary Militia for National Security (Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale, or MVSN), which lasted until 8 September 1943Armistice of Cassibile. TheItalian Social Republic, located in the areas of northern Italy occupied by Germany, reformed the MVSN on 8 December 1943 into theNational Republican Guard (Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana, or GNR).
Benito Mussolini was the leader, orCommandant–General and First Honorary Corporal, of the Blackshirts, but executive functions were carried out by theChief of Staff, equivalent to an army general. The MVSN was formed in imitation of the ancientRoman army, as follows:
The terms after the first are not words common to European armies (e.g., the Italianbattaglione has cognates in many languages). Instead, they derive from the structure of the ancientRoman army.
These units were also organised on the triangular principle as follows:
The MVSN original organisation consisted of 15 zones controlling 133 legions (one perprovince) of three cohorts each and one Independent Group controlling 10 legions. In 1929 it was reorganized into fourraggruppamenti, but later in October 1936, it was reorganized into 14 zones 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. There were also special units in Rome, onPonza Island and the black-uniformedMoschettieri del Duce ("The Leader's Musketeers", Mussolini's Guard), theAlbanian Fascist Militia (four legions) andMilizia Coloniale in Africa (seven legions).
The original organisation by Royal Decrees on 1 February 1923 and 4 August 1924 consisted of fifteen zones, as follows:[citation needed]
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Special militias were also organised to providesecurity police andgendarmerie functions, these included:
The standards of each of the units of the Blackshirts, except for the Moschettieri del Duce, which carried a small standard in black similar to those of the regular armed forces, were a modernized form of thestandards used by the old Roman army.
During the 1935–36Second Italo-Ethiopian War against theEthiopian Empire, seven CCNN Divisions were organized:
The first six Divisions were sent to Ethiopia and participated in the war and in theItalian war crimes in Ethiopia.[2] The seventh was deployed toItalian Libya but not fully equipped or trained before it was disbanded after the war had ended.[3]
The Blackshirts Rifle Battalions had three rifle companies but no MMG company. The rifle companies had three platoons (three squads with one LMG each). Each Legion had an MMG company with four platoons of three weapons each (plus two spares). The Blackshirts replacement battalions were organised as the Blackshirts rifle battalions, but its platoons were overstrength (60 men each) and with only 1 × LMG in each platoon.[5]
Three CCNN Divisions were sent to participate in theSpanish Civil War as part of theCorpo Truppe Volontarie. The Blackshirt (Camicie Nere, or CCNN) Divisions contained regular soldiers and volunteer militia from the Fascist Party. The CCNN divisions were semi-motorised.
The 3rd CCNN Division was disbanded and consolidated with the 2nd CCNN Division in April 1937 after their defeat atGuadalajara. After thecampaigns in Northern Spain ended in October 1937, the 2nd CCNN Division was consolidated with the 1st CCNN and renamed theXXIII de Marzo Division "Llamas Negras".
In 1940 the MVSN was able to muster 340,000 first-line combat troops, providing three divisions (1st, 2nd and 4th – all three of which were lost in theNorth African Campaign) and, later in 1942, a fourth ("M") and fifth divisionAfrica were formed.
Mussolini also pushed through plans to raise 142 MVSN combat battalions of 650 men each to provide aGruppo di Assalto to each army division. The Gruppi consisted of two cohorts (each of threecenturiae of threemanipoli of twosquadre each) plus Gruppo Supporto company of two heavy machine gunmanipoli (with three HMG each) and two 81 mm mortarmanipoli (with three mortars each).
Later forty-one mobile groups were raised to become the third regiment in Italian Army divisions as it was determined through operational experience that the Italian Army's binary divisions were too small in both manpower and heavy equipment. These mobile groups suffered heavy casualties due to being undermanned, underequipped and under-trained.
In 1941, Mussolini decided to create twenty-two highly trained combat battalions called"M" Battalions. These battalions were given the designation M alongside their names in the Army OOB to indicate their status; that they had received specialist assault and combat training, or had proven themselves in combat and had received a battlefield promotion to this status. By the end of the Fascist regime, only eleven battalions had been fully formed.
The MVSN fought in every theatre Italy did.
Sixteen MVSN combat battalions served in Yugoslavia. Their numbers were: 3, 4, 8, 16, 29, 33, 54, 58, 61, 71, 81, 85, 115, 144, 162, 215.[7] Six of the battalions which were distinguished in combat were designated M Battalions and those were the 8th, 16th, 29th, 71st, 81st, and 85th.[7]
The Blackshirts wore the same uniform as the Italian army with the addition of a black shirt and tie and a blackfez. The uniform jacket had black flames with two ends on the collar in place of the insignia and the lictor bundles instead of the army's stars.[8] There was an all-black dress uniform worn by some officers and theMoschettieri del Duce ("The Leader's Musketeers", Mussolini's Guard).
Mussolini asComandante Generale was madePrimo caporale onorario (transl. First honorary corporal) in 1935 and Adolf Hitler was madeCaporale onorario (transl. Honorary corporal) in 1937.[citation needed] All other ranks closely approximated those of the oldRoman army as follows.[citation needed]
Their ethos and sometimes their uniform were later copied by others who were influenced by Mussolini's fascism, some of which are listed below:
"Blueshirts" can also refer to Canadian fascists belonging to theCanadian National Socialist Unity Party, the ChineseBlue Shirts Society and to the members ofFET y de las JONS, the only legal party withinFranco's dictatorship inSpain. Additionally, both the paramilitary fascistIron Guard members in Romania, the fascistYugoslav Radical Union, and the successors to the IrishBlueshirts (theNational Corporate Party, also founded by Eoin O'Duffy), wore green shirts.
After theArmistice of Cassibile was signed, the Blackshirts were dissolved; in the pro-fascistItalian Social Republic they were replaced by theNational Republican Guard and theBlack Brigades in the militia role, alongside theRepublican Police Corps.
