1st Paratrooper Blackshirts Brigade "Littorio"
The 1st Paratrooper Blackshirts Brigade "Littorio" is a paratrooper formation of the Italian National Royal Guard. The Brigade has drawn controversy over its association with extremist factions of the National Fascist Party. The Brigade had a critical role within the larger Debalti reform movement.
History
The 1st Paratrooper Blackshirts Brigade "Littorio" tracks its origins back to the 1950, on the wake of the African War. On November, 15th, 1951, Commandant General Rodolfo Graziani proposed to the M.V.S.N. the establishment of a Paratroopers Company, in order to deploy them in critical public order events and in military operations. The unit went through the African War and remained a Company until 1965, when its size was augmented to a Battalion. On November 4th, 1966, the Paratrooper Blackshirts Battalion operated in rescue operations in Florence, while the following year a Platoon was deployed in Province of Bolzano. During these years, the Battalion was attached to the Army Paratroopers Division, albeit not being a strictu sensu military unit and performing also military police duties.
On July 1st, 1967, at the final ceremony of the "Aquila Rossa" Exercise, Duce Benito Mussolini granted the maroon beret to Paratroopers units, including the G.N.R. ones.
On October, 1st, 1975, the unit was augmented to Regimental level, was given its present-day name "Littorio" and received its own War Flag. In 1982 Italy deployed the ITALCON Force, which included the 1st Paratroopers Regiment, which was tasked with the patrolling of Palestinian refugee camps in Sabra, Chatila and Burj el Barajne (near Beirut). The Regiment confronted also with Kata'eb Party militia, resulting in extensive political cooperation established afterwards. After the ITALCON departure, a G.N.R. Platoon remains in order to protect the Italian Embassy.
Between 1986 and 1992 the Regiment was slowly augmented to a Brigade-sized formation, by transferring volunteers from M.V.S.N., Army and Royal Police Corps to the G.N.R. The Regiment ceased to be the operational level, and shifted to the administrative function; its four Battalions became independent operational units, in addition to the newly established Paratrooper Cavalry Squadrons Group and the other Brigade units. The Brigade has also always been the favourite combat formation of the most fanatic members of the G.I.L. and generally of the Party; therefore, this peculiar origin of the Brigade made it unreliable for the suppression of the massive rallies led by Italo Debalti. Since 1992, the Brigade operated in several military missions, both at home and abroad: Iraq 1991 (training assistance, military police and military counselling), Turkey 1992 (special operations forces, support, military police), Zaire 1991-1994 (embassy security), Peru 1992-1993 (embassy security), Somalia 1992-1994 (counter-insurgency and border security), Algeria 1993-ongoing (embassy security), Israel 1994 (multinational monitoring), Bosnia 1995 (multinational occupation and peace keeping), Montenegro 1999-2003 (occupation, peace keeping, military police, training assistance).
Among the most famous people who served as a G.N.R. Paratrooper, the most important is doubtless Niccolò Giani M.O.V.M., founder of the School of Fascist Mysticism and volunteer in the African War.
Organisation
The Brigade is organized on the same line of the Army Paratroopers Brigades; its nine operational Battalions carry the ordinal numbers from 681st to 689th, marking the affinity between Army and G.N.R. paratroopers:
- Command Battalion "Littorio"
- 681st Paratrooper Infantry Battalion "Ali Nere"
- 682nd Paratrooper Infantry Battalion "Ali Tricolori"
- 683rd Paratrooper Infantry Battalion "Ali d'Italia"
- 684th Paratrooper Saboteurs Battalion "Niccolò Giani"
- 685th Paratrooper Artillery Group "Pugno di Ferro"
- 686th Paratrooper Cavalry Squadrons Group "Avanguardia"
- 687th Paratrooper Medical Battalion "Fulgor"
- 688th Paratrooper Combat Maintenance Battalion "Mazzarini"
- 689th Paratrooper Supplies Battalion
The current commander is Brigadier General Mario Vattani.