List of commanders of the Blackshirts

This article lists the commanders of the Blackshirts (Italian: Camicie Nere, CCNN; officially Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale, MVSN — "Voluntary Militia for National Security"), a paramilitary wing of the Italian National Fascist Party (PNF), between the years of 1923[a] and 1943.

Commandants−General

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Commandant-General of the Blackshirts
Comandante generale della MVSN (Italian)
 
Rank insignia
 
Command flag
Longest serving
Benito Mussolini

12 October 1926–25 July 1943
Blackshirts
TypeCommanding officer of a paramilitary organization
Member ofStato Maggiore della MVSN
Grand Council of Fascism
Appointerthe Duce
Formation1 February 1923
First holderHeld simultaneously by:
Final holderRenato Ricci
Abolished8 December 1943

The Commandant-General of the Blackshirts (Italian: Comandante generale della MVSN) was the supreme commander of the Blackshirts.

List of officeholders

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No. Portrait Name
(Birth–Death)
Term of office Party Ref.
Took office Left office Time in office
1   Marshal of Italy
Emilio De Bono
(1866–1944)
1 February 1923 31 October 1924 1 year, 273 days National Fascist Party [1]
1   Marshal of the Air
Italo Balbo
(1896–1940)
1 February 1923 31 October 1924 1 year, 273 days National Fascist Party [2]
1   General
Cesare Maria De Vecchi
(1884–1959)
1 February 1923 10 July 1925 2 years, 159 days National Fascist Party [3]
2   General
Asclepia Gandolfo
(1864–1925)
1 December 1924 31 August 1925 273 days National Fascist Party [4]
3   General
Maurizio Ferrante Gonzaga
(1861–1938)
12 September 1925 9 October 1926 1 year, 27 days National Fascist Party [5]
4   First Marshal of the Empire
Benito Mussolini
(1883–1945)
12 October 1926 25 July 1943 16 years, 286 days National Fascist Party [6]
5   General
Quirino Armellini
(1889–1975)
26 July 1943 8 September 1943 44 days Independent [7]
6   Renato Ricci
(1896–1956)
20 September 1943 8 December 1943[b] 79 days Republican Fascist Party [8]

Timeline

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Renato RicciQuirino ArmelliniBenito MussoliniMaurizio Ferrante GonzagaAsclepia GandolfoCesare Maria De VecchiItalo BalboEmilio De Bono

Chiefs of Staff

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Chief of Staff of the Blackshirts
Capo di stato maggiore della MVSN (Italian)
 
Rank insignia
 
Command flag
Longest serving
Attilio Teruzzi

2 January 1929–3 October 1935
Blackshirts
TypeChief of staff of a paramilitary organization
Member ofStato Maggiore della MVSN
Grand Council of Fascism
Appointerthe Duce
Formation1 February 1923
First holderFrancesco Sacco [it]
Final holderRenzo Montagna (acting)
Abolished30 September 1943

The Chief of Staff of the Blackshirts (Italian: Capo di stato maggiore della MVSN) oversaw the day-to-day operations of the Blackshirts.

List of officeholders

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No. Portrait Name
(Birth–Death)
Term of office Party Ref.
Took office Left office Time in office
1   Lieutenant general
Francesco Sacco [it]
(1877–1958)
1 February 1923 1 December 1924 1 year, 304 days National Fascist Party [9]
2   Lieutenant general
Enrico Bazan [it]
(1864–1947)
1 December 1924 23 December 1928 4 years, 22 days National Fascist Party
3   Lieutenant general
Attilio Teruzzi
(1882–1950)
2 January 1929 3 October 1935 6 years, 274 days National Fascist Party [10]
4   Lieutenant general
Luigi Russo
(1882–1964)
3 October 1935 3 November 1939 4 years, 31 days National Fascist Party
5   Achille Starace
(1889–1945)
3 November 1939 16 May 1941 1 year, 194 days National Fascist Party [11]
6   Lieutenant general
Enzo Galbiati
(1897–1982)
25 May 1941 26 July 1943 2 years, 62 days National Fascist Party [12]
  Lieutenant general
Renzo Montagna
(1894–1978)
Acting
17 September 1943 30 September 1943 13 days Independent [13]

Timeline

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Renzo MontagnaEnzo GalbiatiAchille StaraceLuigi RussoAttilio Teruzzi

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ After approval by the Mussolini government on 28 December 1922, the draft law on founding the MVSN was approved by a resolution of the Grand Council of Fascism on 12 January 1923. The draft became law under Royal Decree No. 31 of 14 January 1923, issued by the King Victor Emmanuel III. The activities of the MVSN began on 1 February 1923.[citation needed]
  2. ^ Continued as commander of the National Republican Guard.

References

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  1. ^ Scaffei, Elvira Valleri, ed. (1987). "De Bono, Emilio". Treccani. Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (in Italian). Vol. 33. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  2. ^ Berselli, Aldo, ed. (1963). "Balbo, Italo". Treccani. Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (in Italian). Vol. 5. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  3. ^ Santarelli, Enzo, ed. (1991). "De Vecchi, Cesare Maria". Treccani. Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (in Italian). Vol. 39. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  4. ^ Crociani, Piero, ed. (1999). "Gandolfo, Ascelpia". Treccani. Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (in Italian). Vol. 52. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  5. ^ 14 gennaio 1923: nasce la Milizia, custode della rivoluzione fascista, Il Secolo d'Italia
  6. ^ Gentile, Emilio, ed. (2012). "Mussolini, Benito". Treccani. Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (in Italian). Vol. 77. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  7. ^ Boatti, Giorgio, ed. (1988). "Armellini, Quirino". Treccani. Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (in Italian). Vol. 34. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  8. ^ Teodori, Giovanni, ed. (2016). "Ricci, Renato". Treccani. Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (in Italian). Vol. 87. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  9. ^ "Francesco Sacco, Senatori dell'Italia fascista" (in Italian). Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  10. ^ Attilio Teruzzi, Spazio in wind
  11. ^ Canali, Mauro, ed. (2019). "Starace, Achille". Treccani. Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (in Italian). Vol. 94. Retrieved 10 December 2022.
  12. ^ Philip Rees, Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890, 1990, p. 144
  13. ^ "Biography of Major-General Renzo Montagna (1894 – 1978), Italy". generals.dk. Archived from the original on 26 October 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2021.