IX Settembre Battalion

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GLADIVM
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IX Settembre Battalion

#1

Post by GLADIVM » 12 Nov 2009, 13:19

In Andrea Rossi book " Le Guerre delle Camicie Nere " ( Blackshirts Wars ) at page 204 is written that the RSI battalion IX Settembre in winter 44/45 was attached to the Brandenburg division and sent to Eastern Prussia at Angenburg Festung .
IX Settembre returned to italy a few months later ( probably march ) while instead Brandenburg remained on the eastern front .

Could anyone confirm this episode and detail if IX settembre was actually involved in combat on the eastern front or instead was a garrison troops .
The only partial confirmation I can find is that in fact Brandenburg was sent to East Prussia in December 1944 .

Thanks for any help

Yours

GLADIVM

zagreb29
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Re: IX Settembre Battalion

#2

Post by zagreb29 » 13 Nov 2009, 11:42

GLADIVM,

The "IX Settembre" Battalion did go to East Prussia with Brandenburg Division from Italy. They fought alongside with them untill the end of 1944 when the "IX Settembre" was called back for counter partisan duties in Emiglia Romagna,(North Eastern Italy). The "IX Settembre" was originally started out in Toloun, France. Their were then sent to the rear section of the Gustav line for Military Police operations behind Monte Cassino. When in late Winter the Anzio landings occure. They were sent to the front lines for two weeks to combat the allies under Captain Zardo. It was during the Spring of '44 that the "IX Settembre" Battalion made it's way into the Brandenburg Division and transferred up to Easrt Prussia. Again they were used in MP duties BUT some companies made it to the front line. Another confirmation of this is that in photos, (like out of the books series GLI ULTIMI DI GRIGIOVERDE) "IX Settembre" members are wearing German combat awards AND some have been seen wearing the Russian Front ribbon sewn into their top button-hole of their tunics. (The "IX Settembre" wore a mix of REI and MVSN M-40 style tunics with M-43 Keilhosen).

I hope this helps answer what you wanted. It's also a good oint to mention that even though their service on the eastern front might seem exotic,(especially after the mess fallowing Stalingrad and the distrust of the Italian Army in general) that that Btg."IX Settembre"'s most famous accomplishment was not with the Brandenburg Div. But it was when they got back to fight the partisans in Northern Italy they were able to catch Silvio Corbari. One of the most wanted partisan leaders during the RSI.

"Me Ne Frego!" ("We Don't Care!") was the Black Shirts motto. I added photos of my friend and I reenacting this unit.

Zagreb
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GLADIVM
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Re: IX Settembre Battalion

#3

Post by GLADIVM » 13 Nov 2009, 14:23

Thanks Zagreb ,

Your confirmation is much appreciated , also very ineresting that some units of IX settembre saw combat on the eastern front . Would you know in which sector they were ? Angenburg or other area ?

Anyhow Corbari capture and execution happened before IX Settembre went to Prussia as it was on 18th August 1944 , in fall 44 IX settembre went to Aosta Valley ( near french borders ) to combat partisans and in late fall went to east .
After their return in Italy they were posted at Vittorio Veneto till end of war .

Btw nice outfits .

Yours

GLADIVM

zagreb29
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Re: IX Settembre Battalion

#4

Post by zagreb29 » 14 Nov 2009, 11:17

First of all you are correct about the time period of Corbar's capture. That's my mistake, sorry.

Yes, the city that the "IX Settembre"went to defend was Aneburg in the Masurian Lakes area. They were lead by Tenente Grassano in defending the city against repated Red Army armoured attacks. Colonel Schulte-Herthaus, commander of the Brandenburg Division himself, distinguished the "IX Settembre" as great soldiers.

I have to ask though, why are you interested in this unit? Just curious? After the formation of the RSI Italian units service outside Italy was pretty lilited. But not totally unheard of. In East Prussia there was also a smoke/chemicals detachment on the Baltic coast. There is also a GNR unit that was on Krete and in Greece,(Leros, spelled wrong i'm sure) there was a grenadier unit that kept fighting with the Germans. And I won't even go into units in Asia I am just now leaning about. But Btg."IX Settembre" was a "Camicia Nere" unit. To wear the black shirt was'nt just a fashion statement, you were wearing flag and fallowed Mussolini in his belief. In fact durring the days of battle fallowing Septermber 8, 1943 only one Black Shirt unit fought against the Germans and that was on the island of Corsica. The rest were pretty snappy to volunteer to help whatever nearby German unit that was in the area. Anyway, hope this has helped again.

Zagreb

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GLADIVM
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Re: IX Settembre Battalion

#5

Post by GLADIVM » 16 Nov 2009, 12:38

Thanks again Zagreb ,

I am interested in the subject of Blackshirts choices after 8th Sept and found in Rossi book this reference to IX settembre deployment in Eastern Prussia and was quite surprised as before did not know that any GNR unit ( IX at least on paper was a Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana unit ) had served on the eastern front .

I knew about the Army units ( smokescreens ) employed in the Baltic , also knew that the Repubbllican Air Force in 1944 depolyed an Airplane Tranportation Group ( Gruppo Terracciano ) on the Eastern Front and that assorted MVSN units and indivduals had followed germans divisiond transferred from Balkans to the Eastern front .

But a GNR unit was new for me so after having found that in December 44 Barndeburg was effectively on the eastern front , tried to go a step further and ascertain IX settembre presence in East Prussia .

Can I ask which one is one is yr source besides " Gli Ultimi in Grigioverde " of Pisano' ?

Also curios to know which one is you in the attached pictures , the younger ranker or the older Corporal ?

Yours

GLADIVM

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Re: IX Settembre Battalion

#6

Post by Merobaudes » 16 Nov 2009, 21:06

Hi
I'm afraid that this is not exactly the kind of information you are looking for and I was not sure whether to point out the file or not. Anyway, I found a tragic and IMO impressive picture here: http://www.fondazionersi.org/mediawiki/ ... Acta68.pdf .On page 3 (photo E) you see a member of the IX Settembre battalion, in the hands of partisans, who would kill him a few days later.
Best.
Carlo

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GLADIVM
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Re: IX Settembre Battalion

#7

Post by GLADIVM » 17 Nov 2009, 13:52

Thanks Merobaudes ,

It is a confirmation that in april 45 IX Settembre was at Vittorio Veneto .

I had already seen the photo but indicating generaly that the young fascist belonged to GNR .

Yours

GLADIVM

zagreb29
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Re: IX Settembre Battalion

#8

Post by zagreb29 » 25 Nov 2009, 10:30

GLADIVM wrote:Thanks again Zagreb ,

I am interested in the subject of Blackshirts choices after 8th Sept and found in Rossi book this reference to IX settembre deployment in Eastern Prussia and was quite surprised as before did not know that any GNR unit ( IX at least on paper was a Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana unit ) had served on the eastern front .

I knew about the Army units ( smokescreens ) employed in the Baltic , also knew that the Repubbllican Air Force in 1944 depolyed an Airplane Tranportation Group ( Gruppo Terracciano ) on the Eastern Front and that assorted MVSN units and indivduals had followed germans divisiond transferred from Balkans to the Eastern front .

But a GNR unit was new for me so after having found that in December 44 Barndeburg was effectively on the eastern front , tried to go a step further and ascertain IX settembre presence in East Prussia .

Can I ask which one is one is yr source besides " Gli Ultimi in Grigioverde " of Pisano' ?

Also curios to know which one is you in the attached pictures , the younger ranker or the older Corporal ?

Yours

GLADIVM
Sorry about the delay. There is a web page where I got some basic info on IX Settembre,(I'll look it up). I'm the older corporal one lol. A member from the CS forum posted a picture of "IX Settembre" just last week which I have never seen. I added it for you.
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GLADIVM
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Re: IX Settembre Battalion

#9

Post by GLADIVM » 25 Nov 2009, 14:38

Thanks Zagreb , for the picture and for yr answer .

Yours

GLADIVM

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Re: IX Settembre Battalion

#10

Post by GLADIVM » 04 Dec 2009, 18:52

In the Massimo Afiero site there is an interesting page about the IX Settembre battalion at the following link :

http://www.maxafiero.it/articolo1.htm

Yours

GLADIVM

zagreb29
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Re: IX Settembre Battalion

#11

Post by zagreb29 » 15 Dec 2009, 10:00

GLADIVM,

I see you found the link on your own. Sorry about the long delay there. (Bouncing from one forum to the next and trying to squeeze in a life I guess I got a little forgetful lol.)

But yes, that is the link I was going to post in reply. I wish there were more units from the RSI that would have made it to other fronts like France and Russia. But from reading the history of German-Italian relations, it seems the Germans were non-trusting of the RSI and every other government of Germany's allies. One thing to consider about the RSI that I'm sure the Germans didn't care about was that if you were a member of the RSI you were pretty much marked. Germany didn't have any German resisitanse groups fighting German soldiers in there homeland.

Zagreb

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