Italian Navy use of foreign auxiliaries/irregulars?

[Sawpatin]

From wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bands_(It ... rregulars)

"The other branches of the Italian armed forces and corps created Bande. The Banda n° 9 della Marin, formed of Serbs, Croats, Slovenes and local young Italians from Dalmatia, was established in Zara under the control of the Regia Marina (Italian Royal Navy). These naval auxiliaries fought side by side with a company from the ReggimentoSan Marc from 1941 to 1943."

Does anyone have more info on this subject, or any other foreign auxiliaries/irregulars which were recruited by the Italian navy during WW2? I'd be interested to learn more about what roles they were put to, what vessels or equipment they served with, how much separation they maintained from the regular Italian navy, and any info about their combat records/effectiveness.

[LColombo]

They did not use vessels; they were a land force and were used to fight Yugoslav partisans. In general the Italian armed forces (not just the Navy) made ample use of the Chetniks as auxiliaries of sorts against the partisans in Yugoslavia. James Burgwyn talks a lot about this in his book Empire on the Adriatic.

Many of these became part of the "Milizia Volontaria Anti Comunista" (MVAC - "Anti-Communist Volunteer Militia").

[Sawpatin]

I see. Any particular reason why these guys were placed under Navy command, as opposed to say the Army or the MVSN? I know the Navy had land forces, but it just seems odd to me that an entirely land-based auxiliary force would be put under Naval command rather than a land branch of the armed forces. Or did the Italian Navy have greater control than the Army over the Dalmatia region where these guys were recruited?

[zaptiè]

a similar unit , in RSI period, was the Btg. "Volontari di Francia" raised from french of italian origin and formated in "Betasom " base , the Atlantic site of italian submarines.

[LColombo]

I see. Any particular reason why these guys were placed under Navy command, as opposed to say the Army or the MVSN? I know the Navy had land forces, but it just seems odd to me that an entirely land-based auxiliary force would be put under Naval command rather than a land branch of the armed forces. Or did the Italian Navy have greater control than the Army over the Dalmatia region where these guys were recruited?

It wasn't an entire land-based auxiliary force - just one in many bands. Bands 1 to 8 in Dalmatia/Croatia were under the command of the XVIII Army Corps, band 9 was under the command of the Navy. It was a (roughly) company-sized force that served as an auxiliary force to the "San Marco" marines (naval land forces), I presume to defend Italian naval bases in Dalmatia from partisan attacks.

[Sawpatin]

a similar unit , in RSI period, was the Btg. "Volontari di Francia" raised from french of italian origin and formated in "Betasom " base , the Atlantic site of italian submarines.

Interesting. What happened to these guys after the Allies captured the base? Were they handed over to France, or repatriated to Italy? I assume when you say "French of Italian origin" you mean French citizens of Italian heritage? Or were they Italian citizens who had been living in France?

It wasn't an entire land-based auxiliary force - just one in many bands. Bands 1 to 8 in Dalmatia/Croatia were under the command of the XVIII Army Corps, band 9 was under the command of the Navy. It was a (roughly) company-sized force that served as an auxiliary force to the "San Marco" marines (naval land forces), I presume to defend Italian naval bases in Dalmatia from partisan attacks.

I see, thanks for the info.

[zaptiè]

They were both italians living in France withw double citizeschip and naturalizated french citizens.In 1944 the Btg. was sent to the italian- slovene border against Tito's parisans