against other Italians. Borghese was recognized as the leader of the corps.

The Decima Flottiglia Mas, now purely a land based military unit, raised a force of 50,000 men, which eventually conducted anti-partisan warfare including systematic torture and execution of partisans, in particular members of the Communist units.The main themes of the reconstituted Xa MAS ideology became honor in defending Italy fiom the betrayal of the Armistice with the Allies; deep anti-Semitism in the wake of stronger Nazi influence, and a call to defend the territorial integrity of Italy against the Allies. This was quite ironic, since the Third Reich had already annexed northeastern Italian territories and integrated them directly into the Reich as the Pre-Alpine Operations Zone and Adriatic Coastal Operational Zone.

Relationships between the Decima and the RSI were not always cordial. Borghese refused to answer to Mussolini’s RSI staff. On January 14, 1944, Mussolini had Borghese a~a’ested at Garniano in order to gain direct control over the Xa MAS. Word of the anest reached the officers of the Decima, who considered marching on Mussolini’s capital at Salo to free Borghese. The confiontation was avoided when the German high command used its influence to have Borghese released, as they desperately needed the equipment, expertise and manpower of the Xa MAS as an anti-partisan force by this stage of the war.

Anti-Partisan Actions

The Germans ultimately employed the Decima along with the SS8 primarily in anti-partisan actions, rather than against the Allies. Their anti-partisan actions usually took place in small villages, where the partisans had a strong base of support. After losing its relative independence from RSI - German command, the Xa MAS became infamous for the numerous war crimes against partisans and the civilian population alike. Examples include:

Forno: 68 persons, mostly civilians and some partisans, were killed by a combination of German and Xa MAS forces.

Guadine: The ahnost total destruction of the village by fire to deter further support of the partisans.

Borgo Ticino: In conjunction with SS troops, the murder

of 12 civilians, and pillage and destruction of the village

by fire to avenge the deaths of three German soldiers.

Castelletto Ticino: The public execution of five petty

criminals in front of a large crowd.

Crocetta del Montello: Incidents of torture with whips

and gasoline and the summary executions of partisans.

Other Xa MAS units earned a good combat reputation fighting on the frontline against the Allies at Anzio Bridgehead and on the Gothic Line (Linea Gotica)9. In the last months of the warXa MASunits were also dispatched to the North East Italian border and employed against Marshall Tito’s Yugoslavian partisans. The history of the Xa MAS from 1943 to 1945 remains tainted. Although the valor of this unit was recognized by both the Allies and the Gernaans, its actions against partisans notably its participation in the massacres of civilians do not permit it to be remembered as a completely honorable unit.

On April 26, 1945 in what is now the Piazza della Repubblica in Milan, Borghese finally ordered the Xa MAS to disband. James Jesus Angleton, who would later become the CIA’s controversial director of counterintelligence, was dispatched by United StatesAdmiral Ellery Wheeler Stone,~° then Acting Chief Commissioner of the Allied Commission for Italy in occupied Italy, to rescue Borghese from the Italian Resistance, which had sentenced him to death for war crimes. Angleton disguised Borghese in an American uniform and drove him to Rome for interrogation. Borghese’s wife, who was employed by the Vatican, was similarly protected.

Post-War

The Italian government demanded that the Allies hand Borghese over for trial in Milan in late 1945, but his trial was transferred to Rome, where the courts were much more conservative. After two years in prison, he was finally found guilty in early 1949 of collaborating with the Nazis (though not of committing war crimes) and sentenced to 12 years in prison. The court, through application of extenuating circumstances, pardons, and remissions, reduced the sentence. The judge then decided Borghese had served enough time, and released him. By then the Cold War had begun and the Americans were keenly interested in infiltrating the Italian Communist groups, something which Borghese had done successfully during the final stages of the war. He was then enlisted to help create counterintelligence units for the Americans.

With his record as a war hero and his avid support of fascism, he became a figurehead for pro-fascist, anti- communist groups in the immediate post-war period, acquiring the nickmame, the Black Prince. Borghese wrote a supportive introduction to right-wing theorist Julius Evola’s book, Men Among the Ruins. He was associated with the Movimento Sociale Italiano (MS1) the neo- Fascist Party formed in the post-World War II period by

26 JOMSA

former supporters of the dictator Benito Mussolini. He later advocated an even harder line which the MSI was not able or willing to uphold. He subsequently broke from it to form an even stauncher neo-Fascist group in 1967, known as the Fronte Nazionale (National Front Party).

Following an aborted coup d’~tat, referred to as the Golpe Borghese, u which fizzled out on December 8,1970 (the Feast of the Immaculate Conception), Borghese was forced to flee to Spain to avoid arrest and interrogation. He died in 1974 under mysterious circumstances while in exile in Cadiz, Spain. His body is buried in the Borghese Chapel inside Basilica of S. Maria Maggiore, one of the five great basilicas in Rome.

The Xa MAS Insignia

Figure 4: Chinese-made copy Xa MAS metal

sleeve badge.

Figure 3: Original Xa MAS metal sleeve badge.

The famous Xa MAS shield was designed at the city of Lerici, Italy on the Italian Riviera near the Gulf of Poets by Salvatore Todaro. Its intent was to show the enemy that the brave Italians of the Decima were willing to die throwing a load of explosives against the side of an enemy ship. The original metallic badge was worn sewn on the left sleeve of the uniform jacket. The red Xa on a dark blue background is surmounted by a silver skull holding a red rose clenched in its mouth (Figure 3). The badge is outlined in a silver braid design. On the original badges, the lettering FLOTTIGLIAMAS is in gilt. The early shields measure 55mm by 50mm. Three holes are provided to facilitate the sewing of the badge to the uniform sleeve. I have observed three metal badges, all alleged originals, distinctly different in terms of coloration and size. Figure 4 illustrates a Chinese made copy of the metal badge.

Cloth examples also exist (Figures 5 and 6). Since the originals were made during the last part of the war, when a lack of material and manpower affected every form of industrial production, many have a very ragged

Figure 5: Original cloth Xa MAS sleeve badge.

Figure 6: Two more original cloth Xa MAS sleeve badges.

and inconsistent appearance. Fakes and copies abound and they often appear to be far too perfect (Figure 7).

Vol. 62, No. 3 (May-June 2011) 27

Figure 7: Copy cloth Xa MAS sleeve badge.

The Xa MAS Commemorative Medal

The rare 35mm bronze Xa MAS Commemorative Medal features a large red enamel Roman numeral X_~ on the obverse (Figure 8). The reverse features a skull with the red enamel rose clenched in its teeth, which surmounts a lower case script inscription, PER L’ONORE (for honor) (Figure 9). It is suspended by a double ring suspension

Figure 8: Obverse of the Xa MAS Commemorative Medal.

Figure 9: Reverse of the Xa MAS Commemorative Medal.

form 28mm wide solid black ribbon. As with many such medals, it was more than likely issued without a ribbon and it was up to the recipient to add an appropriate ribbon.

Endnotes:

1. The acronym ’MAS’ refers to various light torpedo boats used by the Italian Navy during World War I and World War II.

2. The Regia Marina is the Italian Royal Navy. 3. The pair rode a modified unexploded German torpedo propelled

by compressed air and twin propellers at a speed of 3 kardh. 4. Borghese is the surname of a family of Italian noble and

papal background, originating in Siena as the Borghese or Borghesi, where they came to prominence in the 13th century.

5. On August 22, 1940, in preparation for a human torpedo attack on the Port of Alexandria, Egypt, Iride was performing tests in the Gulf of Bomba (Cyrenaica, Libya) with four human torpedoes when three Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers off the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle hit the submarine in shallow water. Few crew members were rescued with the support of the human torpedo operators, but most were killed in the sinking.

6. The Gold Medal of Military Valor (Medaglia d’oro al Valore Militare) is an Italian medal originally established on May 21, 1793 by King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia for deeds of outstanding gallantry in war by junior officers and soldiers. The "Savoia" version dates from March 26, 1833 to May 10, 1943.

7. Admiral Bergamini was awarded the Gold Medal of Valor, two Silver Medals (one in World War I and one in World War II), three War Crosses, the German Iron Cross, II Class and the Order of Savoy.

8. The Italian SS Legion, eventually designated the 29th

Waffen Grenadier SS Division der SS Italianische Nr. 1 or La Brigata d’Assaulto, Miliza Armata,

was used primarily as an anti-partisan force. 9. The last major line of defense in the final stages of World War

II along the summits of the Apennines during the fighting retreat of Nazi Germany’s forces in Italy against the Allied Armies in Italy commanded by General Sir Harold Alexander.

10. Admiral Stone served as Acting Chief Commissioner of the Allied Commission for Italy from November 10, 1943, to July 1944, then as Chief Commissioner to February 7, 1947.

11. The Golpe Borghese was a failed coup d’6tat that was planned to take place dueing the period December, 7-8, 1970. The coup attempt was made public by the left-wing journal Paese Sera.

The secret operation was code-named Operation Tora Tora after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The plan of the coup in its final phase envisaged the involvement of United States and NATO warships that were on alert in the Mediterranean.

IN THE NEWS

Vietnam Medal of Honor Recipient Dies

David C. Dolby, 64, who received the Medal of Honor in Vietnam for saving the lives of platoon members during an ambush in 1964, died on August 6, 2010 at a meeting of veterans. He served five tours in Vietnam.

From the St. Petersburg Times

Submitted by Peter Hlinka

28 JOMSA