2nd CC.NN. Division "28 Ottobre"
The 2nd CC.NN. Division "28 Ottobre" was an Italian CC.NN. division raised on 10 May 1935 for the Second Italo-Ethiopian War against Ethiopia. The name "28 Ottobre" was chosen to commemorate the Fascist March on Rome on 28 October 1922. The division took part in the Italian invasion of Egypt and was destroyed during the Battle of Bardia in January 1941.
Memorial stone for the CXXV CC.NN. Battalion, in Haddinnet, Ethiopia
The Voluntary Militia for National Security, commonly called the Blackshirts or squadristi, was originally the paramilitary wing of the National Fascist Party, known as the Squadrismo, and after 1923 an all-volunteer militia of the Kingdom of Italy under Fascist rule, similar to the SA. Its members were distinguished by their black uniforms and their loyalty to Benito Mussolini, the Duce (leader) of Fascism, to whom they swore an oath. The founders of the paramilitary groups were nationalist intellectuals, former army officers and young landowners opposing peasants' and country labourers' unions. Their methods became harsher as Mussolini's power grew, and they used violence and intimidation against Mussolini's opponents. In 1943, following the fall of the Fascist regime, the MVSN was integrated into the Royal Italian Army and disbanded.
Blackshirts with Benito Mussolini during the March on Rome, 28 October 1922.
Parade of the Blackshirts on Corso Libertà in Bolzano, c. 1930.
Blackshirts on Piazza di Siena [it] in Rome, 1936.
Command of the 73rd Blackshirt Legion in Mirandola, Province of Modena, 1941.