Partisans from the Divisione Piave in the Cannobina valley in October 1944. — **Partisans from the *Divisione Piave* in the Cannobina valley in October 1944.** Casa della Resistenza Fondotoce Archive

Resistance helpers from Ticino

For two years up to 1945, partisans in Italy's Domodossola area fought against the German Wehrmacht and its allies. Some Swiss also joined the struggle: as helpers and resistance fighters.

Raphael Rues

Raphael Rues is a historian and specialises in Ticino and the German-fascist presence in Northern Italy.

When Germany's grip on Italy tightened following the ceasefire of September 1943, resistance to fascism grew and small partisan groups began to spring up, including in the area around Domodossola, close to the Swiss border. Commanded by former soldiers with military experience, their members included civilians, and even some Swiss! A number of men, mainly from the Locarno region, actively supported the partisans in the neighbouring Ossola area. Some even fought alongside them against the Germans and the Italian fascists. Take Silvio Baccalà from Brissago, for example: a gardener at the trade union-run Gewerkschaftshotel Brenscino by day, he guided partisans along paths on the Ghiridone mountain by night, leading them towards the Cannobina valley. Or Vincenzo Martinetti, father of the famous Ticino-born singer Nella Martinetti. He fought in the partisan group known as Divisione Piave, quickly becoming one of the troop's most important members. Martinetti organised the transport of material, weapons and people across the border. Resistance in the Ossola region took on many different forms. It is worth taking a closer look to gain a better understanding of the movement.

Vincenzo Martinetti's partisan identity papers confirming his membership of the Divisione Piave. — **Vincenzo Martinetti's partisan identity papers confirming his membership of the *Divisione Piave*.** Photo: RDB

Lots of small groups

Most of the disparate groups were loosely organised, with no centralised command. Continually adapting to different situations and the harsh landscape was the order of the day, a tactic vital in enabling them to tackle the fast-changing challenges they constantly faced. At the same time, it made it impossible to wage coordinated, strategically well-planned campaigns against the occupying forces. Some 80,000 people lived in the area around Domodossola during the Second World War. When the Ossola Partisan Republic collapsed in October 1944, tens of thousands fled to Switzerland, including numerous resistance fighters. The exact number of partisan forces in the Ossola area is difficult to measure. It was common practice for the various resistance groups to inflate their numbers and give themselves self-aggrandising names (bande, brigate, divisioni). A few dozen partisans, for example, were enough to form a brigade while a mere several hundred combatants constituted a division. Those were the semantics of the time. These deliberate exaggerations were intended to confuse and deter the opponent. In addition, the partisans were gambling on the Allies getting sizeable backup supplies to them. They were in desperate need of these as their equipment was sorely lacking.

Partisans from the Brigade Cesare Battistini in Verbania, April 1945. — **Partisans from the Brigade *Cesare Battistini* in Verbania, April 1945.** Casa della Resistenza Verbania Archive

Lack of equipment

Some of the partisans fought with knives or their bare hands. Only around one-third had firearms. But even those who did have guns were frequently unable to use them as they simply didn't have the ammunition. This situation did not change significantly in the roughly 20 months from 1943 to 1945 during which the conflict lasted, placing the partisans in stark opposition to the well-equipped German and fascist troops. Deliveries of arms from neighbouring Switzerland could only go some way to reducing this deficit. Smugglers' trails, previously used to illicitly move foodstuffs and tobacco across the border, were now used for gun-running. The weapons came from the Allies, and not always from entirely trustworthy sources. Usually, the Swiss brought the supplies across the border but the partisans would sometimes cross into Switzerland to 'collect' the weapons. For the Divisione Piave in particular, whose logistics were organised by Vincenzo Martinetti, the Swiss border was extremely porous.

**This picture, taken in October 1944 in the Cannobina valley, shows how poorly equipped the partisans in the Ossola region were.** Casa della Resistenza Fondotoce Archive

Like their weapons, the partisans' clothing also left much to be desired. There was no such thing as a standard uniform. A wide array of garments were used instead. The partisans' coloured neckerchiefs were the only way to tell which unit they were attached to. The rest of their apparel was improvised and left up to the (meagre) resources of the individual wearer. Some continued to don their normal, everyday attire, while others mixed items from German and fascist uniforms with civilian clothing. In some cases, the men looked more like a group of revellers attending a carnival than a formation of resistance fighters.

Communists versus anti-communists

However, the neckerchiefs worn by the resistance fighters served an additional purpose: they provided a clear indication of which political group the partisans belonged to. This was a matter of some importance given the, at times, glaring antagonisms between the various groupings, which in some cases ultimately prevented them from coming to one another's aid. Five partisan groups were active in the Ossola region between 1943 and 1945, covering a spectrum ranging from supporters of the monarchy through to those fighting to establish communism. In the simplest of terms, the resistance fighters can be broken down into two main camps: the communist Garibaldi units and the remaining, more or less anti-communist, partisan formations.

**Eraldo 'Ciro' Gastone, commander of the communist partisans in the Ossola area, who repeatedly clashed with the other resistance groups.** Wikimedia

Both camps largely failed to find common ground and repeatedly hindered each other. The reluctance on both sides to cooperate meant there could be no overarching strategy for defeating the German and fascist occupiers. And even if they had managed to reach some sort of compromise, the situation would still have been difficult. There was no technical way to share information: communication between the various partisan command units was poor. No more than a few formations had access to radio equipment, and those who did practically only made stationary use of it. Most information was passed on by young girls known as 'relay couriers'. It is estimated that each resistance unit had two to three such couriers. Communicating in this way was slow and severely hampered rapid, joint operations. Other women were also actively involved in the resistance. Like Gisella Floreanini, a partisan and member of the government of the Republic of Ossola, making her the first woman in Italy to hold a cabinet post. Or Maria Peron, a nurse who tended to wounded resistance fighters, even operating on them when necessary. And a woman in Locarno also did her bit to help the partisans in the Ossola area: Gaby Antognini. A native of Ticino, she hid partisans who had escaped from Swiss internment camps and helped them cross the border into Italy, where they could resume the fight against the German and fascist occupying forces.

**Maria Peron (left) with partisans in Val Grande, 1944. The photo also shows the array of weapons being used by the partisans, a perennial problem for the resistance fighters.** Wikimedia / Associazione Casa della Resistenza di Fondotoce

Incidentally, after the Second World War, Vincenzo Martinetti, the resistance fighter from Ticino who moved freely across the border, was honoured by the partisan organisations from the Ossola area in recognition of his exceptional service. He was also sentenced by a Swiss military court to four months in prison and payment of a monetary penalty for infringing the country's neutrality, although the custodial sentence was at least suspended.

The Onsernone Valley during the Partisan Republic of Ossola

15.09.2024 27.10.2024 / Museum Onsernone

An exhibition dedicated to the Battle of Bagni di Craveggia on 18 October 1944, but above all to the role of the Onsernone Valley in the period from 1943 to 1945, when hundreds of refugees, civilians and partisans passed through the Onsernone Valley to escape Nazi-fascism. The exhibition will open on 15 September and run until 27 October. It will be repeated in 2025.

More of: 20th / 21st century War/battle Article Ossola

Further posts

A story of resistance and escape

Raphael Rues 23.01.2024 During the Second World War, numerous people attempted to flee persecution across the Italian-Swiss border into Ticino. This included Egone Gruenberger, who only managed to escape to freedom on his second attempt and after a long ordeal.

The Valmara – Madonna di Ponte customs office around 1940.

Showdown at the Simplon

Raphael Rues 22.04.2020 On 22 April 1945 Italian partisans, together with the Swiss secret service, foiled a plot to blow up the Simplon Tunnel. The German Wehrmacht had planned to destroy it.

The Ossola Republic

Andrej Abplanalp 10.09.2017 In autumn 1944, partisan groups liberated a sizeable territory around Domodossola from the Nazis and founded their own republic. But the resistance fighters were at odds with one another and after just over a month the dream of an independent state came to an end. The story of a tragedy on the border with Switzerland.

Im Oktober 1944 kam es im Val Formazza nahe der Schweizer Grenze zu einem Kampf zwischen den sich zurückziehenden Partisanen und den deutschen und faschistischen Truppen. Einige Widerstandskämpfer konnten in die Schweiz flüchten.