European Resistance Archive/European Resistance Archive (ERA)

We did the course and it was successful.

Building up of „Fiamme Verdi“ brigades

From the day of the first air-drop to the end of July

we increased from around fifty to more than a thousand men.

There just wasn’t enough time to organize ourselves.

For example they set up a detachment and position it in an area, without knowing who these partisans were. That was a problem.

They decided to set up a unit called “Fiamme Verdi” (green flames),

and went around asking for people to join them. They asked me, too, since I was a catholic.

I didn’t go since I liked being with the “Garibaldini”.

That day, the Fiamme Verdi brigade was formed,

with Don Carlo as commander and, later on, my dear friend Aldo Dall’Aglio second-in-command.

He died on the Prampa on the 10th of January after the mop-up of the 7th.

He had also asked me to join them.

Maybe it was a good thing I didn’t go,

since all those who were second-in-command or in other positions in the “Fiamme Verdi” died in battle.

Saboteurs; German mob-up in July 1944

I attended a course for saboteurs. I think we were five.

The Allies were air-dropping explosives the whole time. Nobody knew how to use them.

One day they also parachuted a saboteur to teach us.

Our duty was to blow up bridges, railway tracks and the like.