European Resistance Archive/European Resistance Archive (ERA)

They had shot one of our men, and that’s why we had to shoot back.

We ended up killing all those who were inside the truck.

At night we went back there to collect Fiorello’s body.

They were waiting for us during the day.

We wrapped him up in a piece of cloth and took him to the cemetery of Codemondo

where he had his family tomb, then celebrated his funeral amongst us.

Using a bazooka

We also tried to use the bazooka. It was something new for us.

But Fiorello was a genius regarding these matters. He looked at it and examined it,

and one day he told us he wanted to try it on the road to Cavriago.

I bent down and he put the bazooka on my shoulder to manoeuvre it.

He fired as a truck went by. That was 6 kg of explosive. The truck went off the road…

That was also part of our struggle…

Mines against the cavalry

The Germans could not use armoured vehicles and tanks around the mountains,

as we had blown up all the bridges.

So they didn’t succeed when they repeatedly tried to surround the mountains.

Then they set up the Mongolian cavalry unit.

It was made up of soldiers who came from the south of the Soviet Union.

We heard they were moving uphill from the lowlands trying to surround the area.