European Resistance Archive/European Resistance Archive (ERA)
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they had stayed there because they were tired of the war,
they had stayed there because they were tired of the war,
erano rimasti lì per non fare più la guerra, -
because they didn’t want to follow their troops, maybe they were afraid of drowning in the Po river…
because they didn’t want to follow their troops, maybe they were afraid of drowning in the Po river…
per non andare dietro ai suoi, magari per la paura di annegarsi giù dal Po. -
Two of them had girlfriends they got married with over here, their kids are here now.
Two of them had girlfriends they got married with over here, their kids are here now.
E due avevano delle morose che poi si sono sposati lì, che ci sono i figli adesso. -
Battle defending the Ligonchio power plant
Battle defending the Ligonchio power plant
Difesa delle centrali di Ligonchio -
So the Germans decided to blow up the power plants in Ligonchio
So the Germans decided to blow up the power plants in Ligonchio
I tedeschi decidono di far saltare le centrali di Ligonchio, -
and headed up the mountains.
and headed up the mountains.
e vengono su un mattino decisi, insomma. -
The central headquarters, who were afraid we would not endure one last attack by the Germans,
The central headquarters, who were afraid we would not endure one last attack by the Germans,
E allora il comando unico pensando che non fossimo in grado di resistere ad un ultimo attacco tedesco, così... -
ordered the local commanding officer, Ramis, to mine the power plant:
ordered the local commanding officer, Ramis, to mine the power plant:
mandò a dire al comando lì, a "Ramis", di minare la centrale, -
not the whole plant, only the roof, so that it would fall on the machinery and preserve them.
not the whole plant, only the roof, so that it would fall on the machinery and preserve them.
non tutto ma di minare i tetti in maniera che cadessero sui macchinari per salvare almeno i macchinari; -
Ramis refused and told them:
Ramis refused and told them:
e allora "Ramis" si rifiutò e disse: -
“Listen, there are 500 partisans over here”.
“Listen, there are 500 partisans over here”.
“Ma insomma, qui siamo 500 partigiani”, -
There was also an English officer, and we were really armed then.
There was also an English officer, and we were really armed then.
c'era anche un ufficiale inglese, allora eravamo davvero armati; -
We had everything: a whole load of ammunition, machine guns, mortars…
We had everything: a whole load of ammunition, machine guns, mortars…
c’era di tutto: munizioni a non finire, mitraglie, mortai... -
If we had to mine a power plant at that point…
If we had to mine a power plant at that point…
e a questo punto se dobbiamo minare una centrale… -
We fought back fiercely, even at night.
We fought back fiercely, even at night.
ci fu una resistenza fortissima, anche di notte, -
They had made it to less than one km from the road to the Predale power plant,
They had made it to less than one km from the road to the Predale power plant,
erano arrivati a meno di 1 km dalla strada della centrale di Predale, -
but they didn’t manage to proceed any further, not one step further.
but they didn’t manage to proceed any further, not one step further.
però alla fine non sono riusciti a fare un passo in più, insomma. -
The local people helped us out a lot there.
The local people helped us out a lot there.
Lì c’è stato un bell’aiuto della popolazione, -
Workers built the trenches while the women cooked.
Workers built the trenches while the women cooked.
c’erano gli operai che facevano le trincee, le donne che facevano da mangiare... -
That was really a perfect battle,
That was really a perfect battle,
insomma c’è stata proprio veramente una battaglia esemplare,