European Resistance Archive/European Resistance Archive (ERA)

at seven in the morning, we couldn’t move any further during the day

because the German reconnaissance airplanes were flying over the area and would have spotted us.

So we stopped in Cerrè to rest, planning to get moving again in the evening and reach Ligonchio.

At eight one of our sentinels fired a shot and the Germans were there.

We were at south east, taking control of the first houses.

The Germans were coming from the west, and lined up to the west and north.

In some cases fascists, Germans and partisans were mixed up in the same house.

I remember this partisan who was in a house when the door opened and in came a German.

They were both aiming their gun at each other, until the German walked back without shooting.

If he had, they both would have died.

Then what happened?

The battle had started 15-20 minutes before and our commander Miro was hurt badly.

Barbolini too, who was the commander of those from Modena.

After that Eros took charge.

But one of the machine guns we had, the French St.Etienne, had the wrong ammunition.

It didn’t fire one shot.

The other one, a Breda, worked properly,

but had been placed in an open spot, since we had to do everything in a hurry.

After the first shot was fired, a German with a rifle and binoculars

shot him in the middle of the head and killed him.