European Resistance Archive/European Resistance Archive (ERA)

Farmers made great use of them, using them to plough the land. The Germans had seized petrol

and farmers could not use tractors.

Still, at times, a cow was butchered and we all had some meat to eat,

since there were personnel who distributed it around.

Action for exchange of prisoners

Another of our great engagements was capturing Major Battaglia

at Villa Bresci in San Bartolomeo.

He was a young commander of the GNR. He used to sleep there, having seized the villa.

They had captured Muso during a mop-up in San Polo. We had to consider how we could save him.

Some Black Brigades units had captured around twenty young men to send to Germany,

while they sent Muso to the San Tommaso prison after they found a gun on him.

He was in prison waiting to be executed, together with the Cervi brothers.

We caught Major Battaglia and took him to central headquarters in the mountains.

All the different parties were represented at the central headquarters:

Professor Marconi, together with Eros, Cocconi and everyone else.

We sent a dispatch to the Podestà Rabotti, offering to swap our prisoner Major Battaglia with Muso.

The German headquarters however didn’t consent to the exchange.

They replied that the man they had caught with a gun had to be shot.

We got together to discuss the situation. Since they refused to accept the exchange,

we had to consider capturing a German soldier.