"All the peoples in the world are present in the international brigades, side by side with the Spanish people."

These words, from a Republican propaganda poster, help to explain the great, world-wide renown achieved by the International Brigade volunteers, who arrived in Spain from all countries to fight against fascism.

A considerable number of these volunteers came from Italy, or were Italian expatriates: most sources indicate that by the end of the war, about 3,500 Italians had served in the I.Bs. About 1,000 of them fought in the Garibaldi Battalion at some time. Because of the strictly political motivation of these volunteers, an objective appraisal of their role is still very difficult. Information taken from the memoirs of veterans, often written in the heat of the moment or just after the end of the war, must be carefully cross-checked. Unfortunately, many of the historians who wrote about the IBs are ideologically biased, too.

Much has been written in Italian and in other languages about the most important and famous Italian unit, the Garibaldi Battalion. However, much of what has been written is to be handled with great care for the above-mentioned reasons.

This article tries to present some minimal notes about the Battalion, from its creation in October, 1936, to the birth of the Garibaldi International Brigade in July, 1937. Several sources have been employed, and the portrait of this unit is as accurate as possible, given the limits of those sources.

The tables of organization and equipments are presented in terms of the Command Decision wargame simulation. A stand roughly represents a platoon, and a vehicle or gun represents a platoon or battery including 4-6 real vehicles or guns. Italicized stands are supply/administrative units that aren't (normally!) committed to battle. Conversion for 1/1 wargames should be reasonably easy.

MODELING THE GARIBALDI'S

BATTLE DRESS AND WEAPONRY

The Battalion had no "uniform", as nothing like that was issued. During the first months, at the defense of Madrid, civilian garments were normally issued, usually in dark/brownish colours. Some Spanish army stocks, and surplus stocks form foreign armies, were gradually made available, especially as the Albacete depot became fully operational; however the usual result was that the men did have a military dress, but not at all "uniform"!

They came in all shapes and colors, ranging from khaki to brown to olive drab to green; winter jackets often were old-style Spanish Army "tabardos". During those winter months, since greatcoats were scarce, it wasn't unusual to see the men donning heavy jackets, ponchos or even blankets. The lucky few had sheepskin or leather jackets (black/dark outside, off-white inside and collar). These jackets were often worn by the officers, and one source states that the whole assault platoon was outfitted with black leather jackets. For all other platoons, a motley appearance is quite acceptable.

The most common headgear was a beret, followed by a soft peaked cap. Both often featured a red star. During the winter, of course, "pasamontana" and even fur hats were used! Some sported a sidecap (both the Spanish "isabellino" and an Italian-looking "bustina"). Helmets could be both the Adrian and the Spanish M1926 Eibar types.

No harnesses or cartridge pouches were issued at start, and soldiers carried their rounds in pockets and grenades in canvas bags. However, officers often had Sam Browne-type shoulder straps. Later on, Spanish army webbing was used, often in combination with improvised items.

The individual weapon was a rifle, such as the Spanish 7mm M1893 or, in 7.62mm, the M1913 Mauser or the M1891/1930 Mosin-Nagant (and the Garibaldi, like any other Republican unit, was plagued with the usual problem of different caliber rifles). MGs were always in scarce supply. LMGs could be Russian 7,62mm Degtyarev DP M1928s with their distinctive drum magazine, or, later, captured Italian Breda M30s. Heavier MGs could be anything; the wargamer would be right to represent each stand in the MG company with a different model such as the Maxim (several versions, at least one with carriage and shield) and the 7mm Hotchkiss. As for the "grenade launchers", no details are known; it is possible that at least some of them were just obsolete WWI rifles used only for firing rifle grenades. The Gramsci battery apparently was initially equipped with "8cm" Skoda guns (actually 76.2mm). Later they seem to have used Italian 75L27 field guns; possibly war booty from Guadalajara.

More Garibaldi

Garibaldi Bttn (SCW): Introduction
Garibaldi Bttn (SCW): Uniform Illustrations
Garibaldi Bttn (SCW): History TO&E (CD)