Thread by @NickWhithorn

This thread, over the next few days, will follow events surrounding the flight, capture and execution of Mussolini starting from 25th April 1945 (Photo: last known photo of Mussolini alive, evening of 25 April 1945 as he leaves Milan) >> 1

Around 4 p.m. on 25 April 1945, a meeting is organised between heads of the Fascist 'Repubblica Sociale Italiana" (RSI) & representatives of partisans of the Comitato Nazionale di Liberazione (CNL), with the Archbishop of Milan, Ildefonso Schuster (photo), as mediator >> 2

At this point German forces in Italy were negotiating their surrender to the Allies, who had never dealt directly with Mussolini & the RSI, so the CNL, from a strong position, demanded an unconditional surrender from the fascist government >> 3

Mussolini left the meeting saying he would reply within an hour. He never did. As he left the building, he passed by Sandro Pertini (photo in 1948) one of the partisan leaders, later to become President of Italy (1978-1985), who was late to the meeting >> 4

Pertini later said, "he was coming down the stairs, I was going up. He was emaciated, with an ashen face, shattered." Pertini remonstrated with the CLN delegation demanding to know why they hadn't arrested Mussolini on the spot >> 5

The truth was that the various factions within the CLN were divided on how to deal with Mussolini, whether to put him on trial by a "people's court" or hand him over to the Allies. Pertini's socialists and the communists favoured the former solution >> 6 (to be continued...)

After the meeting, Mussolini returned to the Prefecture, where he was staying & began to prepare his flight. It was clear that an insurrection was about to break out in Milan & he would fall into the hands of partisans before Allied troops arrived if he remained in the city >> 7

At this point he had three options:
1. Attempt to escape to Switzerland;
2. Attempt to escape to Germany;
3. Attempt to hold out in the Valtellina area (see map), where he would have a better chance of resisting partisan attacks until Allied troops arrived. >> 8

In any case, the first move was to leave Milan for Como. The latter city & road linking it to Milan were still controlled by the fascists. At about 8 p.m. a column of cars & trucks carrying about 100 fascist leaders & families left for Como >> 9

Mussolini was accompanied by SS Lieutenant Fritz Birzer (to Mussolini's right in the photo), who had been told by General Wolff to shadow Mussolini, protect him & stop him fleeing to a neutral country. His orders were: "get him to Germany alive or leave him dead in Italy." >> 10

During the night of 25/26 April large numbers of fascist troops (6-7,000) arrived in Como, ready to hold out with Mussolini. However, by the time another large contingent of 5,000 arrived from Milan on morning of 26th, Mussolini had already fled, leaving them to their fate >> 11

Mussolini abandoned Como at 4.40 a.m. on 26th April, heading for Menaggio, on the western bank of Lake Como (see map). Clearly, his intention was now to attempt an escape to Switzerland, although he told his German guard he wanted to head for Merano and then Germany >> 12

Birzer, in an interview many years later, revealed that, while in Como, he called the German Consulate in Milan and told them he was afraid Mussolini would try to escape to Switzerland and asked what should he do in this event. The answer was "kill him" >> 13

Birzer also recounted that Mussolini and his entourage had attempted to leave Como without telling him, a clear sign that the real intention of the Italian dictator was to get over the border into Switzerland. This became even more evident when the convoy reached Menaggio >> 14

On arrival at Menaggio, at around 6 a.m., instead of continuing northwards on the main road running alongside the lake, the convoy turned westwards into the Val Menaggio along a road that leads to the Swiss border, less than 20km away (see map) >> 15

The convoy stopped in town of Grandola (remember, the entourage numbered 100+) in the former Hotel Miravalle building. Here, around midday, Mussolini is joined by his lover, Clara Petacci, & he learns that the insurrection has begun in Milan & CLN has sentenced him to death >> 16

Around 3 p.m., two members of the RSI government, former Interior Minister Guido Buffarini Guidi (left) & Minister for Industry Angelo Tarchi (right), are sent with others, in 3 cars, further up the road towards the Swiss border >>17

Another member of Mussolini's German escort group, Otto Kisnat of the SD, recounted in an interview in 1968 that Mussolini told him he had sent the two men to try and negotiate passage into Switzerland with authorites at the border. They never reached it >> 18

7km further up the road, in the town of Porlezza, just 8km short of the Swiss border (see map), the cars were stopped and Buffarini Guidi & Tarchi were arrested, according to some accounts by partisans, to others by the Guardia di Finanza >> 19

One car managed to escape & return to Grandola. Mussolini now knew escape by this route was impossible. If 2 lesser known fascists in a small group with false documents couldn't get through, there was no hope for 100 people with instantly recognisable dictator among them >> 20

As an aside, Buffarini Guidi & Tarchi were later released. Both were re-arrested in following weeks but with different fates. Tarchi was jailed but pardoned in 1948. He then followed a career in the chemicals industry & was even elected city councillor in Milan in the 1960s >> 21

Buffarini Guidi was tried by an Assize Court in Milan & sentenced to death on 29 May 1945. He was executed by firing squad on 10 July 1945, one of only 2 death sentences carried out of the 36 passed by the court >> 22

Another possibility was to take a secondary road up to village of Buggiolo (see map) & then proceed on foot on mountain paths to the border, often used by smugglers. Partisans were active in this area, though not in large numbers, but it was impractical for a large group >> 23

At this point, having wasted an entire day, the only option was to return to Menaggio and head northwards along the road bordering Lake Como. By this time, however, partisan groups were on full alert and escape was becoming more & more improbable >> 24

The fugitives left Grandola in late evening, arriving in Menaggio around 11 p.m. Here, they were joined by Alessandro Pavolini (photo) Secretary of the Fascist Party. He had led 5,000 troops that reached Como from Milan on morning of 26th, only to find Mussolini had fled >> 25

Due to lack of leadership & Mussolini's evident desire to flee rather than fight, these troops dispersed & Pavolini was left with a handful of men & an armoured car (photo). The same night a column of 38 trucks with 200 well armed retreating German troops arrived in Menaggio>> 26

The column of German troops was heading for Merano in an attempt to reach Germany, so Lieutenant Birzer convinced Mussolini to join the column when it left next morning. This would be Mussolini's last night of freedom >> 27

Early on morning of 27th April 1945, the column of German troops with Mussolini and his entourage, over 1km long, set off from Menaggio, heading north. At 7.15 a.m. they were stopped just short of town of Musso at a checkpoint manned by partisans, having travelled just 12km >> 28

The checkpoint was manned by members of 52nd Garibaldi Brigade, under the command of Pier Luigi Bellini delle Stelle "Pedro" (photo). Garibaldi Brigades were mainly formed of communists, but also had socialist members. Partisan politics play a vital role in Mussolini's fate >> 29

After a short exchange of gunfire, without casualties, negotiations began between partisans & Germans. "Pedro" only had a few men in Musso but the Germans were unaware of this. He suspected leading fascists were hiding in the convoy but hadn't got enough men to search safely>> 30

Negotiations stretched on until the afternoon, as both sides felt in a weak position. While the column of trucks was stationary, Mussolini's guard, Brizer, convinced him that it would be better to disguise himself in the jacket & helmet of a German sergeant >> 31

Mussolini was not particularly keen on the idea but Clara Petacci pleaded with him to do so. He placed himself deep inside the truck, just behind the driver's cab in his jacket & helmet and covered himself with a blanket, pretending to be asleep as if drunk >> 32

Taking advantage of the prolonged stop in Musso, a group of 9 prominent fascists managed to leave the column and gave themselves up to the parish priest in the hope of clemency. Betraying Mussolini's trust, they revealed his presence in the convoy to the priest >> 33

The 9 were: Ruggero Romano (Minister of Public Works, accompanied by his son Costantino), Ferdinando Mezzasoma (Minister of Popular Culture), Paolo Zerbino (Interior Minister), Augusto Liverani (Communications Minister), Nicola Bombaci (Political advisor to Mussolini) >> 34

Luigi Gatti (Mussolini's Personal Secretary), Ernesto Daquanno (Journalist, Director of Stefani Press Agency), Goffredo Coppola (Rector of University of Bologna & President of National Institute of Fascist Culture) & Mario Nudi (Mussolini's driver & bodyguard) >> 35

The priest, however, turned them over to the partisans & reported Mussolini's presence. Knowing this, "Pedro" agreed the Germans could proceed on condition they handed over all Italians & underwent another inspection in next town of Dongo, where partisans were more numerous >> 36

The 9 captured fascists return to our story tomorrow. In the meantime, the convoy set off to Dongo, a few minutes away, with the disguised Mussolini on board truck n° 34 out of 38, lying under the bench seat covered by a blanket, pretending to be drunk >> 37

Once the column arrived in Dongo (see map), a thorough search was carried out under the command of Francesco Di Paola of Guardia di Finanza. More than 50 Italians were discovered in the convoy. All RSI government members were arrested >> 38

Family members accompanying the senior fascists were released after questioning, unharmed, with one exception, Clara Petacci's brother Marcello (photo), who tried to pass himself off as a Spanish diplomat >> 39

Mussolini was discovered hiding on board truck 34 by partisan Giuseppe Negri of the 52nd Garibaldi Brigade. Others have claimed over the years to have been the One who found Mussolini but Negri's commanders signed a declaration attributing the discovery to him (see photo) >> 40

Negri reported to the nearest officer, Urbano Lazzaro "Bill". "Bill" climbed into the truck & called, "Camerata!", then "Eccellenza!", without response. Then, "Cavalier Benito Mussolini!". Now, Mussolini jumped up & "Bill" said "in nome del popolo italiano, io l'arresto" >> 41

Mussolini offered no resistance. Indeed, the only resistance offered by anybody was a short-lived attempt to escape with exchange of gunfire by Pavolini & the other occupants of the armoured car. Pavolini was wounded and found hiding in vegetation on the shore of the lake >> 42

Mussolini was taken into Dongo Town Hall & his briefcase confiscated. It contained a number of secret documents (some say also secret correspondence between Mussolini & Churchill, the existence of which has never been proved), cheques for 1,750,000 lire & 160 gold sovereigns>> 43

Gold ingots, banknotes, jewels and such like were found in luggage belonging to Mussolini and members of his entourage. These, along with the contents of his briefcase, were deposited the same evening in a bank in the nearby Town of Domaso >> 44

Around 6.30 p.m., "Pedro", in command of 52nd Garibaldi Brigade decided the Town Hall was not a safe place to detain Mussolini & moved him to the Guardia di Finanza barracks in Germasino, a village in the hills above Dongo (see map). Later, all prisoners were moved there >> 45

In the barracks in Germasino Mussolini was asked to write and sign a note (see photo) confirming he had been arrested and that he had been treated correctly. This is the last document he wrote. Despite the barracks being a safe place, "Pedro" decides to move Mussolini again >> 46

This is where the politics of the various partisan groups comes into play and muddies the water a little. I will try to explain it simply, at the risk of oversimplifying things, so as not to distract from the main theme, so bear with me or, if you prefer, jump a few tweets >> 47

We have already mentioned the CLN (Comitato per la Liberazione Nazionale), which grouped members of 6 parties, 3 from the left (Communists, Socialists, Partito d'Azione) & 3 from the right (Democratic Labour, Liberals, Christian Democrats) >> 48

Left wing parties dominated in terms of activists & fighters on the ground and, thus, morally, having suffered the greatest number of casualties. The Garibaldi Brigades were predominantly communist but not all their members were communists, possibly including "Pedro" >> 49

The other organisation we need to consider is the CVL (Corpo Volontari della Libertà). This was created in June 1944 as a General Command structure for partisan groups, importantly with the support of the Allied forces. So, formally, it was "senior" to CLN >> 50

As we've said, CLN in Milan had already sentenced Mussolini to death. This can be explained by direct experience of fighters on the ground who'd seen their comrades killed, tortured, their bodies displayed in public, as happened in Piazzale Loreto, in Milan, in August 1944 >> 51

The CVL, on the other hand, being more removed from the brutal day to day reality and having close ties to the Allied forces, wanted Mussolini to be handed over to the Allies to be tried. Now, we can return to "Pedro" moving Mussolini from the barracks in Germasino >> 52

"Pedro" was probably contacted by Lt.Col. Sardagna, CVL representative in Como once news of Mussolini's arrest reached him, stressing need to consign the former dictator to the Allies. Whether he was a communist or not, "Pedro" respected the chain of command & obeyed orders >> 53

Thus, in the late evening he took Mussolini & Clara Petacci to the jetty at Moltrasio (see map), where a boat was expected to be waiting to take them across the lake to Blevio, where they could be held in a fortified villa until the arrival of the Allies >> 54

"Pedro" was accompanied by his fellow partisans Luigi Canali "Capitano Neri", Giuseppina Tuisi "Gianna" & Michele Moretti "Pietro Gatti". There was no boat waiting & sounds of gunfire could be heard from Como, as American troops were starting to attack the city >> 55

Given the uncertain situation, it was decided to take Mussolini & Petacci to a secure house known to "Capitano Neri", belonging to the De Maria family, in Bonzanigo (see map). After arriving here at 3 a.m., Mussolini & Petacci were left under guard by just 2 young partisans >> 56

The 2 partisans left alone to guard Mussolini & Petacci for 12 hours, until the afternoon of 28 April, were Guglielmo Cantoni "Sandrino Menefrego" & Giuseppe Frangi "Lino", who was a nephew of the De Marias, owners of the house. They treated the prisoners well but firmly >> 57

A short, but tragic, aside is that 3 of the young protagonists, "Gianna", "Capitano Neri" & "Lino", having survived the war against fascism would die in May & June 1945, probably at the hands of communist partisans. The back story is complex & would require another thread! >> 58

The only body found was that of Frangi "Lino". The bodies of "Gianna" and "Capitano Neri" were almost certainly thrown into Lake Como and never resurfaced >>59

While all these movements of Mussolini were going on in the Lake Como area, his destiny was being decided elsewhere, in Milan. At 11 p.m. on 27 April, after learning of Mussolini's arrest, the Insurrection Committee of CLNAI (AI stands for 'Alta Italia') met >> 60

They decided to send a group charged with executing Mussolini immediately, to avoid the risk of his falling into Allied hands. This was considered urgent now that American troops had already reached Como & were actively searching for the former dictator >> 61

As we saw previously, the CVL was also actively trying to get Mussolini into Allied custody and, indeed, its commander General Raffaele Cadorna (on the left in photo) had contacted Lt.Col. Sardagna & got him to organise the failed boat crossing from Moltrasio to Blevio >> 62

So, the CNLAI had to act quickly if it wanted to carry out its Plan to execute Mussolini. Indeed, it had received a telegram from Allied High Command requesting it to hand over all members of the RSI government, in line with Italy's surrender signed at Cassibile in 1943 >> 63

The CNLAI considered that agreement to be invalid, given everything that had happened in Italy in the meantime and, in an attempt to deceive the Allies, replied to the telegram saying that Mussolini had already been executed >> 64

The CLNAI entrusted the task of bringing Mussolini & his accomplices to Milan for execution or, if not possible, execution in another place to Walter Audisio "Colonello Valerio" & Aldo Lampredi "Guido" (see photos) >> 65

The fact that Audisio belonged to the CVL and Pertini and others from CLNAI brought heavy pressure on Gen. Cadorna forced the latter to sign passes for Audisio & Lampredi and this would prove vital for the unfolding of events, as they had the approval of both CLN & CVL >> 66

They left Milan at 7 a.m. on 28th April with a platoon of 14 partisans commanded by Alfredo Mordini "Riccardo" (photo) & Orfeo Landini "Piero". On arrival in Como they showed their passes & lied to Lt.Col. Sardagna, assuring him they would bring Mussolini back with them >> 67

Forced to wait in Como until after 12 noon for a truck, they reached Dongo at about 2.10 p.m. on 28th April. Just after they arrived, 2 representatives of Como CLN also turned up in Dongo, Oscar Sforni & Cosimo De Angelis. The situation was about to get very complicated >> 68

The latest arrivals, Sforni & De Angelis, revealed that they had orders to take Mussolini to Como unharmed, thus threatening to wreck Audisio's plans. Audisio thus decided to take extreme action, detaining them and only releasing them when everything was over >> 69

Another problem arose when Audisio met "Pedro", who, you will recall, was commander of 52nd Garibaldi Brigade in Dongo. Though he was an officer in a predominantly communist group, he was not a communist himself. When Audisio revealed his real intentions, "Pedro" dissented >> 70

However, we 've also seen that "Pedro" respected the chain of command & when he saw Audisio's papers were signed by Gen. Cadorna of CVL, he acquiesced, albeit reluctantly. Audisio ordered him to bring the other Fascist prisoners from the barracks in Germasino to Dongo >> 71

While "Pedro" went off to fetch the other prisoners, grudgingly knowing their fate, Audisio set off in a car, accompanied only by Lampredi and Michele Moretti "Pietro Gatti". He left his own contingent of 14 men in Dongo because he wanted to act quickly & inconspicuously >> 72

When Audisio, Lampredi & Moretti set off from Dongo, it was 3.15 p.m. on 28th April 1945 and Mussolini had less than an hour to live >> 73

Audisio took Moretti with him as he knew where the De Maria house (photo) was situated in the village of Bonzanigo. He wouldn't have been able to find it himself. Once they arrived, they told Mussolini & Petacci that they'd come to free them so that they would cooperate >> 74

They drove a short distance to the place chosen for the execution. It was at the gate to a house, called Villa Belmonte, in Giulino di Mezzegra (see photo). Mussolini & Petacci were told to get out & Audisio instructed Lampredi & Moretti to block the road in both directions >> 75

Audisio pushed Mussolini against the wall and proclaimed, "By order of the High Command of the Comitato Volontari della Libertà, I am charged with rendering justice to the Italian people." Audisio pulled the trigger on his MAS-38 submachine gun (photo) but it jammed >> 76

Lampredi ran up with his pistol but that jammed too. Moretti arrived with his submachine gun & this didn't jam. Who actually fired the gun? According to the official version given by the Communist Party (all 3 involved were communists), it was Audisio, but nobody can be sure>> 77

Lampredi, having unjammed his Beretta pistol (photo), made sure Mussolini was dead by shooting him in the heart. It was 4.10 p.m. on 28th April 1945. The bodies of Mussolini and Petacci were left lying where they fell, as the 3 men hurried back to Dongo to finish their work >> 78

Before leaving to execute Mussolini, Audisio had already drawn up a list of 15 leading fascists to be executed. Why 15? Because that was the number of partisans executed by the RSI in Piazzale Loreto on 10tg August 1944, their bodies left on display for a whole day (photo) >> 79

I should just add, following the previous tweet, that from now on some of the photos will be rather unpleasant, even in black and white, but are an essential tool for understanding the context of subsequent events >> 80

The list of 15 names drawn up by Audisio (see photo) contains the 9 people we listed in Tweets 34 & 35, so I won't repeat them, and Alessandro Pavolini, who we mentioned in Tweet in Tweet 25 >> 81

The other 5 were:
1. Paolo Porta, commander 'Brigate Nere';
2. Francesco Maria Barracu, Secretary to the Prime Minister;
3. Pietro Calistri, Republican Air Force Officer;
4. Vito Casalinuovo, Republican National Guard;
5. Idreno Utimpergher, commander Lucca 'Brigate Nere' >> 82

The prisoners had been brought to the Town Hall. The Mayor of Dongo, Giuseppe Rubini attempted to intervene and block the executions, without success. In protest, he removed the Italian flag from the Town Hall. The prisoners were brought out in a group (see photo) >> 83

They were lined up against the railings and executed by a firing squad, commanded by Alfredo Mordini "Riccardo", one of the group of partisans that had arrived from Milan with Audisio >> 84

There was still one execution to be carried out. Marcello Petacci, Clara's brother, who had been arrested with the others the day before. The members of the fascist government had asked that he be executed seperately as they didn't consider him 'one of them' >> 85

When his turn came, Petacci managed to escape momentarily & jumped into the lake. He was shot in the water and his body dragged out. It was now 6 p.m. The 16 bodies were loaded onto a truck and the same partisans who'd arrived from Milan that day set off back to the city >> 86

They stopped briefly to pick up the bodies of Mussolini & Clara Petacci on the way. It took 9 hours to cover 120km to Milan. The bodies were covered by a tarpaulin & Audisio, despite his credentials, had difficulty getting past numerous roadblocks without revealing the 'load'>>87

Once in Milan, the truck with the bodies headed to Piazzale Loreto, where 15 partisans had been massacred by fascists the previous August. It arrived at 3.40 a.m. & the bodies were dumped in the centre of the Piazza. The final dramatic phase of the story was about to unfold >> 88

Events in Piazzale Loreto on 29th April 1945 are perhaps cruder & more shocking than the executions of the previous day and, thus, better remembered. Indeed, many mistakenly think of Piazzale Loreto as the site of Mussolini's execution, rather than his ultimate humiliation >> 89

As mentioned, after arriving from Dongo, the truck dumped the 18 bodies in the centre of Piazzale Loreto. At this point, most of the partisans left, leaving a handful on guard. Most of these soon fell asleep. By around 7 a.m. people out & about began to notice the bodies >> 90

Word passed quickly around the city and crowds began to gather. The partisans were overwhelmed and couldn't hold people back. Those pushing from the back to see the bodies forced those at the front to step on the bodies, disfiguring them >> 91

Angry people kicked the bodies, spat on them, urinated on them. A woman with a pistol fired five bullets into Mussolini's body, one for each of her five sons, who'd died in the war >> 92

By 11 a.m. things were out of control. Even bursts of submachine gun fire in the air failed to deter the crowds. Then, more partisans arrived, the fire brigade was called & they hosed down the bodies. Then, they found a solution that would allow everyone to see the bodies >> 93

Seven bodies of the most prominent fascists were hoisted up and hung by their feet (upside down) from the shelter covering the Standard Oil petrol station at the junction with Corso Buenos Aires. These shocking images are the best known from the events of that day >> 94

The decision to hang the bodies up was dictated by reasons of public order. It meant everybody in the huge crowd (see photo) could see them without the risk of injuries caused by crushing. There is also a reason why they were hung upside down >> 95

The bodies had become so stiff that, if hung by their arms, there was a risk that the arms would have broken and caused the bodies to fall. As we will see shortly, one of the bodies fell in any case >> 96

The 7 bodies hung up were:
Mussolini
Clara Petacci
Marcello Petacci
Francesco Maria Barracu
Alessandro Pavolini
Paolo Zerbino
Ferdinando Mezzasoma
Clara Petacci's skirt was tied to her legs to avoid showing her underwear. An odd touch of dignity on an undignified occasion >> 97

During the morning, in the Ticinese area of Milan, partisans recognised & arrested Achille Starace, former General Secretary of the Fascist Party, who'd fallen into disgrace. He was taken to Piazzale Loreto, paraded in front of the bodies & executed by firing squad (photo) >> 98

As the body of Barracu had fallen, Starace's body was hauled up to replace it. Throughout the morning, even before the bodies were strung up, a certain number of American troops from the 91st Recon Squadron were present in Piazzale Loreto (see photo) but never intervened >> 99

In the early afternoon, a group of partisans from 87th Garibaldi Brigade arrived in Piazzale Loreto and, by order of CVL High Command, removed the bodies & transported them to the mortuary in Piazzale Gorini. Here, postmortems were carried out early next morning (photo) >> 100

Appropriately, and purely by chance, tweet n°100 brings the story of Mussolini's flight, capture and execution to its conclusion. Hope the thread has been interesting and informative. I usually do threads on mafia and Sicily, so I enjoyed doing something different. Alla prossima!