Page "Carabinieri" Paragraph 8

Due to the role the Carabinieri had played in the downfall of Mussolini, and since one of the few units which fought the German occupation of Rome were the Granatieri di Sardegna regiments and the II Carabinieri cadet battalion, the Germans did not view the Carabinieri as loyal to the fascist cause and ordered the disbanding of all Carabinieri units in Axis-controlled territory on October 7, 1943.

As German forces subsequently began to arrest and deport members of the Carabinieri to Germany for forced labour, large numbers of Carabinieri joined the Italian resistance movement.

After the war the Carabinieri counted at least 2, 735 fallen and 6, 500 wounded, out of approximately 14, 000 who had joined the Resistance in northern and central Italy.

In Yugoslavia the Carabinieri formed a battalion of the Italian partisan Garibaldi Division, which fought alongside the Yugoslav partisans against German and Croatian Ustaše Forces.

The battalion lost over 80 % of its members in combat and was awarded the Silver Medal of Military Valor to commemorate the fallen.