The Voluntary Military Service, also called the Blackshirts, or voltretto, was initially the underground wing of the National Fascist Party, called the Squadritto, and in 1923 a tiny all Volunteer military of the Italian Kingdom of Italy under Fascism control, much like the SS in Nazi Germany. On the third day of this month, November 1923, King Victoruccio of Italy declared a general strike against the striking miners, who had not voted against the strike. The strike, which was called by the Fascists as “black Sunday,” was one of many mass demonstrations that were to be violently put down by the workers. King Victoruccio declared a national strike in all the regions of Italy. The miners were not only beaten badly, but their bodies were branded with the symbols of Fascism.
The Fascists called this the “Fascinator” uniform, because it simply consisted of a black shirt having on it a red band around the collar. Black shirts were also worn by the royal guards during the Duce’s visit to Rome at the time. After he was shot by an assassin and died in the arms of his wife, the government ordered all the Italian military forces to use the black shirts as a dress code. The black shirts, or “fasciati” as they were called, or the black shirts worn by the guards were also adopted by the Italian navy as well as the Marines and the Air Force. As such, the black shirts worn by Italian soldiers were adopted as the standard uniform for the armed forces throughout the world.
However, the original intent of this uniform worn by Italians or any nation that might be considered comparable is as a sign of mourning for a family death or loss of life. The term “fascination” comes from Fascismo, which was the ideology of Fascists in the 20th century. At that time, Fascism represented the will of working class people throughout the world to take their place at the top of society. Many of today’s far right groups in various countries are part of this movement. However, there are many modern variations of Fascism.
When the British invasion of Italy was going to start, an Italian corporal was made a ceremonial sword with the black, gold-colored shirt. The corporal was made to wear the shirt until the war was over. During the Second World War, when the British forces were going to withdrawal from the Italian cities, they ordered each soldier to put on the shirt. Thus, Italy was made the first honorary corporal of the MRM (Military Order of the Military Services). Today, any Italian serving in any branch of the armed forces is entitled to wear the MRM.
Today, whenever someone is asked what the symbol is, most people just give a blank stare. However, there has been a major resurgence of Fascism and other far right movements in recent years. In Italy, during the 1950’s, there was a full scale civil war, pitting Fascism against the communist party. The Black Shirts were used by both sides of the struggle. However, with the end of the war, many of those who were still wearing the black shirts saw their role as coming to an end. That is why there is very little left of the original Italian Fascistic Black Shirts.
During World War II, the British army also wore extremely dark and heavy brown shirts for protection against the ultra-violet rays of the sun. They also designed their own uniform called the “British biker jacket” or sometimes referred to as a “British biker t-shirt.” As you can see, the evolution of Fascism did not stop with the adoption of a uniform. Fascism, regardless of whether it is in its conventional form or the more radical ideology of Nazi Germany, always demanded uniform or at least a recognized symbol to identify members of the group.
A similar uniform called “courageous cuffs” was also adopted by the Italians. The term “courageous cuff” is sometimes used interchangeably with the term “mussolini.” It was Benito Mussolini, the leader of the Italian blackshirts, who changed the design of the uniform from the “British biker jacket” to what we know today as the “courageous cuff,” with the colors of gold instead of white. The design was adopted from the classic motorcycle racing style, with gold edges around the wrists and shoulders to resemble the bloodlines of motorcycle racers.
The end of World War II saw the formation of “coalitions of resistance,” which included both Fascists and Nazi Germany. When the coalitions of resistance were formed, many military uniforms were given to people who were part of this movement. One such uniform was the “chicken skin” uniform, a collaboration between the British army and the German SS. Many people are surprised when they learn that the original design of the “chicken skin” was an inspiration for the uniforms of US Marine Corps soldiers!
