page_title: Blackshirts
section_title: Territorial organization
hierarchical_section_title: Blackshirts / Organization / Territorial organization
caption_attribution_description: Italiano: Caserma Mussolini negli anni 1930
context_page_description: The Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale, commonly called the Blackshirts or squadristi, was originally the paramilitary wing of the National Fascist Party, known as the Squadrismo, and after 1923 an all-volunteer militia of the Kingdom of Italy under Fascist rule, similar to the SA in Nazi Germany. Its members were distinguished by their black uniforms and their loyalty to Benito Mussolini, the Duce of Fascism, to whom they swore an oath. The founders of the paramilitary groups were nationalist intellectuals, former army officers and young landowners opposing peasants' and country labourers' unions. Their methods became harsher as Mussolini's power grew, and they used violence and intimidation against Mussolini's opponents. In 1943, following the fall of the Fascist regime, the MVSN was integrated into the Royal Italian Army and disbanded.
context_section_description: The MVSN original organization consisted of 15 zones controlling 133 legions (one per province) of three cohorts each and one Independent Group controlling 10 legions. In 1929 it was reorganized into  four raggruppamenti, but later in October 1936 it was reorganized into 14 zones controlling only 133 legions with two cohorts each, one of men 21 to 36 years old and the other of men up to 55 years old. There were also special units in Rome, on Ponza Island and the black uniformed Moschettieri del Duce ("The Leader's Musketeers", Mussolini's Guard), the Albanian Fascist Militia (four legions) and Milizia Coloniale in Africa (seven legions).
caption: Palace of the Militia [it] in Mirandola, Province of Modena, c. 1930.
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