Afiero, Massimiliano Xa Flottiglia MAS

Storia dei reparti terrestri e navali. 1943-1945

The X MAS Flotilla is undoubtedly one of the most famous and controversial military units of the Italian Social Republic, thanks above all to the work of its commander, Prince Junio Valerio Borghese. Borghese took up the legacy of the daring missions carried out by the Decima MAS of the Regia Marina between 1940 and 1943 and managed to build up new land and sea forces at the base in La Spezia and other bases in the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Adriatic. Borghese and all the men who followed him made a very clear decision after 8 September 1943: they voluntarily chose to remain in their posts and continue fighting alongside the Germans against the Allies, but above all to defend their homeland. It was a difficult decision, a decision of honour for those who made it. Commander Borghese personally signed an agreement with the Germans that allowed him to continue to lead his men from their base in La Spezia. However, the Decima units had to fight not only against the Allies, but also against other Italians, the partisan formations, in a veritable civil war that Borghese always tried to avoid being drawn into. Ultimately, the Decima units, which were attacked in their barracks and subjected to constant attacks, were drawn into the fratricidal war against their will and involved in operations against the partisans, which always ended tragically for the civilian population as well.