in the uniform of a
foreign volunteer of the
Waffen-SS. He is wearing the collar tabs of the 1st battalion of the "Waffen-Grenadier-Brigade der SS (italienische Nr. 1)." In October 1943, 15,000 volunteers started training at
Truppenübungsplatz Münsingen, but 9,000 of them were unsuitable and released for training in police units, the
Black Brigades, or for labor. On 23 November 1943, 13 Miliz-Battalions pledged their loyalty before being moved to
SS-Ausbildungsstab Italien. The unit was commanded by
SS-Obergruppenführer Karl Wolff and called
Italienische SS-Freiwilligen-Legion, but soon renamed
1. Sturmbrigade Italienische Freiwilligen-Legion. In April 1944, three
battalions fought against Allied bridgeheads of
Anzio and
Nettuno with good results, for which Heinrich Himmler on 3 May 1944 allowed them to wear SS-Runes on black rather than red and be fully integrated into the Waffen SS. Members of the "Vendetta" under former Blackshirt Lieutenant-Colonel
Degli Oddi particularly distinguished themselves in defeating a determined effort by the
U.S. 3rd Infantry Division to overrun their positions and capturing a number of prisoners. On 7 September 1944, it was renamed
Waffen-Grenadier-Brigade der SS (italienische Nr. 1) under
Generalkommando Lombardia of
Army Group C. By December 1944, the unit comprised 15,000 men. In the spring of 1945, the division under the command of
Ernst Tzschoppe as
Kampfgruppe Binz fought against French units in Lombardy and the
Partisans in
Piedmont. On 30 April 1945, the division surrendered to US troops in
Gorgonzola,
Lombardy. == Organization ==