Italian Decima Mas 1943-45 Volume 1: Origins, Organisation, and the Early Campaigns of Borghese's Forces in the Italian Social Republic

The Italian Decima MAS is remembered both for its daring naval exploits and for the deep controversies surrounding its role in the bitter final years of the Second World War. In this first of two volumes, noted historian Massimiliano Afiero charts the evolution of the unit from its celebrated underwater and surface raiding successes of 1940-43 into a very different force after the September 1943 armistice.

When Italy switched sides, Prince Junio Valerio Borghese refused to disband his men, instead negotiating a special agreement with the German navy that allowed him to retain command and autonomy. What had been a small, highly specialised assault flotilla was rapidly re-formed as a mixed naval and land force of the Italian Social Republic, drawing in volunteers from across Italy. For these men, joining Borghese was a matter of honour, a way to continue fighting under the Italian flag despite the collapse of the state.

Afiero carefully reconstructs these turbulent months, tracing how the Decima adapted from raiding to conventional warfare. He examines the influx of volunteers, the creation of new battalions, the relocation of the headquarters to La Spezia, and the difficult balance Borghese attempted to maintain between collaboration with the Germans and preservation of Italian independence. The narrative follows the unit's first land operations, its attempts to avoid involvement in a full civil war, and the mounting pressures that eventually dragged it into anti-partisan campaigns.

Based on archival documentation and the testimonies of participants, this study presents a detailed and balanced military history of the Decima MAS at the moment of its rebirth, setting the stage for the larger-scale campaigns covered in the second volume.