Parma in clashes with fascist forces. The movement was born in the summer of 1921 through the work of Argo Secondari, a former lieutenant of the "Black Flame" infantry and an anarchist. The strength of these paramilitary formations were 20,000 men enrolled, among them war veterans, who were neutral or strongly anti-fascist. Perhaps the most resonant event was the defense of Parma against fascist squadrismo in 1922: around 10,000 squadristi, first under the command of Roberto Farinacci, then Italo Balbo, had to withdraw from the city after five days of clashes against a group consisting of socialists, anarchists and communists, controlled by the heads of the Arditi del Popolo (350 took part in the battle against the fascists) Antonio Cieri and Guido Picelli. The Fascist lost 39 men, the Arditi del Popolo five. In the following months, many heads of the Arditi del Popolo were jailed or killed by fascist squadristi, sometimes with the collusion of police agencies. See also Arditi del Popolo, an antifascist organization created in 1921 by anarchist Argo Secondari The Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale (National Security Volunteer Militia) of the Italian Fascist movement Stormtroopers (Imperial Germany) Notes Sources (account of the book in Socialist Worker review) Italian language External links Arditi in English Salvante, Martina: Arditi, in: 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War. The Flower of Battle A Dagger used by Arditi Italian Army resurrects the battle proven Arditi Dagger COMSUBIN page showing their patch with the Caiman clenching the dagger Arditi del Popolo PDF Approfondimento/2 Arditi at Barricateaparma.it Arditi at Cimeetrincee.it Arditi Dagger (ru) Origin of the Arditi at Ardito2000.it Military units and formations of Italy in World War I Special forces of Italy Combat occupations