Saturday 09/September/2023 at 07:05 – Updated at 07:05 History
Endorsing the capitulation of Italy, the signing of the armistice between the Allies and Marshal Badoglio created an unprecedented and confusing situation for Corsica: the Italians theoretically sided with the Allies, fighting with the Corsican patriots against the Germans. who have orders to evacuate the island. The mission of the French troops sent by Giraud – Goumiers and Shock Battalion – is to liberate Corsica by inflicting maximum losses on the enemy before they withdraw.
Léo Micheli says: ” On September 8, I learned of the announcement of Italy’s capitulation around 7:30 p.m. from a comrade, Albert Stefanini, who came to the clandestine headquarters on Boulevard Gaudin. We immediately mobilized the comrades and implemented the decision taken in San Gavinu to start the insurrection. In Bastia, we gave the order to occupy the Vichyist organizations, that is to say the militia, the Legion of Combatants, the town hall and the prefecture, Place Saint-Nicolas and we called on the comrades – whose responsibilities had been predefined – to take charge of the institutions. The French police were at our orders. Simon Vinciguerra, Dominique Poli and I occupied the sub-prefecture and told the sub-prefect to stay quiet, and we left him in his apartments. » (Interview with Dominique Lanzalavi. As a free man)
On September 9, in the streets of Bastia, after the slogan of insurrection launched by Maurice Choury and Henri Maillot, the situation was surreal: Italian, German and FFI soldiers armed with Stein submachine guns rubbed shoulders without displaying their hostility.
Paul Silvani : « Armed patriots parade through town, assured of the support of the Italian soldiers of anti-fascist Colonel Gianni Cagnoni, under the stunned eyes of the Germans. 350 machine guns are distributed in the Lupino tunnel. Sub-prefect Murat gives way to the sub-prefecture council, led by Simon Vinciguerra, after a first interview with Jacques Faggianelli and Dominique Poli. We leave in place the mayor of Vichy, General Gherardi, who has already flown in the Allied colors. » (And Corsica was liberated)
In reality, the fighting began in Bastia on the night of September 8 to 9. As soon as news of the armistice between Badoglio and the Allies became known, German units attacked the Italian navy in the port of Bastia by surprise, causing casualties. Several ships were put out of action, but some managed to escape. But the next morning, the Italian general Stivala reacted strongly and regained control of the port with the spontaneous help of Corsican patriots. The German prisoners are released and a truce is declared.
The night’s fighting in the port of Bastia caused a fire on board the cargo ship Humanitas which, loaded with ammunition, risks razing the port area if it explodes. Hastily, the Italians carefully towed it offshore and left it adrift, while it continued to blaze in front of Pietranera. To put an end to it, we bring in the artillery. Gérard Comte testifies: “ After a few salvos, a well-placed shell exploded the cargo ship… It was a fireworks display, the boat rose out of the water, hundreds of simultaneous explosions occurred and a terrifying roar reached us . It seemed like everything was falling apart, everything was cracking open. We all instinctively threw ourselves to the ground, a powerful breath swept the mountain. A minute or two late we had just heard the explosion we had just seen. Bastia had a narrow escape this time. » (Bastia under occupation.)
The Patriot launches a call to arms
A call to arms against the German occupier is launched on September 10 by the newspaper The Patriot which has just reappeared, announcing at the same time the rallying of Corsica to Free France. In the city, the climate is heavy. ” All night long, continual comings and goings of motorcycles, trucks, cars. We cannot sleep at Notre-Dame where Sister Anna, Sister Saint Camille, Sister Charles Louis and Sister Marie Flavie reside. We are often at the window », Write the nuns of the Joan of Arc boarding school.
The Germans, to whom their weapons had been returned, turned them against the Italians before withdrawing south of Bastia. In Lucciana, they locked the men in the church with the priest Agostini and threatened to shoot them as hostages. In their war diary, the nuns express their dismay: “ In town, in the streets, in the squares, the Germans hide behind trees or in gates and machine-gun the Italians as they pass. A little girl who was crossing the street is killed. »
Le Patriote calls to arms in its September 10 edition.Doc CM
On September 11, the patriots received weapons with the kindness of General Magli thanks to the mediation of Colonel Cagnoni, while on the political level, the direction of the struggle was led by the National Front, which replaced sub-prefect Murat with a prefectural council.
On September 12, the Fort Lacroix powder magazine exploded, causing a devastating shock wave. The boarding school chapel is blown up. By a miracle, the choir is intact, as are the statues and the Stations of the Cross. The nuns who took refuge in the cellar were unharmed.
However, the city’s garrison has been disarmed, and as such, we can say that Bastia is free, the Germans having been pushed back to Biguglia. However, forty-eight hours later, they returned in force to occupy the city.
The Germans decree a curfew in Bastia
On September 13, the fighting increased. The batteries of Fort Toga and Fort Lacroix held by the Italians are attacked by tanks Tigre came in force from Sardinia and by the Luftwaffe. The German command, fearing guerrilla operations, tried to negotiate with the Corsican patriots. From the tense dialogue that took place between an officer and Simon Vinciguerra, posterity has remembered this sentence: “ All in all, we would rather be shot by you than by our comrades. »
In the evening, the Germans entered Bastia with their armored vehicles, and their return did not bode well, as Gérard Comte recounts: “ The Germans, in fact, could not forget so quickly that the civilian population had expressed its joy during the armistice of September 8, that the mayor of the city, the Intendant General Gherardi, had posted proclamations in favor of the Allies and of the French Committee for the Liberation of Algiers. They could not forget that the townspeople had looted their stores, and especially that some of them (the patriots) had helped the Italians and machine-gunned them on September 9. » The Italian soldiers withdraw to regroup in the villages.
Paul Silvani : « The district committee of the National Front (François Vittori, Simon Vinciguerra, Jacques Faggianelli, Raoul Benigni, Jean Perfettini, Albert Stefanini and Dominique Salini) goes to Ajaccio on the 14th to examine the conditions under which Bastia, once again occupied, can be released The civilian population, in large part, took refuge in the canton of San Martino. » On the morning of September 14, the Germans decreed a curfew and limited freedoms. Residents can only get supplies between 11 a.m. and noon. A leaflet distributed ends with these words: “Under penalty of death. » Hitler, in a fit of anger which was his custom, ordered General-in-Chief Senger und Etterlin to have all the Italian officers he considered traitors shot, but this order would never be executed. From now on, the Germans hold Bastia with an iron fist, the city having to serve as a bridgehead in order to evacuate their troops coming from Africa and Sardinia. The Allies know this, who will carry out destructive raids hitting the already hard-hit civilian population at the same time.
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