Carbonara, Italy, First Overseas Brigade

FIRST FOREIGN BRIGADE
The First Foreign Brigade was established on 20 October 1943 in base 75 in Carbonari. Initially, it was composed of four battalions; in two of them were Slovenes, in the third Montenegrins, and in the fourth Croats (Istrians and Dalmatians). In addition, the brigade also included an independent women's unit, which numbered more than a hundred fighters. In the brigade's headquarters were representatives of all Yugoslav nationalities. When the brigade was moved to Gravino, two more battalions were established before departure for the homeland. On 22 November 1943, the brigade's unit donned British uniforms; a few days of stay in Italy was used for intensive training, maneuvers, etc., since there were also underage soldiers, former members of special penal units, who had not previously held weapons in their hands. The movement of the brigade from Italy to the central Dalmatian islands began on 25 November and ended on 7 December 1943. In total, 2058 fighters were transported back to the homeland.

Source: Prekomorci, Miloš Ivančič, Koper 2023

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