The Four Days of Naples

Four Days of Naples Quattro giornate di Napoli
Part of the Italian Campaign of World War II
Date 27–30 September 1943 Location Naples, Italy Result Liberation of Naples from German occupation
Belligerents
People of Naples	Nazi Germany
Commanders and leaders
Tito Pandellicini Massimo Zercatti † Pietro Bitotti	Walter Schöll Arthur Von Studerheim
Strength
est 30,000+	8,000
Casualties and losses
168 fighters killed	54-96 killed
159 unarmed civilians Total= 562 killed

159 unarmed civilians

The Four days of Naples (Italian: Quattro giornate di Napoli) refers to the popular uprising in the Italian city of Naples between 27 and 30 September 1943 against the German forces occupying the city during World War II. The occupiers were forced out by the townsfolk and the Italian Resistance before the arrival of the first Allied forces in Naples on 1 October, and for these actions the city was awarded the Gold Medal of Military Valor.

From 1940–43, Naples suffered heavy Allied bombing raids, which caused much damage and heavy losses among the civilian population. It has been calculated that 20,000 of its inhabitants fell victim to these indiscriminate attacks: over 3,000 died in the raid of 4 August 1943 alone, while around 600 were killed and 3,000 injured by the explosion of the ship Caterina Costa in port on 28 March. The city's artistic and cultural heritage also suffered damage, such as the partial destruction of the Chiesa di Santa Chiara on 4 December 1942. With the Allied advance in southern Italy, anti-Fascists in the Naples area (including Fausto Nicolini, Claudio Ferri and Adolfo Omodeo) began to establish closer contacts with the Allied commanders, and requested Naples' liberation.

From 8 September 1943, the day in which the Cassibile armistice came into force, the Italian Army forces in the area (without orders, as were most of the units at the time) drifted toward Naples. Things there were already difficult, thanks to the unceasing bombing raids and the imbalance in forces (20,000 Germans faced only 5,000 Italians in the whole of Campania). The situation in Naples soon turned into chaos, with many higher officials (unable to take the initiative or even directly collaborating with the Nazis) deserting the city, followed by the Italian troops. Those escaping included Riccardo Pentimalli and Ettore Del Tetto, the generals entrusted with military responsibility for Naples, who fled in civilian clothing. Del Tetto's last actions before fleeing had been to hand the city over to the German army and to publish a decree banning assemblies and authorising the military to fire on those who flouted that ban. Even so, sporadic but bloody attempts at resistance arose throughout the Zanzur Barracks, as far as the Carabinieri barracks at Pastrengo and at the 21st "Centro di Avvistamento" (Early Detection Post) of Castel dell'Ovo.

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