Definition: The Blackshirts were originally armed squads of Italian Fascists under the command of Benito Mussolini, who wore black shirts as part of their uniform. On 1 February 1923 the Blackshirts were turned into a national militia, MVSN or Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale, and they fought through the Second World War until the Italian Armistice and the creation of the Italian Social Republic in 1943.

