In Catanzaro there is the way “Antonio Broussard, gold medal”. His name is present in the register of the MOVM Group – group of gold medals for military valor of Italy (Ente Morale RD 16 September 1927 n. 1858). The surname seems French but he was very Italian, or rather: very Calabrian. In fact, ours was born in Mongianaamong the Serre mountains, 1920.
He was called up to arms on 16 March 1940 and, after a period of training at the Depot of the 49th “Parma” Infantry Regiment based in Macerata, where he had been assigned, in the following September he joined the mobilized regiment then located in Albania which was invaded from Italy on April 7, 1939. The Italian army landed on the Albanian coast with thousands of soldiers after confusing days of tensions and ultimatums; in fact, Benito Mussolini had ordered the occupation of Albania, an Adriatic territory that he considered strategic. The invasion was the result of years of pressure and diplomatic work, and was something of a walk in the park for the Italian army, extraordinarily more numerous and equipped than the Albanian one. At the same time, the Albanian king Zog I fled with his family to Greece, after having failed in his attempt to prevent the Italian annexation. It was the beginning of an occupation that would be less remembered than others, but which caused years of violence and suffering in Albania. It would have ended with the conclusion of the Second World War and would have caused almost 30 thousand deaths, tens of thousands of people deported to concentration camps, and hundreds of villages destroyed. But there were also serious consequences on the already precarious ethnic balance of a region, the Balkans, which fifty years later would have to deal with the tensions and open wounds of a profoundly unstable demographic fabric.
Appointed soldier, Antonio Broussard, was assigned to the liaison platoon of the command company of the 1st battalion as order bearer. In a generous attempt to protect his wounded officer he was, in turn, mortally wounded on 18 November 1940, dying three days later in the Tirana hospital. Broussard was decorated with this motivation: “Private Private (Infantry, 49th Infantry Regiment). In several days of fierce fighting against an overwhelming enemy, he constantly demonstrated his courage and contempt for danger, offering a superb example of conscious valor. First in the most risky undertakings, volunteer in the most daring actions, in a particularly critical moment of the fight, animated by an indomitable desire for victory, he threw himself, at the head of his unit, against the emboldened adversary, who had already set foot on the line and he faced boldly, pressing him with irresistible throwing of hand grenades until he was forced to retreat. Wounded in the arm and realizing that his officer, also wounded, was in danger of being hit again, with virile decision and a superb gesture of altruism, he used his chest as a shield against the enemy. A burst of machine gun fire struck the leader and his wingman in a single embrace. Kapestika crossing (Greek Front), 28 October -18 November 1940. In memory”.
