Arditi del Popolo - The First Anti-Fascists The rise to power of Mussolini and the Fascists in Italy, from 1919 to 1922, provides us with important lessons, not just about Fascism but also about the tactics & organisation necessary to fight it. Equally the critical role of the wider working class struggle is thrown into sharp focus. We believe the lessons are clear enough that they emerge simply from relating the story... Article from Fighting Talk #14 (1996). The first "Combat Group" (Fascio di Combattimento) was founded on 23rd March 1919 by 118 assorted war veterans (especially the "Arditi" or shock assault troops); Futurists and ex-Leftists like Mussolini himself, who had "gone nationalist" during the war. Their programme had many "socialistic" and "syndicalistic" elements. At its birth Fascism was thus able to present itself as a radical, revolutionary movement to sweep away the status quo by any means necessary.