Narrative
Narrative of the Organization's History
Narrative of the Organization's History
Leadership, Name Changes, Size Estimates, Resources, Geographic Locations
Ideology, Aims, Political Activities, Targets, and Tactics
First Attacks, Largest Attacks, Notable Attacks
Foreign Designations and Listings, Community Relations, Relations with Other Groups, State Sponsors and External Influences
Mapping relationships with other militant groups over time in regional maps
GAP's chief aim was to prevent a fascist coup d'etat. The group sought to prevent it in part by creating squads of guerrilla fighters modeled after those that had fought the fascists in World War II.[10] These fighters had been known as partisans. Some of GAP's members were former partisans, and some were former members of the Italian Communist Party (PCI) who felt the party was too reformist and too accommodating to the right wing.
GAP members included former Communists who had left the party disillusioned, finding its stance too gradualist. GAP founder Feltrinelli in particular had financed the Italian Communist Party (PCI) prior to the mid 1950s. He broke with the Communists after the Soviet Union's suppression of the Hungarian uprising.[11]
Feltrinelli wielded a great deal of political influence through his publishing company. He published his own political writings as well as those of other left-wing thinkers, especially Latin American revolutionaries.[12] GAP also spread propaganda by hijacking television waves.[13]
GAP targeted symbols of industry and capitalism like construction yards.[14] The group planned to conduct guerrilla war from the mountains but was based in cities throughout its short lifespan.[15] The group did not successfully target either state symbols or fascist groups, though the allied October 22 Circle did.
GAP conducted sabotage attacks against property with bombs and incendiary devices. No killings are attributed directly to GAP, though founder Feltrinelli aided the assassination of a Bolivian official in Germany involved in the capture and death of Che Guevara.[16]
Disclaimer: These are some selected major attacks in the militant organization's history. It is not a comprehensive listing but captures some of the most famous attacks or turning points during the campaign.
September 22, 1970: GAP members staged explosions at two construction sites in Milan. (0 killed).[17]
March 14, 1972: Three GAP members, including founder Feltrinelli, attempted to blow up a power pylon in Milan. Feltrinelli was killed when the bomb went off early. (1 killed).[18]
The relationship between the October 22 Circle and the communities in which it resided is unknown.
GAP leader Feltrinelli advocated coordination among both the legal and the clandestine Italian leftist groups [19] and likely financed other left-wing terrorist organizations.[20] GAP's greatest influence on other groups was through Feltrinelli's publishing house, which published Italian translations of the writings of Latin American revolutionaries.[21]
GAP's ties were strongest to the Genoa-based left-wing terrorist group October 22 Circle. GAP helped the group claim attacks through hijacked state television waves and may have participated in the attacks themselves.[22] GAP absorbed the remainder of the October 22 Circle after most of the Circle's members were arrested.[23]
Feltrinelli tried to strike an alliance with the Red Brigades but was rebuffed because the BR's leaders did not share his preoccupation with the possibility of a coup nor his ambition to stage guerilla attacks from the mountains.[24] Many of GAP's remaining members and bases were absorbed by the BR after Feltrinelli's death.[25]
Feltrinelli also financially supported Germany's Red Army Faction (RAF).[26] Feltrinelli's gun was used to assassinate the Bolivian consul-general, who had played a role in the capture and death of Che Guevara, in Hamburg on April 1, 1971.[27]
Feltrinelli also had personal and ideological ties to the legal left-wing group Worker Power (PO) and its militant wing Illegal Work (LI) and may have helped fund them.[28]
GAP was most strongly influenced ideologically and tactically by Latin American revolutionaries including Che Guevara and Fidel Castro. GAP founder Feltrinelli's publishing company published Italian translations of their writings. Feltrinelli himself had visited Latin American and knew Castro personally.[29]
The group also had ties in Europe. Feltrinelli acquired arms from countries such as Lichtenstein and Czechoslovakia, which had more liberal gun laws than Italy, though GAP was not directly sponsored by any state.[30]
[1] Feltrinelli, Carlo. Feltrinelli. 1st U.S. ed. New York: Harcourt, 2001. p. 306
[2] Barbato, Tullio. Il Terrorismo In Italia Negli Anni Settanta : Cronaca E Documentazione. Milano: Bibliografica, 1980. p. 59
[3] Barbato, Tullio. Il Terrorismo In Italia Negli Anni Settanta : Cronaca E Documentazione. Milano: Bibliografica, 1980. p. 42.
[4] Feltrinelli, Carlo. Feltrinelli. 1st U.S. ed. New York: Harcourt, 2001. p. 306
[5] Pisano, Vittorfranco S. Terrorism and Security : the Italian Experience : Report of the Subcommittee On Security and Terrorism of the Committee On the Judiciary, United States Senate. Washington: U.S. G.P.O., 1984. p. 30
[6] Segio, Sergio. Una Vita In Prima Linea. 1. ed. Milano: Rizzoli, 2006. pp. 41-42
[7] Pisano, Vittorfranco S. Terrorism and Security: the Italian Experience: Report of the Subcommittee On Security and Terrorism of the Committee On the Judiciary, United States Senate. Washington: U.S. G.P.O., 1984. p. 13; Solomon, Barbara Probst. "Man of All Qualities." Harper's. May 2003.
[8] Pisano, Vittorfranco S. Terrorism and Security : the Italian Experience : Report of the Subcommittee On Security and Terrorism of the Committee On the Judiciary, United States Senate. Washington: U.S. G.P.O., 1984. p. 13.
[9] Segio, Sergio. Una Vita In Prima Linea. 1. ed. Milano: Rizzoli, 2006. p. 40
[10] Barbato, Tullio. Il Terrorismo In Italia Negli Anni Settanta : Cronaca E Documentazione. Milano: Bibliografica, 1980. p. 42.
[11] Solomon, Barbara Probst. "Man of All Qualities." Harper's. May 2003. p. 87.
[12] Segio, Sergio. Una Vita In Prima Linea. 1. ed. Milano: Rizzoli, 2006. pp. 41-42
[13] Piano, Paolo. "22 Ottobre" : Un Progetto Di Lotta Armata a Genova (1969-1971). Genova: Annexia, 2005. p. 103
[14] Feltrinelli, Carlo. Feltrinelli. 1st U.S. ed. New York: Harcourt, 2001. p. 306
[15] Pisano, Vittorfranco S. Terrorism and Security: the Italian Experience : Report of the Subcommittee On Security and Terrorism of the Committee On the Judiciary, United States Senate. Washington: U.S. G.P.O., 1984. p. 13.
[16] Pisano, Vittorfranco S. Terrorism and Security : the Italian Experience : Report of the Subcommittee On Security and Terrorism of the Committee On the Judiciary, United States Senate. Washington: U.S. G.P.O., 1984. p. 13.
[17] Feltrinelli, Carlo. Feltrinelli. 1st U.S. ed. New York: Harcourt, 2001. p. 306
[18] Barbato, Tullio. Il Terrorismo In Italia Negli Anni Settanta : Cronaca E Documentazione. Milano: Bibliografica, 1980. p. 59.
[19] Segio, Sergio. Una Vita In Prima Linea. 1. ed. Milano: Rizzoli, 2006. p. 40
[20] Piano, Paolo. "22 Ottobre" : Un Progetto Di Lotta Armata a Genova (1969-1971). Genova: Annexia, 2005. p. 103
[21] Segio, Sergio. Una Vita In Prima Linea. 1. ed. Milano: Rizzoli, 2006. p. 41
[22] Piano, Paolo. "22 Ottobre" : Un Progetto Di Lotta Armata a Genova (1969-1971). Genova: Annexia, 2005. p. 103
[23] Pisano, Vittorfranco S. Terrorism and Security : the Italian Experience : Report of the Subcommittee On Security and Terrorism of the Committee On the Judiciary, United States Senate. Washington: U.S. G.P.O., 1984. p. 13.
[24] Meade, Robert C. The Red Brigades : the Story of Italian Terrorism. Basingstoke, Hampshire: Macmillan, 1990. p. 49
[25] Barbato, Tullio. Il Terrorismo In Italia Negli Anni Settanta : Cronaca E Documentazione. Milano: Bibliografica, 1980. p. 56 and Pisano, Vittorfranco S. Terrorism and Security : the Italian Experience : Report of the Subcommittee On Security and Terrorism of the Committee On the Judiciary, United States Senate. Washington: U.S. G.P.O., 1984. p. 13.
[26] Meade, Robert C. The Red Brigades : the Story of Italian Terrorism. Basingstoke, Hampshire: Macmillan, 1990. p. 40
[27] Barbato, Tullio. Il Terrorismo In Italia Negli Anni Settanta : Cronaca E Documentazione. Milano: Bibliografica, 1980. p. 56 and Pisano, Vittorfranco S. Terrorism and Security : the Italian Experience : Report of the Subcommittee On Security and Terrorism of the Committee On the Judiciary, United States Senate. Washington: U.S. G.P.O., 1984. p. 30.
[28] Segio, Sergio. Una Vita In Prima Linea. 1. ed. Milano: Rizzoli, 2006. p. 40
[29] Pisano, Vittorfranco S. Terrorism and Security : the Italian Experience : Report of the Subcommittee On Security and Terrorism of the Committee On the Judiciary, United States Senate. Washington: U.S. G.P.O., 1984. p. 30
[30] Segio, Sergio. Una Vita In Prima Linea. 1. ed. Milano: Rizzoli, 2006. p. 42