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
The BR-PG, like the Red Brigades and all of its other successors, sought to overthrow the Italian state and replace it with a dictatorship of the proletariat. The BR-PG also sought to liberate "proletarian" prisoners.[10]
The group differed with other BR splinter groups over the status of the revolution in Italy and the proper role of militancy in the political struggle. The BR-PG predicted an imminent civil war between classes and sought to ensure the victory of the proletariat.[11]
Like the BR and its other successors, the BR-PG targeted symbols of state power such as politicians, police, and the military. The group claimed nearly 10 killings in one year. However a large number of those killed were likely killed by accident, including security guards and drivers of intended victims. In one instance, the "Prison Front" Red Brigades members who would shortly form the BR-PG kidnapped and then killed the brother of an imprisoned former member of the Red Brigades who had cooperated with authorities.[12] Unlike other BR splinter groups with a stronger presence in industrial northern Italy, the BR-PG does not appear to have targeted factory managers.
The BR-PG did not advocate a "strategic retreat," unlike its main rival, the Red Brigades Fighting Communist Party (BR-PCC), which inherited the core of the Red Brigades.[13] The BR-PG predicted an imminent civil war between classes and sought to ensure the victory of the proletariat. At the same time, the BR-PG viewed the BR's other successors as too narrowly focused on the armed struggle to the exclusion of all other forms of political struggle.[14] The BR-PG was itself quite violent, however, and does not appear to have engaged in significant nonviolent political activity.
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.
April 27, 1982: The BR-PG killed a member of the Christian Democrat (DC) parliamentary party and his driver in Naples. (2 killed)[15]
July 15, 1982: Members of the BR-PG killed a high-ranking police officer and his driver in Naples. (2 killed)[16]
August 26, 1982: Members of the BR-PG attacked military vehicles in Salerno, killing one patrolling police officer and one military officer who intervened. They also wounded one police officer, who died of his wounds three days later. (3 killed)[17]
October 21, 1982: Members of the BR-PG killed two guards while robbing a bank in Turin. (2 killed.)[18]
The BR-PG was one of several groups that split from the Red Brigades (BR) following the BR's decline after 1980.
The BR-PG was a rival of the BR's main successor, the Red Brigades Fighting Communist Party (BR-PCC), which it argued was too militant. The dispute between the groups was mostly rhetorical,[19] however, and they did not attack each other. BR-PG also rivaled the BR.
The BR-PG was more ideologically aligned with the Red Brigades Walter Alasia (BR-WA), another splinter of the Red Brigades, and with Prima Linea (PL), the second-largest left-wing terrorist group in Italy. Members of the BR-PG, the BR-WA, and the PL discussed collaborating on a prison break but cancelled the operation because it was too difficult.[20]
[1] Segio, Sergio. Una Vita In Prima Linea. 1. ed. Milano: Rizzoli, 2006. p. 374
[2] Segio, Sergio. Una Vita In Prima Linea. 1. ed. Milano: Rizzoli, 2006. p. 374
[3] Brigaterosse.org. "BRIGATE ROSSE 1970-1988: 18 anni di lotta armata." 2005. Available: http://www.brigaterosse.org/brigaterosse/storia.htm
[4] Brigaterosse.org. "Le Brigate Rosse - PG." 2005. Available: http://www.brigaterosse.org/brigaterosse/storia/pg.htm
[5] Segio, Sergio. Una Vita In Prima Linea. 1. ed. Milano: Rizzoli, 2006. p. 195.
[6] Brigaterosse.org. "Le Brigate Rosse - PG." 2005. Available: http://www.brigaterosse.org/brigaterosse/storia/pg.htm
[7] Brigaterosse.org. "Giovanni Senzani - 'Emiliano.'" 2005. Available: http://www.brigaterosse.org/brigaterosse/personaggi/GiovanniSenzani.htm
[8] Curcio, Renato (ed.). La Mappa Perduta. Roma: Sensibili alle foglie, 1994. p. 201.
[9] Brigaterosse.org. "Le Brigate Rosse - PG." 2005. Available: http://www.brigaterosse.org/brigaterosse/storia/pg.htm
[10] Brigaterosse.org. "Le Brigate Rosse - PG." 2005. Available: http://www.brigaterosse.org/brigaterosse/storia/pg.htm
[11] Brigaterosse.org. "Le Brigate Rosse - PG." 2005. Available: http://www.brigaterosse.org/brigaterosse/storia/pg.htm
[12] Segio, Sergio. Una Vita In Prima Linea. 1. ed. Milano: Rizzoli, 2006. p. 373
[13] Segio, Sergio. Una Vita In Prima Linea. 1. ed. Milano: Rizzoli, 2006. p. 194.
[14] Segio, Sergio. Una Vita In Prima Linea. 1. ed. Milano: Rizzoli, 2006. p. 195.
[15] Segio, Sergio. Una Vita In Prima Linea. 1. ed. Milano: Rizzoli, 2006. p. 374.
[16] Segio, Sergio. Una Vita In Prima Linea. 1. ed. Milano: Rizzoli, 2006. p. 374.
[17] Segio, Sergio. Una Vita In Prima Linea. 1. ed. Milano: Rizzoli, 2006. p. 374. and Associazione Italiana Vittime del Terrorismo. Schede/1982/BANDIERA. Available: http://www.vittimeterrorismo.it/memorie/schede/bandiera.htm
[18] Segio, Sergio. Una Vita In Prima Linea. 1. ed. Milano: Rizzoli, 2006. p. 374.
[19] Drake, Richard. The Aldo Moro Murder Case. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1995. p. 134
[20] Segio, Sergio. Una Vita In Prima Linea. 1. ed. Milano: Rizzoli, 2006. p. 201.