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Italian occupation of France

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Military Administration in France
Militärverwaltung in Belgien und Nordfrankreich
Military Administration of Italy
1941–1943
File:Savoy2.PNG
Historical eraWorld War II
• Military occupation
1941
• Disestablished
1943
Preceded by
Succeeded by
French Third Republic
Provisional Government of the French Republic
The parts of France under Italian control are highlighted in green

Fascist Italy occupied a small section of south-east France during World War II, during the time of the Vichy Government under Nazi German control. It held the territory, which included Grenoble and Nice, from 1942 to 1943.

The Italian zone of occupation was 832 km² and contained 28,500 inhabitants.[1] The largest town contained within this occupational zone was Menton.[1]

In November 1942 the Italian army occupied southern France, from the delta of the Rhône River to Corsica. Specifically, Nice and Corsica were to be annexed to Italy, but this was not done because of the Italian surrender to the Allies in September 1943.

See Robert O. Paxton Vichy France, Old Guard, New Order 1972, 1997 on how the Italian zone acted as a refuge for Jews fleeing persecution in Vichy France during the occupation.

The Italian Navy established a submarine base at Bordeaux outside the italian occupied France, code named BETASOM and thirty two Italian submarines participated in the Battle of the Atlantic

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Militärgeschichtliches Forschungsamt. Germany and the Second World War - Volume 2: Germany's Initial Conquests in Europe, pg. 311