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Italian invasion of France

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Italian Invasion of France
Part of the Battle of France during the Second World War
DateJune 10–22, 1940
Location
Franco-Italian border
Result

Minor Italian Victory, Italian Army sustains heavy casulties[1]<br

Territorial
changes		 Italian occupation of parts of Menton
Belligerents
Italy Italy France France
Commanders and leaders
Italy Umberto di Savoia France René Olry
Strength

22 divisions,[2][3]

  • Approx. 300,000

5 divisions[1]

Casualties and losses
631 killed,
2,631 wounded,
616 missing		 40 killed,
84 wounded,
150 missing

The Italian invasion of France in June 1940 was a small scale invasion that started near the end of the Battle of France during World War II. The goal of the Italian offensive was to take control of the Alps mountain range and the region around Nice and to win the colonies in North Africa. The offensive did not meet its planned goals, with the Italian forces making only limited headway.

Background

On 10 June 1940, Italy declared war on France and Britain. The French government was already fleeing to Bordeaux and Paris was an open city. Feeling that the war would soon be over, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini said to Pietro Badoglio, the Chief of Staff of the Italian Royal Army (Regio Esercito), "I only need a few thousand dead so that I can sit at the peace conference as a man who has fought" [5][6]. Mussolini had the immediate war aim of expanding the Italian colonies in North Africa by taking land from the British and French colonies.

However, Italy was not prepared for war and Italy's armed forces made little impact during the last few days of the Battle of France. Mussolini was well aware of Italy's military limitations at the time, but he still sought to profit from Germany's successes [7]. Of Italy's declaration of war, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, President of the United States, said: "On this tenth day of June 1940, the hand that held the dagger has struck it into the back of its neighbor." [8]

The offensive

Much of June was lost as the Italian armed forces prepared for an invasion. But, even after additional time for preparations, the hastily prepared Italian forces were not at their prime. The Royal Italian Army massed thirty-two divisions in two armies on the French border. The Italian Royal Air Force (Regia Aeronautica) supported the Royal Army and flew 716 missions and dropped 276 tons of bombs. The Italian Royal Navy (Regia Marina Italiana) did little to support the invasion.

The French armed forces were in no shape to resist the Italians. The French Army (Armée de Terre) was already defeated in the north and only a relatively small force was maintained on the border with Italy. The French Air Force (Armée de l'Air) was relocating to French North Africa by the time of the Italian declaration of war and the subsequent offensive.

The French Navy (Marine Nationale) was the only service in a position to act against the Italians. At dawn on 14 June, the French Third Squadron based in Toulon carried out an operation in Italian waters. Four heavy cruisers and eleven destroyers opened fire on the oil storage tanks and military installations on the Ligurian coast and in the port of Genoa. No Italian aircraft appeared and the coastal artillery scored only one hit. The French destroyer Albatros received a 155 mm round on its boiler room, which killed 12 seamen.[9]

On 16 June, the French sloop La Curieuse forced the Italian submarine Provana to surface off Oran and then sank it by ramming. The French vessel also sustained heavy damage on her stem. This was the first Italian submarine to be sunk by the French Navy.[10]

Armistice sought

During the night of 16 June and into the morning of 17 June, Marshal Philippe Pétain proposed an armistice with the German government. On Thursday 20 June, the French government asked the Italian government for an armistice.[11]

Italians cross the border

Battle for France. Note Italian invasion in the south.

On 20 June, the Italian campaign began[12] and, on 21 June, troops of the Italian Royal Army crossed the French border in three places The Italians attacked in two directions. One force attempted to advance through the Alps and another force attempted to advance along the Mediterranean coast towards Nice. Initially, the Italian offensive enjoyed a limited level of success. The French defensive lines on the Italian border were weakened due to French High Command shuffling forces to fight the Germans. Some French mountain units had been sent to Norway. However, the Italian offensive soon stalled at the fortified Alpine Line (as the southern portion of the fortifications that included the Maginot Line was called) in the Alps and along the Mediterranean coast. The attack through the Little Saint Bernard Pass in the Alps had to stop due to a massive snow storm. The Italian forces attacking through the French Riviera advanced only about five miles and were stopped in the vicinity of the town of Menton [13], which was partially occupied by the Italian army;[14] on the Côte d'Azur the Italian invasion was held up by a French NCO and seven men.[15]

On 21 June, the French battleship Lorraine opened fired on the port of Bardia in Italian Libya. French naval aircraft also attacked Taranto and Livorno in mainland Italy during some of the last actions of the French against the Italians.[11]

Casualties

During the invasion, Italian casualties were far greater than French casualties. Italian losses were 631 men killed, 2,361 wounded, 2,000 cases of frostbite and 616 men missing. This compares to French losses of 40 men killed, 84 wounded, and 150 men missing.[12]

Aftermath

Main article: Italian-occupied France

In the evening of 22 June 1940, France surrendered to Germany.[16]

On 25 June, France and Italy signed an armistice.[17] Ciano, who led the armistice delegation as Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, reflected: "Mussolini is quite humiliated because our troops have not made a step forward."[18] The debacle forced Mussolini to abandon his pretensions of reconstituting an Empire at French expense, and Italy dropped its claims to the Rhône Valley, Corsica, Tunisia, and Djibouti, settling for a modest 50 km demilitarized zone.[18] In the event, with Germany's blessing, Italy occupied Corsica and the Alpes-Maritimes, plus some areas of French territory along the Franco-Italian border further north.[19] Nevertheless,

The strutting Italian dictator had been quickly deflated—all the more so because of the miserable showing of the Italian army against a handful of French troops.[18]

Order of battle

Italian

  • Army Group 'West'
General Officer Commanding: Prince General Umberto di Savoia
Chief of Staff: General Emilio Battisti
General Officer Commanding: General Pietro Pintor
Chief of Staff: General Fernando Gelich
Forlì Infantry Division, Acqui Infantry Division, Livorno Infantry Division, and Cuneese Alpine Division
Ravenna Infantry Division, Cuneo Infantry Division, and 1st Alpine Group (3 Alpine battalions plus 2 mountain artillery battalions)
Cosseria Infantry Division, Modena Infantry Division, Cremona Infantry Division, and 2nd Alpine Group (4 Alpine battalions, 1 Blackshirt battalion, and 2 mountain artillery battalions)
    • Army Reserve
Pistoia Infantry Division, Cacciatori delle Alpi Infantry Division, Lupi di Toscana Infantry Division, Pusteria Alpine Division, 1st Bersaglieri Regiment, 3rd Armored Regiment, and Monferrat Cavalry Regiment[20]
    • 4th Army
General Officer Commanding: General Alfredo Guzzoni
Chief of Staff: General Mario Soldarelli
Superga Infantry Division, Cagliari Infantry Division, and Pinerolo Infantry Division
Assietta Infantry Division and Sforzesca Infantry Division
Taurinense Alpine Division, Levanna Autonomous Group (3 Alpine battalions and 1 mountain artillery battalions), and 3rd Alpine Regiment
      • Army Reserve
Legnano Infantry Division, Brennero Infantry Division, Tridentina Alpine Division, 4th Bersaglieri Regiment, 1st Armored Regiment, and Nizza Cavalry Regiment[20]

Overall, the Italian forces numbered about 700,000 troops. However, while they enjoyed a huge numerical superiority to the French, they had several deficiencies. The Italian armored regiments were from the 133 Armoured Division Littorio and included between 150 to 250 L3/35 tanks each. But these vehicles were often classified as "tankettes" and were little more than lightly armored machine-gun carriers not suited for modern warfare. Most Italian units had inadequate or obsolete artillery and lacked motor transport. Specific to this front, the Italians were not equipped for the cold Alpine environment.[21]

French

  • Alpine Army (l'Armée des Alpes) - General René Olry
    • 3 infantry division of type B
    • fortification sectors: Dauphiné, Savoie, Alpes Maritimes
    • defence sectors: Rhône, Nice

Overall, French forces in the region numbered about 35,000 soldiers.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Shirer (1969), p. 772
  2. ^ a b Giorgio Bocca, Storia d'Italia nella guerra fascista 1940-1943, Mondadori
  3. ^ Arrigo Petacco, La nostra guerra 1940-1945. L'avventura bellica tra bugie e verità, Mondadori
  4. ^ Arrigo Petacco, La nostra guerra 1940-1945. L'avventura bellica tra bugie e verità, Mondadori
  5. ^ Frans De Waal, Peacemaking Among Primates, Harvard University Press, 1990, ISBN 067465921X, Google Print, p.244
  6. ^ Badoglio, Pietro. L’Italia nella seconda guerra mondiale, Milano, Mondadori, 1946, p. 37.
  7. ^ A.J.P Taylor & G. Warner 1974, p. 63.
  8. ^ http://www.archives.gov/research/ww2/sound-recordings.html
  9. ^ Piekałkiewicz, Janusz. Sea War: 1939-1945. Blandford Press, London - New York, 1987, pg. 82, ISBN 0-7137-1665-7
  10. ^ Piekalkiewicz, Janusz. Sea War: 1939-1945. Blandford Press, London - New York, 1987, pg. 82, ISBN 0-7137-1665-7
  11. ^ a b Piekalkiewicz, Janusz. Sea War: 1939-1945. Blandford Press, London - New York, 1987, pg. 83, ISBN 0-7137-1665-7
  12. ^ a b Jowett, Philip S. The Italian Army 1940-45 (1): Europe 1940-1943. Osprey, Oxford - New York, 2000, pg. 5, ISBN 978-1-85532-864-8
  13. ^ http://www.comandosupremo.com/1940.html
  14. ^ Toynbee, Arnold Joseph & Toynbee, Veronica M.: Royal Institute of International Affairs Oxford University Press, 1958. Page 208
  15. ^ Horne, Alistair; To Lose a Battle; France 1940 p. 565 ISBN 978-0140134308
  16. ^ http://www.kbismarck.com/frencharmistice.html
  17. ^ Jowett, Philip S. The Italian Army 1940-45 (1): Europe 1940-1943. Osprey, Oxford - New York, 2000, pg. 5, ISBN 978-1-85532-864-8
  18. ^ a b c Shirer (1969), p. 899
  19. ^ Aly, Götz & Chase, Jefferson; Hitler's Beneficiaries: Plunder, Racial War, and the Nazi Welfare State p. 145, Macmillan, 2007 ISBN 0805079262
  20. ^ a b Jowett, Philip S. The Italian Army 1940-45 (1): Europe 1940-1943. Osprey, Oxford - New York, 2000, pp. 5-6, ISBN 978-1-85532-864-8
  21. ^ http://www.comandosupremo.com/France.html
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