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The Italian invasion of France (10–25 June 1940), also called the Battle of the Alps, [b] was the first major Italian engagement of World War II and the last major engagement of the Battle of France. The Italian entry into the war widened its scope considerably in Africa and the Mediterranean Sea.
The Alpine Wall (Vallo Alpino) was an Italian system of fortifications along the 1,851 km (1,150 mi) of Italy's northern frontier. Built in the years leading up to World War II at the direction of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, the defensive line faced France, Switzerland, Austria, and Yugoslavia.
After Operation Dragoon, the invasion of Southern France, the Allies were able to bring the campaign up to the Alps by the Autumn of 1944. [ 5 ] During 1945 de Gaulle was able to send soldiers and partisans to help the Italian resistance near the city of Aosta , and could have occupied a territory of 20km from the Franco-Italian border if ...
The treaty boundary roughly followed the crest of the Maritime Alps inland through the Cottian Alps to Switzerland. The precise line of demarcation left the upper reaches of many westward-draining valleys in Italian hands, thus giving Italy positions on high points overlooking French territory, those however were most impractical and inadequate.
As part of the Paris Peace Treaties of 1947, the Franco-Italian border was adjusted to place Mont Chaberton and the upper reaches of the Col de Larche in France. [14] Nevertheless, the major Alpine positions remained operational, preserved until the 1970s when interest in expensive fixed fortifications had declined.
For the historian Éric Alary, [6] the partitioning of France into two main zones, libre and occupée, was partly inspired by the fantasy of pan-Germanist writers, particularly a work by a certain Adolf Sommerfeld, published in 1912 and translated into French under the title Le Partage de la France, which contained a map [7] showing a France partitioned between Germany and Italy according to a ...
The first demonstration against the occupation, by Paris students, took place on November 11 1940. As the war continued, anti-German clandestine groups and networks were created, some loyal to the French Communist Party, others to General Charles de Gaulle in London. They wrote slogans on walls, organized an underground press, and sometimes ...
World War II operations and battles of the Italian Campaign (2 C, 60 P) Pages in category "Battles of World War II involving Italy" The following 86 pages are in this category, out of 86 total.