1940 : Italy attacks France |
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Collection title
Prigionieri di Guerra Alleati in Italia : 1940 - 1945
First broadcast date
02/21/2008
Abstract
Mussolini declares war on France and England on 10 June 1940. The 21 of june, italian army invades France. It is a disastrous offensive over the Alps which ended with the arrival in Menton and the death of over six hundred men and the injury of another two thousand. The 24 of june, France and Italy signed an armistice.
Broadcaster
RAI - RAI Uno
Audiovisual form
Library footage
Primary theme
Contemporary historical challenges 19th-20th c.
Credits / Cast
- Quattrina Mauro Vittorio - Director
Map locations
- Italy - Western North
- France - South East
Original language
Italian
Context
1940, Italy attacks France
Stephane Mourlane
The declaration of war announced by Italy against France, in June 10, 1940, is considered as a "stab in the back" according to the President Roosevelt statement. Indeed, at that time, the French army was largely defeated as a result of the attack launched by Germany on the Eastern Front. Under threat, the French government has left Paris in order to take refuge in Tours City. Mussolini, who signed the Pact of Steel with Hitler in May 22, 1939, took a position of neutrality given the unpreparedness of the Italian army. In June 1940, however, he sees in the French debacle an opportunity to assert its territorial claims on the County of Nice, Savoy, Corsica and Tunisia. "I need a few thousands of deaths to sit at the table of peace", he said to his Chief of Staff, Marshal Badoglio.
Days after the declaration of war, the Franco-Italian border witnessed only few skirmishes. Even If the Italian forces are outnumbered, however, the strategic context is not on their side. The Italian General- Staff, therefore, has never established plans of attack against France, focusing on defensive strategies behind the fortifications of "Vallo Alpino." Therefore, the tactical deployment of the troops on the Alpine border was not suitable for the offensive. In addition, the 300,000 men of the west army, under the command of the Crown Prince Umberto, were mostly poorly trained and poorly equipped. On the French side, even if the Fourth Army troops’ were cut off, and transferred to the Eastern Front, however, General Orly still has 175,000 men under his command. 85,000 of them are stationed on the border inside the fortifications along the Maginot Line. While some of these fortifications have witnessed Franco-Italian tensions in 1870-1880, many were built in the 1930s. Modern and heavily armed, they are divided into three sectors between the White Mountain and the Mediterranean (Savoy, Dauphiny and Alpes-Maritimes). Their location allows them to lock the important crossings and block the access along the valleys. The barrier seemed uncrossable for the Italians who were exposed to the shelling of the French artillery and to an extremely bad weather conditions: the frostbite knockout many soldiers. However, Mussolini decided to launch a major attack. Hitler has already said during an interview in June 18, that Italy will only occupy the conquered territories. While France is collapsing, time pressed. On 19 of June, the Italian infantry proceeded into launching an attack without neither an artillery support nor an air support. Under these conditions, only a few lightly armed outposts are conquered, while the war was expanded beyond one kilometer from the border line. The main line of the French defense located approximately on five kilometers is not only threatened, but allowed the Army of the Alps to conduct counter attacks like the one of Mount Chaberton. The Italians only success was in Menton, where they even found difficulties to gain it. The French resisted them fiercely, especially on the Saint-Louis Bridge, maintained for several days by 9 soldiers only.
The battles ended in June 24 with an armistice signed in Olgiata City near Rome, two days after the one signed with Germany that seals the French defeat. The Italian army paid a heavy toll in this battle (642 deaths and 2631 injuries against 37 deaths and 63 injuries from the French side) for a meager outcome. It occupied about 800 km2 including 13 municipalities and 8 villages comprising 28 000 inhabitants, 21 700 of them are from Menton City. In addition, the armistice provided a demilitarized zone on a strip of 50 km from the French side, along the border. The Italian prisoners were released while the 150 French prisoners were transferred to the Camp of Fonte Amore, near Sulmona in Abruzzo region.
Later, during the invasion lead by the German belonging to the free zone in November 11, 1942, the Italians seize the opportunity in order to extend their zone of occupation over most of the territories located in the east of the Rhone region, with the exception of Lyon, Avignon and Marseille.
Bibliography :
Henri Azeau, The Franco-Italian war, juin 1940, Paris, Presse of the City, 1967.
Vincenzo Gallinari, Le operazioni delgiugno 1940 sulle Alpi occidentali, Rome, USSME, 1981.
Frédéric Le Moal, Max Schiavon, June 1940, the war of the Alps: challenges and strategies, Paris, Economica, 2010.
