Italian invasion of France

Italian Invasion of France
Part of the Battle of France during World War II
The Val Dora battalion of the 5th Alpini Regiment in action in the Col de Pelouse
Date 10–25 June 1940 Location Franco-Italian border Result See Aftermath section Territorial changes Italian occupied zone
Belligerents
France Air support:  United Kingdom	Italy
Commanders and leaders
René Olry Étienne Beynet Alfred Montagne	Prince Umberto Pietro Pintor Alfredo Guzzoni
Strength
~180,000 total (85,000 at the front)	300,000 total
Casualties and losses
Total: ~340–460 ~40 killed ~50–120 wounded ~150 prisoners ~100–150 missing 1 destroyer damaged 1 sloop damaged	Total: ~6,038 ~640 killed 2,631 wounded 2,151 frostbite victims 616 missing 1 submarine sunk 1 torpedo boat damaged

The Italian invasion of France (10–25 June 1940), also called the Battle of the Alps,^[a] 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 goal of the Italian leader, Benito Mussolini, was the elimination of Anglo-French domination in the Mediterranean, the reclamation of historically Italian territory (Italia irredenta) and the expansion of Italian influence over the Balkans and in Africa. France and Britain tried during the 1930s to draw Mussolini away from an alliance with Germany but the rapid German successes from 1938 to 1940 made Italian intervention on the German side inevitable by May 1940.

Italy declared war on France and Britain on the evening of 10 June, to take effect just after midnight. The two sides exchanged air raids on the first day of the war, but little transpired on the Alpine front since France and Italy had defensive strategies. There was some skirmishing between patrols and the French forts of the Ligne Alpine exchanged fire with their Italian counterparts of the Vallo Alpino. On 17 June, France announced that it would seek an armistice with Germany. On 21 June, with a Franco-German armistice about to be signed, the Italians launched a general offensive along the Alpine front, the main attack coming in the northern sector and a secondary advance along the coast. The Italian offensive penetrated a few kilometres into French territory against strong resistance but stalled before its primary objectives could be attained, the coastal town of Menton, situated directly on the Italian border, being the most significant conquest.

On the evening of 24 June, an armistice was signed at Rome. It came into effect just after midnight on 25 June, at the same time as the armistice with Germany (signed 22 June). Italy was allowed to occupy the territory it had captured in the brief fighting, a demilitarised zone was created on the French side of the border, Italian economic control was extended into south-east France up to the Rhône and Italy obtained certain rights and concessions in certain French colonies. An armistice control commission, the Commissione Italiana d'Armistizio con la Francia (CIAF), was set up in Turin to oversee French compliance.

Between August 1944 and May 1945, French forces again faced Italian troops along the Alpine frontier. The French managed to reoccupy all the lost territory in the Second Battle of the Alps (April–May 1945).^[1]

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