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 French tactical victory Franco-Italian Armistice Italian occupied zone
Belligerents
France  United Kingdom	Italy
Commanders and leaders
René Olry	Umberto di Savoia
Strength
~180,000 total (85,000 at the front)	300,000 total
Casualties and losses
~240 battle casualties 1 destroyer damaged 1 sloop damaged	~3,880 battle casualties 2,151 frostbite victims 1 submarine destroyed

See Aftermath section

The Italian invasion of France, also called the Battle of the Alps (10–25 June 1940), was the first major Italian engagement of World War II and the last major engagement of the Battle of France.

Italy's 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 (so-called Italia irredenta) and the expansion of Italian influence over the Balkans and in Africa. France and Britain endeavoured throughout the 1930s to draw Mussolini away from an alliance with Germany, but Germany's rapid successes in the early phase of the war 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 war, but little transpired on the Alpine front, since both France and Italy had adopted a defensive posture along their frontier. 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 all along the Alpine front, with the main attack in the northern sector and a secondary advance along the coast. They penetrated a few kilometres into French territory against strong resistance. The offensive stalled before its primary objectives could be attained, the coastal town of Menton being the most significant conquest.

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