| Second Battle of the Alps | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theWestern Front ofWorld War II | |||||||||
 Stuart tank preserved as memorial to theBattle of Authion | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 France United States Italian Resistance | |||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Jacob L. DeversPaul-André Doyen |  Rodolfo Graziani Hans Schlemmer | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| 40,000 men[2] | 4 divisions (2 Italian, 2 German)[3] | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 2,287 casualties: 393 killed 1,730 wounded 164 missing or captured[2] | 1,453 casualties: 800 killed or wounded 653 captured[4] | ||||||||
TheSecond Battle of the Alps (French:deuxième bataille des Alpes;Italian:seconda battaglia delle Alpi) was a military campaign fought between combinedGerman andItalian Social Republic forces, and the re-establishedFrench Republic led byCharles de Gaulle and other Allied forces.[4]
Since 1943, French general Charles de Gaulle, head of theFree French forces, had been planning revenge against Italy for the "stab in the back", theinvasion of southern France ordered byBenito Mussolini in June 1940, while France was falling toGermany during theBattle of France. While inAlgiers de Gaulle began studying a plan for occupying Italian territory with French influences: theAosta Valley, westernPiedmont, and the coastal cities ofVentimiglia andImperia inLiguria. TheArmistice of Cassibile however caused the division of the Italian peninsula between theKingdom of Italy in the south, under KingVictor Emmanuel III, and theItalian Social Republic in the north, led by Mussolini under German influence. The conditions of the Armistice made theUnited States, theUnited Kingdom and theItalian Co-belligerent Army the only nations permitted to occupy Italian territory, thereby leaving out the French. AfterOperation 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 ofAosta, and could have occupied a territory of 20 km from the Franco-Italian border if necessary. The general used this excuse to gather a large number of soldiers near the front, ready to conquer as much Italian land as possible from the Aosta Valley to Liguria. French spies were sent to spread French propaganda to gain the population's support during the invasion, but the majority of Italian citizens did not want to join France. French soldiers retreated in the summer of 1945, except from the villages ofTende andBrigue, which were later annexed with the peace treaty (1947). A significant part of the population left the two villages to avoid having to become French citizens.[6][7][8][need quotation to verify]
Between November 1944 and March 1945 France set up the Détachement d'Armées des Alpes (Army Detachment of the Alps) under General Paul-André Doyen, an officer of theChasseurs alpins who was recalled into active service for the occasion.
In the Northern part of the theatre the main French unit was the27th Alpine Infantry Division which was formed from localFrench Resistance units, among whom some were veterans of the defense of the Alps in 1940. Within its ranks were some of France's foremostmountaineers includingLionel Terray,Maurice Herzog,Jacques Boell andHonoré Bonnet. However the overall level of training was poor and the division was starved of equipment and supplies which the Americans preferred to channel towards the more important offensive into Germany.[4][9]
Further south in theAlpes-Maritimes the1st Free French Division was deployed under GeneralPierre Garbay. This was a well-equipped and well-trained unit which had acquired extensive combat experience in different theatres of war. It comprised threebrigades ofmotorised infantry (1st, 2nd and 4th) an armoured reconnaissance regiment, the1er Régiment de Fusiliers Marins equipped withStuart tanks, an artillery regiment and various support units.[10] Various units were attached to the division for the offensive. These included the formerFFI 3rd Alpine infantry regiment, a company ofski scouts and various ad hoc units. The bulk of the French troops, some 30,000 men, were deployed in the southern part of the front, whereas the units in the northern sector numbered only a few thousand. This choice was partly due to political considerations as French claims on Italian territory in the southern sector, namely the districts of Tende and La Brigue, were more likely to be accepted by the international community.[9]
The French troops on the alpine front were subordinate to GeneralJacob L. Devers'6th Army Group though in practice they received their instructions from the French Army headquarters and thus from de Gaulle himself. At first they were assigned the strictly defensive mission of defending the 6th Army Group's supply lines. However, Devers later authorized an attack in order to support theAllied offensive in Italy, with the French being allowed to advance up to 20 km inside Italian territory.[4]
The defense of the Franco-Italian border was entrusted toLXXV Army Corps, underGeneral der GebirgstruppeHans Schlemmer of GeneralRodolfo Graziani's Army Group Liguria, with all Axis forces in the area coming under its purview.[11][12]
The German forces belonged to the34th Infantry Division and to the5thGebirgsjäger Division.[4] TheGebirgsjäger were an elite troop recruited among the mountainous regions ofTyrol andBavaria. Their division included a unit of expert mountaineers, the Lehrbattalion Mittenwald. The 34th Division, led by GeneralTheo-Helmut Lieb, was an experienced unit that had fought for 3 years on theEastern Front.[9]
Axis defenses relied heavily on French fortifications, both from the 19th centurySéré de Rivières system and from theAlpine Line ofMaginot forts, as well as on the ItalianAlpine Wall. In 1943 a detailed inspection had convinced the Germans to halt the dismantlement of the French forts byOrganisation Todt, in order to use them against a possible Allied offensive from Italy. In the summer of 1944, with the imminence of a landing in southern France plans were drawn for holding the front in that direction with a force of two German divisions, though an offensive through the Alps was judged unlikely.[13]
The Italian forces were mainly formed by two divisions, the4th Division "Monterosa" under GeneralGiorgio Millazo and the2nd Division "Littorio" under GeneralTito Agosti, and the Parachute regimentFolgore, all of which were under German operational control. TheMonterosa andLittorio divisions were trained in Germany before being deployed on the front and had a mixture of German and Italian weapons. Graziani allocated them to the Western Alps to defend the Franco-Italian border. Conscripted fromItalian prisoners in German labour camps, the troops were mainly opposed or indifferent tofascism and consequently suffered from low morale. They were chosen among natives of German-controlled areas of Italy so that reprisals could be taken against their families in case of desertion. Despite these measures, desertion remained a problem and the Germans were forced to deploy officers andNCOs in Italian units.[14]
Thepartisan brigades were mainly formed by theAlpini too, and had planned the defence on the mountains and the conquest of the last Aostan cities still controlled by the fascist Italian Folgore regiment, theDecima Flottiglia MAS and some German units.
The major part of the partisan forces was however sent to prevent the Germans retreating to Germany from causing massacres and violence against the civilians.
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The French first attacked theFort de la Redoute Ruinée defending theLittle Saint Bernard pass on 21 December 1944.[15] Between 23 and 31 March they attacked the forts defending the pass a second time, but strong resistance and bad weather resulted in failure.[4][16]
In early April 1945 the 4thAlpini Regiment of theLittorio Division and the Germans of the100th ''Gebirgsjäger'' Regiment held a front running fromRhêmes toLa Forclaz. On the 10 April, the French began a series of attacks in the direction of the Little Saint Bernard.[17] Between 23 and 25 April, the Italians and Germans abandoned their positions on the Aosta front.[18] By the 25 April the French were preparing to cross into Italian territory.[19]
With serious fighting around the Fort de la Redoute Ruinée, on the morning of the 29 April, theAlpini commander, Lt-Col Armando De Felice, ordered all his positions on French soil abandoned.[19] That day the French occupied the fort. It was, along with the Roc de Belleface, also occupied that day, the last pieces of French soil under Italian occupation.[4]
On 28 April 1945, a mission of the French intelligence serviceDGER, called **Mission Bananier**, entered Tende and La Brigue to coordinate with local inhabitants and encourage favoring French nationality. The mission was led by Lieutenant-Colonel Vésine de la Rüe and Commandant Sarocchi, and aimed to mobilize local support for annexation. A plebiscite was held 29 April: in Tende the vote was 893 “Yes” and 37 abstentions; in La Brigue 976 “Yes” and 49 abstentions.[20]
France maintained occupation over Tende,La Brigue and parts of the Roya valley into July 1945. The occupation, including border control measures between Bordighera and Vallecrosia, was seen by Allied powers as overreaching France’s postwar rights.[21]
Codenamed Operation Izard, the attack on theMont Cenis pass began on the 5 April. It was carried out by the 3,000 men of the 7th Half-brigade of Chasseurs Alpins belonging to the 27th Alpine Division, led by ColonelAlain Le Ray, reinforced by two batteries of heavy artillery from the 1st Free French Division. The position was defended by a battalion of the 5thGebirgsjäger Division and another battalion from the Paratroop RegimentFolgore supported by German artillery, in all some 1,500 men.[22]
The operation opened with an attack on the German observation post at the Pointe de Bellecombe (2750m), which was reached after a 600m night climb in difficult weather. The post was destroyed, but a counter-attack forced the Chasseurs off the feature later the same day. The main objective for the French was the old fort atMont-Froid which commanded the surrounding areas. After gaining a foothold in the fort on the 5 April, French forces finally captured it after several days of confused fighting at close quarters. However, an attack against theFort de la Turra was a failure, and the offensive stalled when the heavy artillery units were withdrawn for the operation against theAuthion massif [it]. On the 12 April a perfectly executed counter-attack by the Gebirgsjäger and the troops of theFolgore recaptured the fort and evicted the French from the Mont-Cenis plateau.[23]
The failure of Operation Izard had severe consequences for Doyen's force as it persuaded the Americans to withhold further supplies for the offensive. The Mont-Cenis pass was captured only on the 27 April after Axis forces had retreated from the area.[4][24]
Between the 10 and the 12 April 1945, French forces took control of the Authion massif. The massif was defended by several forts held by German forces of the 34th Division under General Lieb and Italians of theLittorio Division under General Agosti. The fighting resulted in over 200 French and over 100 Germans dead.[10]
The Col de Larche, linking theUbaye valley via a tributary, the Ubayette, to theValle Stura di Demonte, was defended by several Maginot forts, theOuvrage Roche-la-Croix,Ouvrage Saint Ours Haut andOuvrage Saint Ours Bas held by German and Italian troops.
An assault was launched on the 22 April by French forces including elements of the 159th, 99th and 141st Alpine infantry regiments, and the5th Dragoon Regiment which was thereconnaissance unit of the 27th Alpine Division. They were supported by aviation and an artillery unit detached from the 1st Free French Division. After a violent artillery preparation French forces captured the village ofLarche, cutting off the forts from their rear and in the evening Roche la Croix fell after a brief fight. On the 23 April, Saint-Ours Haut was found to have been abandoned and was captured without a fight, but Saint-Ours Bas had to be taken by storm. The French employed the next day in obtaining the surrender of isolated pockets of resistance but their artillery unit had to be withdrawn which led to some reorganisation. On the 26 April the offensive was due to be renewed against the col itself but this was found to have been abandoned by the Axis forces. Fighting in the area cost the French 15 killed and 38 injured while the Axis lost 34 killed and 150 captured.[4][25]
British Field MarshalHarold Alexander who wasSupreme Allied Commander in theMediterranean theatre established a military government in the north under plans already agreed by the British and American governments.[26] French forces were permitted by the Allies to penetrate Italy to a depth of 30 kilometres (19 mi) following the Axis collapse in May 1945, although in some places they violated this permission and penetrated much further.[20] After the war, Alexander ordered GeneralPaul-André Doyen to withdraw theArmée des Alpes behind the Franco-Italian border but the general, under orders from de Gaulle, refused.[27]
In messages between theCombined Chiefs of Staff it was reported that General Doyen had threatened to prevent the setting up of theAllied Military Government in Aosta claiming that his orders came from de Gaulle's provisional French Government. American presidentTruman appealed directly to de Gaulle warning him that under the circumstances he had no choice but to cut off US military supplies and ammunition but would continue to provide rations.[28][29] French GeneralJuin arrived the next day at Alexander's headquarters in order to clear up any misunderstanding. It was agreed that the French would immediately withdraw from Aosta Valley andSusa but would delay their withdrawal fromTende in order to save face because a hasty withdrawal would be hurtful to Frenchamour-propre.[27][28] The last French soldiers withdrew fromVentimiglia a month later.[8]
This was the final act of theItalian campaign.
De Gaulle had been checked by the British and Americans and would have little input in the subsequent reconstruction of Italy, in addition the Italian democratic parties became disillusioned by de Gaulle and accused him of trying to assert potential French leadership in subsequent Franco-Italian relations.[30] The plans of de Gaulle to annex territories of the Aosta Valley, Piedmont and Liguria could therefore be classed as a failure.
After theTreaties of Paris between the new governments of bothFrance andItaly some adjustments were made on the Franco-Italian border, considered as a punishment for Italy joining the Axis in 1940. The border with France was only slightly modified in favour of France, mostly in uninhabited Alpine areas (except for the Tende valley and La Brigue) thus remaining largely the same as in 1860.[21]
L'ultima battaglia delle Alpi orLa dernière bataille des Alpes (The Last Battle of the Alps) is a 2010 Franco-Italian documentary about the attempted annexation of the Italian territories by the French. It contains interviews with French and Italian veterans that fought in the Alps during 1945.[31]
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