Conclusion

Abstract

This conclusion evaluates the nature of Italy’s military occupation of France during World War II. It compares the occupation of Menton with the German occupations in Alsace-Lorraine and the Italian invasion of the French Riviera in November 1942 with the German occupation of the region from September 1943 to August 1944, and then contrasts it with the Italian occupations in the Balkans. It shows that the Italian occupation of the strip of land including Menton in the summer of 1940 bore some similarities with Germany’s occupation of Alsace-Lorraine. It also highlights the differences between the German and Italian occupation policies both in terms of breadth and enforcement. Finally, it argues that the worst enemy of Italian Army commanders in southeastern France was the low morale of their troops, stemming from the growing sense that the tide of war had irremediably turned against the Axis side by the fall of 1942.