The Italians Settle In

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the Italian Army’s occupation policy in the French Riviera and its commanders’ intent to enforce their own rules without resorting to indiscriminate violence or blind repression for fear of sparking an internal revolt. The ambivalent attitude seen in the first weeks of the Italian soldiers’ deployment was at the heart of Italy’s occupation policy. The Italians had to strike a delicate balance between a more lenient and flexible approach intended to ingratiate the civilian population and a harsh policy of rules set in stone. This chapter first describes the first months of the Italian army’s occupation of the French Riviera before discussing the conflict between the Commissione di Armistizio con la Francia (CIAF) and Regio Esercito in France, along with the Fourth Army’s efforts to bolster its defense of the Mediterranean coastline. It also considers the sloppy discipline of Regio Esercito units in the occupation zone, and especially the soldiers behaving like civilians.