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{{Short description|1944/45 campaign on the French/Italian border}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Second Battle of the Alps
| partof = the [[Western Front (World War II)|Western Front]] of [[World War II]]
| image = [[File:Old tank at authion.JPG|300px]]
| caption = Stuart tank preserved as memorial to the [[battle of Authion]]
| date = 23 March – 2 May, 1945
| place = Franco-Italian border
| result = See [[#Aftermath|Aftermath]]
* French withdrawal after threats from US President [[Harry S. Truman]]
| territory = [[Tende]] and [[La Brigue]] annexed by France<ref>{{cite web|lang=de|author=Direct Democracy|title=Tenda und Briga (Tende et la Brigue, Frankreich), 12. Oktober 1947 : Anschluss an Frankreich|url=https://sudd.ch/event.php?lang=fr&id=fr011947}}</ref>
| combatant1 = {{flagdeco|France|1794}} [[Provisional Government of the French Republic|France]]
| combatant2 = {{nowrap|{{flag|Italian Social Republic|war}}}} {{flagicon|Nazi Germany}} [[Nazi Germany|Germany]]
| commander1 = {{flagdeco|France|1794}} [[Paul-André Doyen]]
| commander2 = {{flagicon|Nazi Germany}} [[Hans Schlemmer]]
| strength1 = 40,000 men{{sfn|Klingbeil|2005|p=383}}
| strength2 = 4 divisions (2 Italian, 2 German){{sfn|Klingbeil|2005|p=380}}
| casualties1 = '''2,287 casualties:''' 393 killed 1,730 wounded 164 missing or captured{{sfn|Klingbeil|2005|p=383}}
| casualties2 = '''1,453 casualties:''' 800 killed or wounded 653 captured{{sfn|Riccioli|1996}}
| campaignbox = {{Campaignbox Second Battle of the Alps}}
{{Campaignbox Western Front (World War II)}}
}}

The '''Second Battle of the Alps''' ({{lang-fr|deuxième bataille des Alpes}}; {{lang-it|seconda battaglia delle Alpi}}) was a military campaign fought between combined [[Nazi Germany|German]] and [[Italian Social Republic]] forces, and the re-established [[Provisional Government of the French Republic|French Republic]] led by [[Charles de Gaulle]].{{sfn|Riccioli|1996}}

== Background ==
[[File:De Gaulle-OWI.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Charles de Gaulle]]

Since 1943, French general Charles de Gaulle, head of the [[Free France|Free French forces]], had been planning revenge against Italy for the "stab in the back", the [[Italian invasion of France|invasion of southern France]] ordered by [[Benito Mussolini]] in June 1940, while France was falling to [[Nazi Germany|Germany]] during the [[Battle of France]]. While in [[Algiers]] de Gaulle began studying a plan for occupying Italian territory with French influences: the [[Aosta Valley]], western [[Piedmont]], and the coastal cities of [[Ventimiglia]] and [[Imperia]] in [[Liguria]]. The [[Armistice of Cassibile]] however caused the division of the Italian peninsula between the [[Kingdom of Italy]] in the south, under King [[Victor Emmanuel III]], and the [[Italian Social Republic]] in the north, led by Mussolini under German influence. The conditions of the Armistice made the [[United States of America|United States]], the [[United Kingdom]] and the [[Italian Co-belligerent Army]] the only nations permitted to occupy Italian territory, thereby leaving out the French. After [[Operation Dragoon]], the invasion of Southern France, the Allies were able to bring the campaign up to the Alps by the Autumn of 1944.<ref>{{in lang|it}} Gino Nebiolo, « Soldati e spie»</ref>

During 1945 de Gaulle was able to send soldiers and partisans to help the Italian resistance near the city of [[Aosta]], and could have occupied a territory of 20km 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 of [[Tende]] and [[La Brigue|Brigue]], 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rivistaetnie.com/annessione-di-briga-e-tenda-1947-86523/|title=L'annessione alla Francia di Briga e Tenda nel 1947|first=Roberto|last=Saletta|date=September 4, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.montecarlonews.it/2017/05/14/notizie/argomenti/altre-notizie-1/articolo/cessione-di-briga-e-tenda-alla-francia-ecco-cosa-e-davvero-successo.html|title=Cessione di Briga e Tenda alla Francia: Ecco cosa è davvero successo|date=14 May 2022}}</ref><ref name="Lippens">Lipgens p. 212</ref>{{Request quotation|date=November 2022}}

== Forces ==

===French===
{{See also|Military history of France during World War II}}
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 the [[Chasseurs alpins]] who was recalled into active service for the occasion.

In the Northern part of the theatre the main French unit was the [[27th Mountain Infantry Brigade (France)|27th Alpine Infantry Division]] which was formed from local [[French Resistance]] units, among whom some were veterans of the defense of the Alps in 1940. Within its ranks were some of France's foremost [[mountaineers]] including [[Lionel Terray]], [[Maurice Herzog]], [[Jacques Boell]] and [[Honoré 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.{{sfn|Riccioli|1996}}<ref name=":DEP06"/>

Further south in the [[Alpes-Maritimes]] the [[1st Free French Division]] was deployed under General [[Pierre Garbay]]. This was a well-equipped and well-trained unit which had acquired extensive combat experience in different theatres of war. It comprised three [[brigade]]s of [[motorised infantry]] (1st, 2nd and 4th) an armoured reconnaissance regiment, the [[1er Régiment de Fusiliers Marins]] equipped with [[M3 Stuart|Stuart tanks]], an artillery regiment and various support units.<ref name= "HPF">{{Citation | url = http://resistance.azur.free.fr/dossier/authion.htm#6 | publisher = Musée de la Resistance azuréenne | title = Les combats de l'authion | access-date = 17 November 2015 | archive-date = 11 May 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210511092758/http://resistance.azur.free.fr/dossier/authion.htm#6 | url-status = dead }}</ref> Various units were attached to the division for the offensive. These included the former [[French Forces of the Interior|FFI]] 3rd Alpine infantry regiment, a company of [[Ski warfare|ski 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.<ref name=":DEP06"/>

The French troops on the alpine front were subordinate to General [[Jacob L. Devers]]' [[Sixth United States Army Group|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's supply lines. However, Devers later authorized an attack in order to support the [[Spring 1945 offensive in Italy|Allied offensive in Italy]], with the French being allowed to advance up to 20 km inside Italian territory.{{sfn|Riccioli|1996}}

=== German ===
The defense of the Franco-Italian border was entrusted to the 75th Army corps, under [[General der Gebirgstruppe]] [[Hans Schlemmer]], with all [[Axis powers|Axis]] forces in the area coming under its purview.{{sfn|Klingbeil|2005|p=133}}

The German forces belonged to the [[34th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)|34th Infantry Division]] and to the [[5th Mountain Division (Wehrmacht)|5th ''Gebirgsjäger'' Division]].{{sfn|Riccioli|1996}} The [[Gebirgsjäger]] were an elite troop recruited among the mountainous regions of [[Tyrol]] and [[Bavaria]]. Their division included a unit of expert mountaineers, the Lehrbattalion Mittenwald. The 34th Division, led by General [[Theo-Helmut Lieb]], was an experienced unit that had fought for 3 years on the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]].<ref name=":DEP06">{{cite web |url=https://www.departement06.fr/patrimoine-culturel-des-alpes-maritimes/70e-anniversaire-de-la-liberation-des-alpes-maritimes-6864.html |title=70e anniversaire de la libération des Alpes-Maritimes |access-date=2018-11-08 |publisher=[[Alpes-Maritimes]] Department}}</ref>

Axis defenses relied heavily on French fortifications, both from the 19th century [[Séré de Rivières system]] and from the [[Alpine Line]] of [[Maginot Line|Maginot forts]], as well as on the Italian [[Alpine Wall]]. In 1943 a detailed inspection had convinced the Germans to halt the dismantlement of the French forts by [[Organisation 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.{{sfn|Klingbeil|2005|p=17}}

===Italian Social Republic===
{{See also|Military history of Italy during World War II}}
The Italian forces were mainly formed by two divisions, the {{ill|4th Division "Monterosa"|lt="Monterosa"|it|4ª Divisione alpina ''Monterosa''}} and the [[2nd Division "Littorio"|''Littorio'']], and the Parachute regiment ''Folgore'', all of which were under German operational control. The ''Monterosa'' and ''Littorio'' divisions were trained in Germany before being deployed on the front and had a mixture of German and Italian weapons. Conscripted from [[Italian military internees|Italian prisoners]] in German labour camps, the troops were mainly opposed or indifferent to [[Italian Fascism|fascism]] 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 and [[Non-commissioned officer|NCOs]] in Italian units.{{sfn|Klingbeil|2005|p=132-136}}

===Italian partisans===
The [[Italian resistance movement|partisan]] brigades were mainly formed by the [[Alpini]] 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, the [[Decima 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.

==Campaign==
{{incomplete-section|date=November 2022}}
===Little Saint Bernard===
{{see also|Defense of the Redoute Ruinée (1945)}}
The French first attacked the [[Fort de la Redoute Ruinée]] defending the [[Little Saint Bernard]] pass on 21 December 1944.<ref name=Italia>Romain Rainero and Antonello Biagini (eds.), ''L'Italia in guerra: il 5o anno, 1944'' (Commissione italiana di storia militare, 1995), p. .</ref> Between 23 and 31 March they attacked the forts defending the pass a second time, but strong resistance and bad weather resulted in failure.{{sfn|Riccioli|1996}}<ref name=Arena>Nino Arena, ''RSI: Forze armate della Repubblica Sociale Italiana – La guerra in Italia, 1945'' (Emanno Albertelli Editore, 1999), p. 279.</ref>

In early April 1945 the 4th ''Alpini'' Regiment of the ''Littorio'' Division and the Germans of the [[100th ''Gebirgsjäger'' Regiment]] held a front running from [[Rhêmes-Notre-Dame|Rhêmes]] to [[La Forclaz]]. On the 10 April, the French began a series of attacks in the direction of the Little Saint Bernard.<ref>Roberto Nicco, ''La Resistenza in Valle d'Aosta'' (Musumeci, 1995), p. 309.</ref> Between 23 and 25 April, the Germans abandoned their positions on the Aosta front.<ref name=Carlotti>Anna Lisa Carlotti (ed.), [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=DDaHiEs2o3kC ''Italia 1939–1945: storia e memoria''] (Vita e Pensiero, 1996), pp. 425–28. {{ISBN|9788834324585}}</ref> By the 25 April the French were preparing to cross into Italian territory.<ref name=Chiodo>Marco Picone Chiodo, ''In nome della resa: l'Italia nella guerra, 1940–1945'' (Mursia, 1990), p. 543.</ref>

With serious fighting around the Fort de la Redoute Ruinée, on the morning of the 29 April, the ''Alpini'' commander, Lt-Col Armando De Felice, ordered all his positions on French soil abandoned.<ref name=Chiodo/> 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.{{sfn|Riccioli|1996}}

===Mont Cenis===
Codenamed Operation Izard, the attack on the [[Mont 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 Colonel [[Alain Le Ray]], reinforced by two batteries of heavy artillery from the 1st Free French Division. The position was defended by a battalion of the 5th ''Gebirgsjäger'' Division and another battalion from the Paratroop Regiment ''Folgore'' supported by German artillery, in all some 1,500 men.{{sfn|Ring|2014|page=}}

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 at [[Mont-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 the [[Fort de la Turra]] was a failure, and the offensive stalled when the heavy artillery units were withdrawn for the operation against the {{ill|Authion massif|it|Massiccio dell'Authion}}. On the 12 April a perfectly executed counter-attack by the Gebirgsjäger and the troops of the ''Folgore'' recaptured the fort and evicted the French from the Mont-Cenis plateau.<ref name=":MilLyon">{{cite web |url=http://www.museemilitairelyon.com/spip.php?article103 |title=La Campagne des Alpes 1944-45 |access-date=2018-11-14 |date=2011-04-25 |publisher=Musée Militaire de Lyon et de la région Rhône-Alpes |archive-date=2015-12-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208055732/http://www.museemilitairelyon.com/spip.php?article103 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

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.{{sfn|Riccioli|1996}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.memoire-des-alpins.com/historique-des-troupes-alpines/1944-1945-2/bataille-des-alpes/maurienne/ |title=Bataille des Alpes: Maurienne |access-date=2018-11-13 |last= Demouzon |first=Laurent }}</ref>

===Battle of Authion===
{{main|Battle of Authion}}
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 and Italians of the ''Littorio'' Division under General Lieb. The fighting resulted in over 200 French and over 100 Germans dead.<ref name= "HPF"/>

===Col de Larche===
The Col de Larche, linking the [[Ubaye]] valley via a tributary, the Ubayette, to the [[Valle Stura di Demonte]], was defended by several Maginot forts, the [[Ouvrage Roche-la-Croix]], [[Ouvrage Saint Ours Haut]] and [[Ouvrage 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 the [[5th Dragoon Regiment (France)|5th Dragoon Regiment]] which was the [[reconnaissance]] 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 of [[Larche, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence|Larche]], 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.{{sfn|Riccioli|1996}}{{sfn|Morel|Lesueur|2012|page=27}}

==Val d'Aosta Crisis==
[[File:Harold Alexander E010750678-v8.jpg|thumb|Field Marshal Harold Alexander]]

British Field Marshal [[Harold Alexander]] who was [[Supreme Allied Commander]] in the [[Mediterranean Theater of Operations|Mediterranean theatre]] established a military government in the north under plans already agreed by the British and American governments.<ref name="Cook">Cook p. 281</ref> French forces were permitted by the Allies to penetrate Italy to a depth of {{convert|30|km|mi}} following the Axis collapse in May 1945, although in some places they violated this permission and penetrated much further.<ref>See Wildgen 1970.</ref> After the war, Alexander ordered General [[Paul-André Doyen]] to withdraw the [[Armée des Alpes]] behind the Franco-Italian border but the general, under orders from de Gaulle, refused.<ref name="Harris">{{cite book |last1=Harris |first1=Charles Reginald Schiller |title=Allied military administration of Italy, 1943-1945 |date=1957 |publisher=H. M. Stationery Office |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xks1AAAAIAAJ|pages=318–20}}</ref>

In messages between the [[Combined Chiefs of Staff]] it was reported that General Doyen had threatened to prevent the setting up of the [[Allied Military Government for Occupied Territories|Allied Military Government]] in Aosta claiming that his orders came from de Gaulle's provisional French Government. American president [[Harry S. Truman|Truman]] 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.<ref name="Weinberg 1964">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zHDHMBOYbHwC&q=general+doyen+italy&pg=PA569|title=United States Army in World War II. Special Studies...: Civil affairs : soldiers become governors, by Harry L. Coles and Albert K. Weinberg|last=Weinberg|first=Harry L. Coles, Albert K.|date=1964|publisher=Government Printing Office|pages=569–70|language=en}}</ref><ref name="p&W">Paxton & Wall p. 118</ref> French General [[Alphonse Juin|Juin]] 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 Val d'Aosta and [[Susa, Piedmont|Susa]] but would delay their withdrawal from [[Tende]] in order to save face because a hasty withdrawal would be hurtful to French ''[[amour-propre]]''.<ref name="Harris"/><ref name="Weinberg 1964" /> The last French soldiers withdrew from [[Ventimiglia]] a month later.<ref name="Lippens"/>

This was the final act of the [[Italian Campaign (World War II)|Italian campaign]].

==Aftermath==
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.<ref name="Rowland">Rowland pp. 49-51</ref> The plans of de Gaulle to annex territories of the Aosta Valley, Piedmont and Liguria could therefore be classed as a failure.

After the [[Paris Peace Treaties, 1947|Treaties of Paris]] between the new governments of both [[French Fourth Republic|France]] and [[History of the Italian Republic|Italy]] 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.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=House |first1=J. W |title=The Franco-Italian Boundary in the Alpes Maritimes J. W. House Transactions and Papers (Institute of British Geographers) |journal=Transactions and Papers (Institute of British Geographers) |date=1959 |issue=26 |pages=107–131 |doi=10.2307/621046 |publisher=Wiley|jstor=621046 }}</ref>

''L'ultima battaglia delle Alpi'' or ''La 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.fctp.it/movie_item.php?id=370|title=fctp - L'ultima battaglia delle Alpi|website=www.fctp.it}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last1=Cook |first1=Don |title=Charles De Gaulle: A Biography |date=1983 |publisher=G.P. Putnam's |isbn=9780399128585 |edition=3 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/charlesdegaulleb00cook }}
* Dempsey, Louis Roger. "L'intervention anglo-américaine en Vallée d'Aoste, Italie, en 1945". ''Le Flambeau'' '''3–4''' (1972).
* {{cite book |title=La Campagne du détachement d'armée des Alpes (mars, avril, mai 1945) |last=Doyen |first=Paul-André |publisher=B. Arthaud |year=1948}}
* Girard, Joseph. [https://www.persee.fr/doc/camed_0395-9317_1976_num_12_1_1418 "La participation des F.F.I. à la libération des Alpes-Maritimes"], ''Cahiers de la Méditerranée'' '''12''' (1976), pp. 17–28.
* {{cite book |title=Le front oublié des Alpes-Maritimes (15 août 1944 – 2 mai 1945) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sWEEOnnGZ98C&q=Le%20front%20oubli%C3%A9%20des%20Alpes-Maritimes&pg=PP1|first=Pierre-Emmanuel |last=Klingbeil |publisher=Serre Editeur |year=2005 |isbn=2-86410-422-9 }}
* {{cite book |title=Riviera at War: World War II on the Côte d'Azur |first=George G. |last=Kundahl |publisher=I. B. Tauris |year=2022}}
* {{cite book |first=Richard |last=Lamb |title=War in Italy, 1943–1945: A Brutal Story |publisher=Da Capo Press |year=1993}}
* {{cite book |last1=Lipgens |first1=Walter |title=A History of European Integration: 1945-1947 Volume 1 |date=1982 |publisher=Clarendon Press |isbn=9780198225874}}
* {{cite book |last1=Morel |first1=Bernard |last2=Lesueur |first2=Gérard |title= La Ligne Maginot en Haute Ubaye: Forts de Roche-la-Croix et du Haut de Saint-Ours|year= 2012|publisher=Association pour la valorisation du patrimoine de l'Ubaye |location=Barcelonette |isbn=978-2-9081-0305-2 }}
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Paxton |editor1-first=Robert O |editor2-last=Wahl |editor2-first=Nicholas |title=De Gaulle and the United States: A Centennial Reappraisal |date=1994 |publisher=Berg |isbn=9780854969982}}
* {{cite journal|last=Riccioli|first=Jean-Louis|date=1996|title=La deuxième bataille des Alpes : printemps 1945|journal=Cahiers de la Méditerranée|language=fr-FR|volume=52|issue=1|pages=93–118|doi=10.3406/camed.1996.1161|issn=0395-9317}}
* {{cite book |title=Storming the Eagle's Nest: Hitler's War in the Alps |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A_xM-0W8SWEC&q=Mont+cenis&pg=PT252 |first=Jim |last=Ring |publisher=Faber & Faber |year=2014 |isbn=978-0571282395 }}
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Rowland |editor1-first=Benjamin M |title=Charles de Gaulle's Legacy of Ideas |date=2011 |publisher=Lexington Books |isbn=9780739164549 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ihZkpI3n5hIC&pg=PA50}}
* {{cite book |last1=Wall |first1=Irwin M |title=The United States and the Making of Postwar France, 1945-1954 |date=1991 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521402170}}
* Wildgen, John K. "The Liberation of the Valle d'Aosta, 1943–1945", ''Journal of Modern History'', '''42''', 1 (1970), pp. 21–41.
{{refend}}

{{coord missing|France|Italy}}

[[Category:Italian campaign (World War II)]]
[[Category:Battles and operations of World War II involving Italy|Alps]]
[[Category:Battles and operations of World War II involving France|Alps]]
[[Category:Battles of World War II involving Italy|Alps]]
[[Category:Battles and operations of World War II involving Germany|Alps]]
[[Category:Mountain warfare]]

Second Battle of the Alps - Revision history

2603:7080:9207:AD00:9590:20B0:E375:AB7D: robot: Create/upgrade articles. If there is a mistake please report on my talk page.