Italian occupation of Corsica

Italian military administration of Corsica Amministrazione militare italiana in Corsica (Italian) Amministrazione militare italiana di Corsica (Corsican)
1940–1943
Flag Coat of arms
Status	Territory under Italian military administration
Capital	Ajaccio
Religion	Catholicism
Demonym(s)	Corsicans
Commander of the Italian garrison
• 1942	Umberto Mondino
• 1942–1943	Giacomo Carboni
• 1943	Giovanni Magli
History
• Established	1940
• Disestablished	1943
Currency	French franc (F) Italian lira (₤‎)
Preceded by Succeeded by Vichy France Free France

The Italian occupation of Corsica refers to the military (and administrative) occupation by the

Background

Operation Torch

On 8 November 1942, the

Italian occupation

Italian occupation of Corsica
Part of Case Anton
Map of the Ligurian Sea showing Sardinia and Corsica
Date 11–12 November 1942 Location Corsica Result Italian victory Italian occupation of Corsica
Belligerents
Italy	Vichy France
Commanders and leaders
Giacomo Carboni	Paul Balley

Italian garrison

The

Some Corsican military officers collaborated with Italy, including Major Pantalacci (ret.) and his son Antonio, Colonel Mondielli, Colonel

Social and economic life in Corsica was administered by the French civil authorities, the préfet and four sous-préfets in Ajaccio, Bastia, Sartene and Corte.^[6] This helped to maintain calm on the island during the first months of Italian occupation. On 14 November 1943, the préfet restated French sovereignty over the island and stated that the Italian troops had been occupiers.

Resistance

Initially there was no Resistance by the Corsicans, but after the first months it started to increase during the occupation. The mission secrète Pearl Harbour (secret mission Pearl Harbor) commanded by Roger de Saule, arrived from

By the time of the Armistice of Cassibile, signed in 3 September 1943, in which the Italians withdrew from the Axis, German occupation forces in Corsica comprised the Brigade Reichsführer SS, a battalion of the 15th Panzergrenadier Division, two heavy coastal artillery batteries and one of heavy anti-aircraft guns. On 7 September, General Fridolin von Senger und Etterlin arrived to take command. Senger received assurances from the Italian commander, Generale Giovanni Magli, that the Italian garrison would continue to fight against the local resistance and not oppose the arrival of German troops from Sardinia. There were about 20,000 French Maquis on the island and the Germans suspected that many of the Italians would defect.^[9]

Operation Achse

At the First Quebec Conference 17–24 August 1943, the Allies had decided not to occupy Sardinia and Corsica until Italy had capitulated and Allied air bases had been established around Rome.^[10] Unternehmen Achse (Operation Axis), a German plan to forestall an Italian surrender and defection to the Allies, began on 8 September, which included the evacuation of the garrisons of Sardinia to Corsica. When news of the Armistice was announced on 8 September, German forces began to embark from the ports of La Maddalena and Santa Teresa Gallura on the north coast of Sardinia, landing at Porto-Vecchio and Bonifacio in Corsica, the Italian coastal gunners nearby not interfering with the operation. The Germans used craft available since the evacuation of Sicily and barges that could be diverted from transporting fuel from Leghorn (Livorno) to the front in Italy to move troops from Sardinia to Corsica. Fliegerführer Sardinia moved to Ghisonaccia Airfield in Corsica on 10 September, becoming Fliegerführer Corsica and the next day the last 44 Luftwaffe aircraft in Sardinia arrived.^[11]

Action off Bastia

At midnight on 8/9 September, German marines captured Bastia harbour, damaged the

Aliseo was outnumbered and outgunned, having only a speed advantage over the German flotilla but closed on the submarine chaser UJ2203 as it opened fire, zig-zagging until 7:06 a.m. to a range of about 8,000 yd (4.5 mi; 3.9 nmi; 7.3 km), opening fire on the German ships. At 7:30 a.m. Aliseo was hit in the engine room and brought to a stop but the damage was quickly repaired. Aliseo caught up with the German ships again and hit UJ2203 and some of the barges. At 8:20 a.m. UJ2203 exploded with the loss of nine of the crew. Aliseo fired on UJ2219 and after ten minutes it exploded and sank. The barges, which were well-armed and had been firing continuously, separated but three were sunk by 8:35 a.m. At 8:40 a.m. Aliseo attacked another two barges, which were also under fire from Italian shore batteries, and with the assistance of the corvette Cormorano, forced their crews to beach them. Aliseo rescued 25 Germans, but 160 had been killed.[12]

Evacuation of Sardinia

From 8 to 15 September, the Germans conducted demolitions on seven Sardinian airfields but Italian aircraft had begun landing on other airfields on 10 September, some en route to Sicily and Tunisia to join the Allies, others to operate from Sardinia with the Allies. Five Cant Z 1007 bombers attacked German ships in the Bay of Bonifacio on 16 September. Luftwaffe aircraft retaliated with attacks on Sardinian airfields for the next four days. By 19 September, the 90th Panzergrenadier Division, a fortress brigade, anti-aircraft and Luftwaffe units comprising 25,800 men, 4,650 vehicles and 4,765 long tons (4,841 t) of supplies had reached Corsica from Sardinia.^[11] In Sardinia the XII Paratroopers Battalion of the 184th Paratroopers Division "Nembo" defected to the Germans.^[13]

Opération Vésuve

Liberation of Corsica
Part of The Mediterranean and Middle East theatre of World War II
Opération Vésuve, the French invasion of Corsica
Date 8 September – 4 October 1943 Location Corsica 42°N 9°E / 42°N 9°E / 42; 9 Result Allied victory
Belligerents
Free France French Resistance  Kingdom of Italy Air support  United Kingdom  United States	Germany
Commanders and leaders
Henry Martin Fernand Gambiez Henri Giraud Paulin Colonna d'Istria Giovanni Magli	Karl Gesele [de ]
Strength
Free France: 6,000 French Resistance: 10,000 Kingdom of Italy: Part of the former 80,000 occupation troops	32,000
Casualties and losses
Free France: 75 killed 239 wounded French Resistance: 170 killed 300 wounded Kingdom of Italy: 637 killed 557 wounded[14]	1600 casualties 1,000 killed 400 captured[14]

The

On 12 September, Hitler ordered Corsica to be abandoned and Fregattenkapitän von Liebenstein, the commander of the Sicily evacuation, was sent to Corsica to supervise the naval withdrawal. The Germans planned to concentrate in the north-east of Corsica and use the port of Bastia and the airfields nearby to evacuate the German garrison to the Italian mainland (Livorno and Piombino) and to the island of Elba, between Corsica and Tuscany.^[17] Until 24 September, Luftwaffe transport aircraft operated from Ghisonaccia Airfield, about half-way up the east coast, to mainland airfields at Pisa, Lucca, Arena Metato and Pratica di Mare then closed the airfield. On 25 September, the air evacuation resumed from Bastia.

On 17 September, French General Henry Martin met with Italian General Giovanni Magli in Corte to coordinate the movements of Allied and Italian troops.^[14] On 21 September, Giraud arrived in Corsica.^[14] On 22 September Sartène was liberated and on 23 September, advanced troops and Corsican resistance fighters reached Porto-Vecchio. The Italian troops of the 20th Infantry Division "Friuli", along with Moroccan colonial troops, took the San Stefano pass on 30 September and then the Teghime pass on 3 October, pressing the German withdrawal but they were unable to stop the evacuation, which was completed on 3 October..^[14] The sea evacuation transported 6,240 German troops, about 1,200 prisoners of war, more than 3,200 vehicles and 5,000 long tons (5,100 t) of stores. The Germans also airlifted 21,107 men and about 350 long tons (360 t) of supplies for a loss of 55 transport aircraft, most on the ground on Italian airfields, to Allied bombing. Allied bombers and submarines sank about 17,000 long tons (17,000 t) of shipping.^[17][a] German losses during the liberation amounted to around 1,600, including 1,000 killed and 400 captured, along with 600 artillery pieces, about 100 tanks, and 5,000 other vehicles destroyed. The Italians lost 637 soldiers killed and 557 wounded. The Resistance suffered 170 killed and about 300 wounded, while the Free French Forces recorded 75 killed and 239 wounded.^[14]

The transport of Allied forces to Corsica continued and on 21 September, 1,200 men, 110 long tons (110 t) of stores, six guns and six vehicles were delivered by the light cruiser Jeanne d'Arc and the destroyers Le Fantasque, Tempête and L'Alcyon. The French cruiser Montcalm and Le Fantasque arrived on 23 September with 1,500 troops and 200 long tons (200 t) of supplies. Another 350 men and 100 long tons (100 t) of supplies, 21 guns and thirty vehicles arrived on the destroyers Le Fortuné and l'Alcyon, Landing Ship, Tank-79 (LST-79) and the MMS-class minesweepers MMS 1 and MMS 116. Jeanne d'Arc returned with 850 men and 160 long tons (160 t) on 25 September, followed the next day by Montcalm and the British destroyer HMS Pathfinder with 750 men, 100 long tons (100 t) of supplies, twelve guns and ten vehicles. On 30 September, 200 men, four guns and 70 vehicles arrived on Le Fortuné and LST-79, which was damaged by air attack and sank in the harbour. On 1 October, Jeanne d'Arc and l'Alcyon delivered 700 men and 170 long tons (170 t) of supplies.^[16]

The liberation of Corsica holds an important place in the history of the Resistance and the

Details from Barba 1995.[19]

• Coast (16 battalions)
  • 225th Coastal Division (General Pedrotti)
  • 226th Coastal Division (General Lazzarini)
  • detached regiment
• North
  • 20th Infantry Division "Friuli" (Generale Cotronei)
  • gruppo da sbarco (landing group)
  • Blackshirt battalion (Consul Cognoni)
• South-west
  • 44th Infantry Division "Cremona" (General Primieri)
  • Raggruppamento Sud Generale Ticchioni.
• Central
  • 10th Raggruppamento Celere Colonnello Fucci
  • 175th Reggimento Alpini Colonnello Castagna
• Regia Marina (Ammiraglio Gaetano Catalano Gonzaga)
  • Bastia
  • Portovecchio
  • Ajaccio
• Regia Aeronautica (Colonnello Baudoin)
  • Borgo
  • Ghisonaccia
  • Ajaccio
  • Portovecchio
  • Campo dell'Oro (airfields all on the eastern lowlands)

See also

• History of Corsica
• Italian irredentism in Corsica
• Italian occupation of France during World War II
• Military history of Italy during World War II
• Royal Italian Army (1940–1946)
• Simon Petru Cristofini
• Petru Giovacchini

Notes

Footnotes

References

• Barba, Selene (1995). La resistenza dei militari italiani all'estero: Francia e Corsica (in Italian). Roma: Rivista Militare.
  OCLC 258039499
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• Dillon, Paddy (2006). Gr20 – Corsica: The High-level Route. Kendal: Cicerone Press.
  ISBN 978-1-85-284477-6
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• ISBN 978-0-19-872346-2
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  • Schreiber, Gerhard. "4. Italy's Exit from the War". In Frieser et al. (2017).
• Gambiez, Fernand (1973). Liberation de la Corse [The Liberation of Corsica] (in French). Paris: Hachette.
  OCLC 250280546
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• Garland, A. N.; McGraw Smyth, H.;
  OCLC 41110962
  . CMH Pub 6-2-1. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
• Molony, C. J. C.; Flynn, F. C.; Davies, H. L.; Gleave, T. P. (2004a) [1973]. "Chapter XI. Naval Activities, June to October 1943; The Allied and Enemy Plans to the End of 1943 (iii) The Germans Evacuate Sardinia and Corsica". The Mediterranean and the Middle East: The Campaign in Sicily 1943 and The Campaign in Italy, 3rd September 1943 to 31st March 1944 Part I. History of the Second World War United Kingdom Military Series. Vol. V (pbk. facs. repr. Naval & Military Press, Uckfield ed.). London: HMSO. pp. 374–376.
  ISBN 978-1-84574-069-6
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• O'Hara, Vincent P. (2009). Struggle for the Middle Sea: The Great Navies at War in the Mediterranean Theater, 1940–1945. London: Conway.
  ISBN 978-1-84486-102-6
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• Playfair, I. S. O.; Flynn, F. C.; Molony, C. J. C.;
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• Rodogno, Davide (2003). Il nuovo ordine mediterraneo: le politiche di occupazione dell'Italia fascista (1940–1943) [The New Mediterranean Order: The Occupation Policies of Fascist Italy]. Nuova cultura 0094 (in Italian). Torino: Bollati Boringhieri.
  ISBN 978-8-83-391432-9
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• Rodogno, Davide (2006). Fascism's European empire: Italian Occupation during the Second World War (trans. ed.). Cambridge University Press.
  ISBN 978-0-52-184515-1
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• Rohwer, Jürgen; Hümmelchen, Gerhard (2005) [1972]. Chronology of the War at Sea, 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two (3rd rev. ed.). London: Chatham.
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• Arrighi, Jean-Marie; Jehasse, Olivier (2008). Histoire de la Corse et des Corses [A History of Corsica and the Corsicans] (in French). Paris: Colonna édition et Perrin.
  ISBN 978-2-262-02029-3
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• Mastroserio, Giuseppe (2004). Petru Giovacchini – Un Patriota esule in Patria [Petru Giovacchini – A Patriot Exiled in his Homeland] (in Italian). Bari: Editrice Proto.
  ISBN 978-8-88-882307-2
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• Rainero, R. (1990). Mussolini e Petain. Storia dei rapporti tra l'Italia e la Francia di Vichy (10 giugno 1940 – 8 settembre 1943) [Mussolini and Petain. History of Relations between Italy and Vichy France] (in Italian). Roma: Stato Maggiore dell'Esercito-Ufficio Storico.
  OCLC 891136801
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• Renucci, Janine (2001). La Corse [Corsica] (in French). Paris: Presses universitaires de France.
  ISBN 978-2-13-037169-4
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• ISBN 0-203-67840-0
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• Tomblin, B. B. (2004). With Utmost Spirit: Allied Naval Operations in the Mediterranean 1942–1945. Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky.
  ISBN 0-8131-2338-0
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• Varley, Karine (2012). "Between Vichy France and Fascist Italy: Redefining Identity and the Enemy in Corsica during the Second World War". Journal of Contemporary History. XLVII (3): 505–527.
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• Vergé-Franceschi, Michel (1996). Histoire de la Corse [History of Corsica] (in French). Paris: Éditions du Félin.
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• Vignoli, Giulio (2000). Gli Italiani Dimenticati: minoranze italiane in Europa: saggi e interventi [The Forgotten Italians: Italian Minorities in Europe: Essays and Interventions] (in Italian). Roma: Ed. Giuffè.
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