The 'Battle of the Alps' ends

25th June 1940: Italy's attack on France's southern border has achieved little but must end alongside the German armistice

French ski troops were well prepared for the ‘Battle of the Alps’, unlike their Italian counterparts.

On 10th June 1940 Mussolini had declared war on Britain and France in the expectation that he could make territorial gains in a brief war. A force of around 300,000 Italian troops attacked the French border positions in the Alps. The French only had aro…