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Corsica was the first French metropolitan department to be liberated in World War II under the code name Operation Vesuvius which took place from September 8th to 4th October 1943. It marked the beginning of the liberation of France by the Allies.
When war broke out in 1939, the Corsicans’ preoccupation was to defend the island against an Italian invasion as they feared an annexation by Italy. The map shows the proximity of Corsica to Italy.
In November 1942, when the Allies landed in North Africa, Nazi Germany immediiately reacted by occupying southern France and the Italian VII Army Corp occupied Corsica. 30,000 Italian soldiers initially invaded the island with numbers growing to nearly 85,000 – a relatively large occupation force considering the local population of Corsica was around 220,000.
As Corsica was still under the sovereignty of Vichy France, the Italians met little resistance at first. Some Corsicans even…
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