1941 in Italy
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Events from the year 1941 in Italy. This year was dominated by Italy's participation in the Second World War, where Italy strove to establish a new Roman Empire.
Incumbents
Events
- 1–12 January – World War II – Mediterranean Front – Italian submarines Turchese, Ambra, Corridoni, Galatea, Tembien, Beilul, and Delfino, operate in the Eastern Mediterranean.[3]
- 1–18 January – World War II – Battle of the Atlantic – Italian submarine Giacomo Nani, operating alongside submarine Glauco, is sunk by British corvette Anemone during an operation against convoy HX.99.[3]
- 2 January – World War II – General Enno von Rintelen, former military attaché and chief representative of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW) to Italy, dispatches a scathing report to the OKW over Italian military capabilities. In his report, Rintelen argues that increased German influence over the Italian Armed Forces is both warranted and necessary, causing a deterioration in relations between the two Axis powers.[4]
- 2–3 January – World War II – North African Campaign – The Battle of Bardia occurs between Italian and Allied forces, primarily of the Australian Army, leading to the routing of the Italian Army and the fall of Bardia.[5][6][3]
- 7 January – World War II – Mediterranean Front – Italian torpedo boats Cilo and Castore damage British submarine Rover; two days later, Rover damages an Italian sailboat.[3]
- 19 January – World War II – The Sudan Defence Force, recently reinforced by the 4th Indian Division and the 5th Indian Division begins an offensive into Eritrea, under the control of Italian East Africa. This resumes the Northern Front of the East African Campaign.[5]
- 22 January – World War II – North African Campaign – British forces capture Tobruk, forcing the surrender of around 30 thousand Italian soldiers and intact port facilities.[7]
- 24 January – Italian forces in Libya are split near Mechili, following an engagement with the 4th Armored Brigade of the British Army.[5]
- 11 February – World War II – North African Campaign – The German Afrika Korps, led by Erwin Rommel, a major general in the German Army, arrives in Italian Libya to support the Italian forces in the region.[8]
- 6 April – World War II – Balkans Campaign – The Axis Powers, including Italy, invade Yugoslavia.[9][10]
- 10 April – World War II – North African Campaign – Italian forces in Libya, in conjunction with the Afrika Korps, besiege Tobruk.[11]
- 17 April – World War II – Balkans Campaign – Yugoslavia capitulates to the Axis invasion.[12]
- 27 April – World War II – Balkans Campaign – Greece capitulates to a German led invasion following the failure of Italy's previous invasion in 1940.[12]
- 19 June – World War II – The Axis Powers, including Italy, expel all United States consuls and diplomatic staff, with a vacation date of 15 July.[13]
- 22 June – World War II – Eastern Front – Italy declares war on the Soviet Union, as a part of Operation Barbarossa, the Axis-invasion of the Soviet Union.[12]
- 11 July – World War II – Seventeen Italian ships are seized in the United States under the Espionage Act of 1917.[14]
- 27 September – World War II – Italy, Germany, and Japan sign the Tripartite Pact in Berlin. The Tripartite Pact creates a defensive pact between the three powers, intended against any potential intervention by the United States in either the European theatre or the Second Sino-Japanese War.[15]
- 11 December – World War II – Italy, in conjunction with Germany, declare war on the United States, following the United States declaration of war on Japan and the attack on Pearl Harbor.[16][17]
- 18 December – World War II – Mediterranean Front – Italy's Regia Marina launches a raid on Alexandria, a key port city in Egypt, disabling two battleships of the Mediterranean Fleet of the British Royal Navy.[18]
Literature and culture
Cinema
Births
- 19 June – Gilberto Benetton, businessman and co-founder of Benetton Group (d. 2018)[19]
- 23 July – Sergio Mattarella, president of Italy since 2015[20]
- 26 September – Salvatore Accardo, violinist and conductor[21]
- 3 October – Andrea de Adamich, racing driver (d. 2025)[22]
- 1 December – Federico Faggin, physicist, engineer, inventor, and entrepreneur[23]
Deaths
- 15 February – Guglielmo Pecori Giraldi, general of the Italian 1st Army during World War I (b. 1856)[24]
- 25 June – Luigi Capello, general during the Italo-Turkish War and World War I (b. 1859)[25]
- 8 September – Giuseppe Amisani, painter (b. 1881)[26][27]
- 29 December
- Tullio Levi-Civita, mathematician (b. 1873)[28]
- Luigi Albertini, politician and founder of Corriere della Sera (b. 1871)[29]
See also
References
- ↑ "Victor Emmanuel III". Encyclopedia Britannica. 4 June 2025. Retrieved 3 July 2025.
- ↑ Foot, John (27 May 2026). "Benito Mussolini". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 22 June 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 Rohwer (2005), p. 54.
- ↑ Hammond (2026), p. 119.
- 1 2 3 Shaw (2007), p. 246.
- ↑ Stockings, Craig (7 January 2010). "The Anzac Legend and the Battle of Bardia". War in History. 17 (1): 88. doi:10.1177/0968344509348304 – via Sage Publishing.
- ↑ Shaw (2007), pp. 246–247.
- ↑ "The struggle for North Africa, 1940-43". National Army Museum. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
- ↑ "War in the Balkans, 1941-45". National Army Museum. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
- ↑ "The Nazi Invasion of Yugoslavia and Greece". Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
- ↑ Shaw (2007), p. 253.
- 1 2 3 Withers (1945), p. 102.
- ↑ "World War II Chronology". Army History (18): 18–19. Spring 1991. JSTOR 26302836 – via JSTOR.
- ↑ "World War II Chronology". Army History (19): 20–21. Summer 1991. JSTOR 26302869 – via JSTOR.
- ↑ Goeschel, Christian (2024). "Performing the New Order: The Tripartite Pact, 1940–1945". Contemporary European History. 33 (2): 411–427. doi:10.1017/S0960777322000340.
- ↑ "Chronology of World War II". Current History. 8 (46): 494. June 1945. JSTOR 45306711 – via JSTOR.
- ↑ "BBC ON THIS DAY | 11 | 1941: Germany and Italy declare war on US". BBC News. 11 December 1941. Archived from the original on 18 December 2024. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
- ↑ O'Hara, Vincent P.; Cernuschi, Enrico (Summer 2015). "FROGMEN AGAINST A FLEET: The Italian Attack on Alexandria 18/19 December 1941". Naval War College Review. 68 (3): 119. JSTOR 26397861 – via JSTOR.
- ↑ Pianigiani, Gaia (26 October 2018). "Gilberto Benetton, 77, Dies; Expanded Family Clothing Company". New York Times. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
- ↑ "President Meloni's birthday wishes for the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella". Presidency of the Council of Ministers (Italy). 23 July 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
- ↑ Salvatore Accardo
- ↑ REMEMBERING ANDREA DE ADAMICH
- ↑ "Federico Faggin". EBSCO. 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
- ↑ di Mauro, Passarin. "PECORI GIRALDI, Guglielmo". Treccani (in Italian). Retrieved 7 June 2025.
- ↑ Rochat, Giorgio (1975). "CAPELLO, Luigi Attilio". Treccani. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
- ↑ Nicodemi, Giorgio. "AMISANI, Giuseppe". Treccani (in Italian). Retrieved 24 June 2025.
- ↑ "AMISANI, Giuseppe". Treccani (in Italian). Retrieved 24 June 2025.
- ↑ "Tullio Levi-Civita". Encyclopedia Britannica. 25 March 2025. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
- ↑ "Luigi Albertini". Encyclopedia Britannica. 25 December 2024. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
Sources
- Hammond, Richard (January 2026). "Revisiting the Nazi-Fascist Military Alliance: Italo-German Rivalry and Cooperation during the Mediterranean War, 1940-1943". Journal of Military History. 9 (1): 119 – via EBSCO.
- Rohwer, Jürgen (2005). Chronology of the War at Sea, 1939-1945: The Naval History of World War II. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press. p. 54. ISBN 1591141192.
- Shaw, Antony (2007), World War II: Day By Day, New York City: Barnes & Noble, pp. 246–247, 253
- Withers, Harry. C (1945), "Summary of World War II", Southwest Review, 31 (1), Southern Methodist University: 101–107, JSTOR 43463063