ITALIAN NORTH AFRICA

This month I am adding the version of a wikipedia article written partially by my husband Bruno D'Ambrosio. We have to pinpoint that a huge Italian community existed in Tunisia before WW2 (http://www.academia.edu/31081889/La_calda_estate_del_1940._La_comunità_italiana_in_Tunisia_dalla_guerra_italo-francese_all_armistizio ) and that in November 1942 Tunisia was occupied by the Axis and the Italian authorities created an administration  (called Africa Settentrionale Italiana or ASI) for the civilians living in that occupied territory that was united with Italian Libya. The most important civilian institutions of the ASI in Tunisia (all linked and under the military authority of the "Comando Superiore FF.AA. Africa Settentrionale") were: the "Banca Italiana di Credito", the newspaper “L’Unione”, the "Ospedale Garibaldi" and the "Società Dante Alighieri". The military "Comando Superiore Forze Armate Africa Settentrionale" was responsible of the Postal service (read http://www.ilpostalista.it/pm_file/pm_109.htm). 

It is noteworthy to pinpoint that in Tunisia the Jews (who before November 1942 had been harassed by the French Vichy regime) were fully helped by the Italian authorities of the ASI:

The situation for Italian Jews improved when, on November 9, 1942, Germans and Italians occupied Tunisia. After a quick exchange of letters between the chancelleries of the two Axis countries, an agreement was found to protect the activities of the Italian community, "including non-Aryans" (Carpi, 1989, 1237). This communication was enough to make the Italian Jews enjoy preferential treatment and absolute protection from any kind of harassment and sanction (F. Petrucci, https://www.altreitalie.it/kdocs/78585/84242.pdf)

Until February 1943 Libya remained Italian, but after its conquest by the British the ASI administration remained in existence only in Tunisia until May 1943 when the last Italian troops of general Messe surrendered to the Allies. ASI lasted only a few months, but was responsible of civilian matters like the opening of Italian schools in Tunisia:

ITALIAN NORTH AFRICA

Italian North Africa (Africa Settentrionale Italiana, or ASI ^{http://morawino-stamps.com/sklep/en/25211-africa-settentrionale-italiana-tripolitania-cirenaica-libia}) was the aggregate of territories and colonies controlled by Italy in North Africa from 1911 until the Second World War. It was made by Italian Libya and Italy occupied Tunisia after November 1942, with the temporary occupation of western Egypt during some periods of the war. Indeed Tunisia was administratively aggregated to the Italian "4th Shore" in December 1942. The Italian administration in North Africa ended on May 13, 1943, with the surrender of the Italian-German armed forces in Tunisia. Tunisia remained the last territory de facto administered by the Italians in Africa until the complete occupation by the American and British forces.

Letter showing the existence of a military administrative unit called "Comando Superiore Forze Armate Africa Settentrionale (Italiana)", Italian North Africa in English, written in December 1942.

Brief history

Italian North Africa, unlike Italian East Africa (Africa Orientale Italiana, or AOI) existed in two phases: from 1911 to 1934, as Tripolitania and Cyrenaica, and after 1934, as Libya (with the later addition of coastal Tunisia during the Second World War). From 1934 to 1939, all of Italian North Africa was then known as Libya, as the North African territories were consolidated into one colony, Italian Libya.

April 12, 1937: is established the Superior Army Command of "Italian North Africa"; the XX Army Corps are established in Italy and sent to Libya, with the 60th "Sabratha" transportable Infantry Division, located in the Garian, and the 61st "Sirte" transportable Infantry Division, located in the Misurata area, and the XXI Army Corps with the 62nd "Marmarica" transportable Infantry Division, located in the Derna area, and the 63rd "Cyrene" transportable Infantry Division, located in the Barce area. (12/4/1937. Viene costituito il Comando Superiore FF.AA. dell' "Africa Settentrionale Italiana"; sono costituiti in Italia e inviati in Libia il XX Corpo d'Armata, con la 60^ Divisione Fanteria autotrasportabile "Sabratha", dislocata nel Garian, e la 61^ Divisione Fanteria autotrasportabile "Sirte", dislocata nella zona di Misurata, e il XXI Corpo d'Armata con la 62^ Divisione Fanteria autotrasportabile "Marmarica", dislocata nella zona di Derna, e la 63^ Divisione Fanteria autotrasportabile "Cirene", dislocata nella zona di Barce). Militaria (http://xoomer.virgilio.it/ramius/Militaria/colonie_italiane-libia.html)

In 1939 the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini called coastal Libya the Fourth Shore (Quarta Sponda) of Italy and it was united with metropolitan Italy.
The term "Fourth Shore" derives from the geography of Italy being a long and narrow peninsula jutting into the Mediterranean with two main shorelines, the First Shore on the east along the Adriatic Sea and the Second Shore on the west along the Tyrrhenian Sea. The third shore was the one facing south, to the Ionian sea and central Mediterranean (from Cape Leuca in the southern tip of Apulia, to the southern shores of Sicily near Trapani). The Adriatic Sea's opposite southern Balkans shore, with Dalmatia, Montenegro, and Albania, was planned for Italian expansion as a possible Fifth Shore, with Libya on the Mediterranean Sea remaining as the Fourth (https://academic.oup.com/afraf/article-abstract/XXXIX/CLV/129/85404?redirectedFrom=PDF).' Thus the Fourth Shore was the southern part of Imperial Italy, an early 1940s Fascist project of enlarging Italy's national borders around their Mare Nostrum.
From 1940 to 1943, during the Second World War, following Italy's declaration of war on Britain and France, it attempted to conquer Egypt and Tunisia to enlarge Italian North Africa. Indeed, the Axis's military advances led by Rommel in North Africa allowed Italy to lay claim to significant portions of western Egypt: Italian fascists anticipated creating a client Kingdom of Egypt under Italian control from 1941 to 1942 and successively claimed Tunisia from 1942 to 1943.

Italian Tunisia

After Italy's successful invasion of southern France, Mussolini demanded Tunisia, along with Djibouti, Corsica and Nice from France (Mussolini, Benito; Child, Richard Washburn; Ascoli, Max; Lamb, Richard (1998). Ascoli, Max, ed. "My Rise and Fall Da Capo Press). However it wasn't until November 1942 that Italian troops seized Tunisia, with German Field Marshal Rommel's Afrika Korps troop support, from the French Vichy regime colonial administrators.
Tunisia was added administratively to the existing northern Italian Libya Fourth Shore, in Mussolini's last attempt to accomplish the fascist project of Imperial Italy (Knox, MacGregor (1986). Mussolini Unleashed, 1939-1941: Politics and Strategy in Fascist Italy's Last War. Cambridge University Press. p. 138.)

"Tunisia" Assault Battalion (Battaglione d'assalto Tunisia dell'Africa Settentrionale Italiana) collar patch, Royal Italian Army (1943)

In the first months of 1943 were opened Italian schools in Tunis and Biserta. More than 15000 students went to these Italian schools.  Also were reopened some Italian newspapers and magazines, that have been closed by the French government in the late 1930s (https://books.google.com/books?id=tbe-P46BE7AC&pg=PA199#v=onepage&q&f=false).

In those months 4000 Italian Tunisians volunteered in the Italian Army: there were nearly one thousand Italians of Tunisia who bravely fought against the Allies in January-April 1943. They were in the so called Battaglione d'assalto Tunisia dell'Africa Settentrionale Italiana ("Tunisia" Assault Battalion of Italian North Africa).

In the last months of 1942 some Tunisians and local Italians did even join the National Fascist Party in Tunis. From December 1942 until February 1943 Tunisia and Italian Libya were under Italian control and administered as "Africa Settentrionale Italiana" (Ezio Gray. "Le nostre terre ritornano..." Introduzione ),  but later the Allies conquered all Italian Tripolitania and Italian control was reduced to the Tunisian area west of the Mareth Line (where was fought a last Axis stand).
All legally established territory of Italian North Africa was dissolved by early 1943, but Tunisia remained the last de facto Italian administered territory until all Tunisia fell to American and British forces.
In May 1943 the Allies' victorious Tunisia Campaign (1942—1943), part the Western Desert Campaign, regained all the Tunisian territory for France. The French colonial authorities then closed all Italian schools and newspapers (Watson, Bruce Allen Exit Rommel: The Tunisian Campaign, 1942-43 p. 103 )

Colonies and territories within Italian North Africa

From 1912 to 1927, Italian North Africa (Italian Tripolitania and Italian Cyrenaica) was an entity to itself, and from 1934 to 1941, Italian North Africa was united into the single colony of Italian Libya.

But in 1939 coastal Italian Libya was added to metropolitan Italy, while Saharan Italian Libya remained as a colonial territory under military control.

From 1942 to 1943 Tunisia was added, and was administered as part of the Fourth Shore (Quarta Sponda) of Italy. Military units of Italians of Tunisia were created, because 4000 Italo-Tunisians volunteered to fight in the Italian Army. One was called Reggimento Volontari Tunisini dell'Africa Settentrionale Italiana ( ^{https://books.google.com/books?id=_qG6CwAAQBAJ&pg=PA56&lpg=PA56&dq=battaglione+d'assalto+tunisia&source=bl&ots=0z7gyXvHd9&sig=q65EkW1vz-37PR1zpIcdBe3tdUI&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj399OsiI7fAhVPhOAKHaUaCUoQ6AEwC3oECAIQAQ#v=onepage&q=battaglione%20d'assalto%20tunisia&f=false)}

1927–1933

• Italian Cyrenaica
• Italian Tripolitania

1934–1941

• Italian Libya. In 1939, Benito Mussolini coined the name Fourth Shore, in Italian Quarta Sponda, to refer to coastal Italian Libya in Italian North Africa (later he added coastal Tunisia during WWII).

1941–1943

• Italian Libya (conquered by Western Allies by January 1943)
• German and Italian occupied western Egypt (from September to December 1940, and June to November 1942)
• German and Italian occupied Tunisia (from 17 November 1942 to 13 May 1943)

Bibliography

• Battistelli, Pier Paolo. Italian Army Elite Units & Special Forces 1942-43. Osprey Publishing. New York, 2011 ISBN 1849088950
• Gray. Ezio. Le nostre terre ritornano...Malta, Nizza, Corsica.... Ed. De Agostini. Novara, 1943