Since 1943, French general Charles de Gaulle, head of the Free French forces, had been planning revenge against Italy for the "stab in the back", the invasion of  southern France ordered by Benito Mussolini in June 1940, while France was falling to Germany during the Battle of France.
While in Algiers de Gaulle began studying a plan for occupying Italian territory with French influences: the Aosta Valley, western Piedmont, and the coastal cities of Ventimiglia and Imperia in Liguria.
The Armistice of Cassibile however caused the division of the Italian peninsula between the Kingdom of Italy in the south, under King Victor Emmanuel III, and the Italian Social Republic in the north, led by Mussolini under German influence.
The conditions of the Armistice made the United States, the United Kingdom and the Italian Co-belligerent Army the only nations permitted to occupy Italian territory, thereby leaving out the French.
After Operation Dragoon, the invasion of Southern France, the Allies were able to bring the campaign up to the Alps by the Autumn of 1944.

During 1945 de Gaulle was able to send soldiers and partisans to help the Italian resistance near the city of Aosta, and could have occupied a territory of 20km from the Franco-Italian border if necessary.
The general used this excuse to gather a large number of soldiers near the front, ready to conquer as much Italian land as possible from the Aosta Valley to Liguria.
French spies were sent to spread French propaganda to gain the population's support during the invasion, but the majority of Italian citizens did not want to join France.
French soldiers retreated in the summer of 1945, except from the villages of Tende and Brigue, which were later annexed with the peace treaty (1947).
A significant part of the population left the two villages to avoid to become French citizens.
Since 1943, French general Charles de Gaulle, head of the Free French forces, had been planning revenge against Italy for the "stab in the back", the invasion of  southern France ordered by Benito Mussolini in June 1940, while France was falling to Germany during the Battle of France. While in Algiers de Gaulle began studying a plan for occupying Italian territory with French influences: the Aosta Valley, western Piedmont, and the coastal cities of Ventimiglia and Imperia in Liguria. The Armistice of Cassibile however caused the division of the Italian peninsula between the Kingdom of Italy in the south, under King Victor Emmanuel III, and the Italian Social Republic in the north, led by Mussolini under German influence. The conditions of the Armistice made the United States, the United Kingdom and the Italian Co-belligerent Army the only nations permitted to occupy Italian territory, thereby leaving out the French. After Operation Dragoon, the invasion of Southern France, the Allies were able to bring the campaign up to the Alps by the Autumn of 1944.
During 1945 de Gaulle was able to send soldiers and partisans to help the Italian resistance near the city of Aosta, and could have occupied a territory of 20km from the Franco-Italian border if necessary. The general used this excuse to gather a large number of soldiers near the front, ready to conquer as much Italian land as possible from the Aosta Valley to Liguria. French spies were sent to spread French propaganda to gain the population's support during the invasion, but the majority of Italian citizens did not want to join France. French soldiers retreated in the summer of 1945, except from the villages of Tende and Brigue, which were later annexed with the peace treaty (1947). A significant part of the population left the two villages to avoid to become French citizens.
Second Battle of the Alps