1941 in Italy

← 1940 1939 1938 1941 in Italy → 1942 1943 1944
Decades:	1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s
See also:	History of Italy Timeline of Italian history List of years in Italy

Events from the year 1941 in Italy. This year was dominated by Italy's participation in the Second World War.

Incumbents

• King – Victor Emmanuel III ^[1]
• Prime Minister – Benito Mussolini

Events

• 3 January – World War II – North African Campaign – The Battle of Bardia occurs between Italian and Allied forces, mainly of the Australian Army, leading to the routing of the Italian Army and the fall of Bardia. ^{[2] [3]}
• 22 January – World War II – North African Campaign – The British capture Tobruk, capturing around 30 thousand Italian soldiers and intact port facilities. ^[4]
• 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. ^[5]
• 6 April – World War II – The Axis Powers, including Italy, invades Yugoslavia. ^{[6] [7]}
• 10 April – World War II – North African Campaign – Italian forces in Libya, in conjunction with the Afrika Korps, besiege Tobruk. ^[8]
• 17 April – World War II – Yugoslavia capitulates to the Axis invasion. ^[9]
• 27 April – World War II – Greece capitulates to a German led invasion following the failure of Italy's previous invasion in 1940. ^[9]
• 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. ^[10]
• 22 June – World War II – Italy declares war on the Soviet Union, as apart of Operation Barbarossa, the Axis-invasion of the Soviet Union. ^[9]
• 11 July – World War II – Seventeen Italian ships are seized in the United States under the Espionage Act of 1917. ^[11]
• 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. ^{[12] [13]}
• 18 December – World War II – Italy's Regia Marina launches a raid on Alexandria, a city in Egypt, disabling two battleships of the Mediterranean Fleet of the British Royal Navy. ^[14]

Literature and culture

Main article: 1941 in literature

Cinema

See also: List of Italian films of 1941

Births

• 19 June – Gilberto Benetton, businessman and co-founder of Benetton Group (d. 2018) ^[15]
• 23 July – Sergio Mattarella, president of Italy since 2015 ^[16]
• 1 December – Federico Faggin, physicist, engineer, inventor, and entrepreneur ^[17]

Deaths

Main article: Deaths in 1941

Further information: Category:1941 deaths

• 15 February – Guglielmo Pecori Giraldi, general of the Italian 1st Army during World War I (b. 1856) ^[18]
• 25 June – Luigi Capello, general during the Italo-Turkish War and World War I (b. 1859) ^[19]
• 8 September – Giuseppe Amisani, painter (b. 1881) ^{[20] [21]}
• 29 December
  • Tullio Levi-Civita, mathematician (b. 1873) ^[22]
  • Luigi Albertini, politician and founder of Corriere della Sera (b. 1871) ^[23]

See also

• Military history of Italy during World War II

References

1. "Victor Emmanuel III". Encyclopedia Britannica . 4 June 2025. Retrieved 3 July 2025.
2. Shaw (2007), p. 246.
3. Stockings, Craig (7 January 2010). "The Anzac Legend and the Battle of Bardia" . War in History . 17 (1): 88 – via Sage Publishing.
4. Shaw (2007), pp. 246–247.
5. "The struggle for North Africa, 1940-43". National Army Museum . Retrieved 19 June 2025.
6. "War in the Balkans, 1941-45". National Army Museum . Retrieved 7 June 2025.
7. "The Nazi Invasion of Yugoslavia and Greece". Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training . Retrieved 7 June 2025.
8. Shaw (2007), p. 253.
9. Withers (1945), p. 102.
10. "World War II Chronology". Army History (18): 18–19. Spring 1991 – via JSTOR.
11. "World War II Chronology". Army History (19): 20–21. Summer 1991 – via JSTOR.
12. "CHRONOLOGY OF WORLD WAR II" . Current History . 8 (46): 494. June 1945 – via JSTOR.
13. "BBC ON THIS DAY | 11 | 1941: Germany and Italy declare war on US". BBC News . Archived from the original on 18 December 2024. Retrieved 12 June 2025.
14. 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 – via JSTOR.
15. Pianigiani, Gaia (26 October 2018). "Gilberto Benetton, 77, Dies; Expanded Family Clothing Company". New York Times . Retrieved 7 June 2025.
16. "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.
17. "Federico Faggin". EBSCO . 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
18. di Mauro, Passarin. "PECORI GIRALDI, Guglielmo". Treccani (in Italian). Retrieved 7 June 2025.
19. Rochat, Giorgio (1975). "CAPELLO, Luigi Attilio". Treccani . Retrieved 24 June 2025.
20. Nicodemi, Giorgio. "AMISANI, Giuseppe". Treccani (in Italian). Retrieved 24 June 2025.
21. "AMISANI, Giuseppe". Treccani (in Italian). Retrieved 24 June 2025.
22. "Tullio Levi-Civita". Encyclopedia Britannica . 25 March 2025. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
23. "Luigi Albertini". Encyclopedia Britannica . 25 December 2024. Retrieved 10 July 2025.

Sources

• 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 , vol. 31, no. 1, Southern Methodist University