Simon Petru Cristofini (1903–1943), also known as Pietro Simone Cristofini (), was a

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

n soldier who commanded the Phalange Africaine during the

Tunisia Campaign The Tunisian campaign (also known as the battle of Tunisia) was a series of battles that took place in Tunisia during the North African campaign of the Second World War, between Axis and Allied forces from 17 November 1942 to 13 May 1943. The ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He was executed for treason by French authorities due to his support for Italian irredentism in Corsica during the Italian occupation of Corsica.

Biography

Early life

Cristofini was born in Calenzana, in what is now

Haute-Corse Haute-Corse (; , or ; ) is a department of France, consisting of the northern part of the island of Corsica. The corresponding departmental territorial collectivity merged with that of Corse-du-Sud on 1 January 2018, forming the single ter ...

, on 26 May 1903. When 24 years old he married Marta Renucci.

World War II

In 1939 became a Captain of the 3rd Algerian Tirailleurs Regiment. He was initially a supporter of Marshal

Philippe Pétain Henri Philippe Bénoni Omer Joseph Pétain (; 24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), better known as Marshal Pétain (, ), was a French marshal who commanded the French Army in World War I and later became the head of the Collaboration with Nazi Ger ...

. Allied forces landed in

French Morocco The French protectorate in Morocco, also known as French Morocco, was the period of French colonial rule in Morocco that lasted from 1912 to 1956. The protectorate was officially established 30 March 1912, when Sultan Abd al-Hafid signed the ...

and

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

in November 1942. Immediately, German and Italian reinforcements landed in French Tunisia and on 14 November the idea of an '' African Phalange'' was proposed in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

with the support of the Third Reich Ambassador Otto Abetz. In December, German authorities approved the plan and 330 volunteers were recruited under the command of Cristofini. The troops trained at the Bordj-Ceda camp and a 210 man company, called ''Französische Freiwilligen Legion'', was eventually incorporated into the 2nd Battalion, 754th Panzer Grenadier Regiment, part of the 5th Panzerarmee. In Tunisia Cristofini was wounded in one eye. Before returning to Corsica he met

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

in Rome. Colonel Cristofini was a supporter of the union of Corsica with Italy and defended Italian irredentism ideals. He actively collaborated with Italian forces in Corsica during the first months of 1943 and worked with Petru Giovacchini, the possible governor of Corsica if the

Axis An axis (: axes) may refer to: Mathematics *A specific line (often a directed line) that plays an important role in some contexts. In particular: ** Coordinate axis of a coordinate system *** ''x''-axis, ''y''-axis, ''z''-axis, common names ...

had won the war. Cristofini, as head of the Vichy troops in Ajaccio helped the Italian Army to repress Resistance opposition in Corsica before the Italian Armistice in September 1943. He was put on trial for treason after the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

retook Corsica, and sentenced to death. He tried to kill himself, and was executed while suffering from his wounds in November 1943.Rivista Storia Verità, n.11, 1998

After World War II

His wife, Marta Renucci, was sentenced to 15 years of jail in

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

in 1946 for supporting irredentism and for collaborating with

Italian fascism Italian fascism (), also called classical fascism and Fascism, is the original fascist ideology, which Giovanni Gentile and Benito Mussolini developed in Italy. The ideology of Italian fascism is associated with a series of political parties le ...

, but served only a reduced sentence.

Bibliography

* ''Il Martirio di un irredento: il colonnello Petru Simone Cristofini''. Rivista Storia Verità, n.11, 1998.

Notes