The Allied invasion
- Allied forces land in Sicily July 1943 with 15,000 troops, hoping they could collapse the
regime and take Italy out of the war
- They faced little opposition and conquered half of Sicily in the first week
- Mussolini asked Hitler to transfer troops and arms from Russia to help Italy, but this was
refused
- Hitler instructed forces to make withdrawal plans
- Allied forces close in on the port of Messina whilst Axis armies successfully evacuate
100,000 men along with vehicles, supplies and ammunition to Italian mainland
- The Allies now had control of the island but German and Italian forces had conducted a
successful retreat that allowed them to reinforce strategic positions on the Italian
mainland
Mussolini deposed
- By July 1943 Italy was close to military defeat — Allied forces were in Sicily
- Most people saw Mussolini as the reason for their problems and were convinced the war
had been lost
- The conservative elite wanted to abandon the German alliance, remove Mussolini from
power and reach a peace agreement with the Allies
- The king was the only one who could depose Mussolini
- Through the Vatican, the king opened up secret talks with the Allies and the US agreed to
negotiate peace on the condition that he dismissed Mussolini
- Grandi began drafting a resolution calling for the removal of Mussolini
- Grandi’s resolution was passed by 19 to 7 votes by the Fascist Grand Council
- Mussolini met with the king who told Mussolini he was to be dismissed and replaced by
Badoglio
Italian surrender, September 1943
- As part of the surrender, Badoglio promised to hand over Italy’s air force and navy to the
Allies along with 60,000 troops based in Rome
- However, no measures were taken to enact this
- Italian soldiers who had been fighting alongside the Germans were left in confusion,
some surrendered, some continued fighting, some tried to get home
- Italy’s army was dissolved and over one million troops were taken prisoner
- In the Greek islands there was fighting between Germans and Italians
German invasion into Italy
- 9 September German forces enter Italy
- The King, Badoglio and senior military officers fled south towards the Allies, leaving
Italy in chaos
- They refused to give the order to attack the Germans as they feared it would put Italian
civilians at risk but the lack of direction meant Rome wasn’t defended and was taken over
by the Germans
- Allied forces land in Sicily July 1943 with 15,000 troops, hoping they could collapse the
regime and take Italy out of the war
- They faced little opposition and conquered half of Sicily in the first week
- Mussolini asked Hitler to transfer troops and arms from Russia to help Italy, but this was
refused
- Hitler instructed forces to make withdrawal plans
- Allied forces close in on the port of Messina whilst Axis armies successfully evacuate
100,000 men along with vehicles, supplies and ammunition to Italian mainland
- The Allies now had control of the island but German and Italian forces had conducted a
successful retreat that allowed them to reinforce strategic positions on the Italian
mainland
Mussolini deposed
- By July 1943 Italy was close to military defeat — Allied forces were in Sicily
- Most people saw Mussolini as the reason for their problems and were convinced the war
had been lost
- The conservative elite wanted to abandon the German alliance, remove Mussolini from
power and reach a peace agreement with the Allies
- The king was the only one who could depose Mussolini
- Through the Vatican, the king opened up secret talks with the Allies and the US agreed to
negotiate peace on the condition that he dismissed Mussolini
- Grandi began drafting a resolution calling for the removal of Mussolini
- Grandi’s resolution was passed by 19 to 7 votes by the Fascist Grand Council
- Mussolini met with the king who told Mussolini he was to be dismissed and replaced by
Badoglio
Italian surrender, September 1943
- As part of the surrender, Badoglio promised to hand over Italy’s air force and navy to the
Allies along with 60,000 troops based in Rome
- However, no measures were taken to enact this
- Italian soldiers who had been fighting alongside the Germans were left in confusion,
some surrendered, some continued fighting, some tried to get home
- Italy’s army was dissolved and over one million troops were taken prisoner
- In the Greek islands there was fighting between Germans and Italians
German invasion into Italy
- 9 September German forces enter Italy
- The King, Badoglio and senior military officers fled south towards the Allies, leaving
Italy in chaos
- They refused to give the order to attack the Germans as they feared it would put Italian
civilians at risk but the lack of direction meant Rome wasn’t defended and was taken over
by the Germans
