Regions of Italy

The MTO

bigpigeon.us webpage WW II - Germany >MTO >  Italian Mainland, updated by RAC 2 Aug '19.

The Italian Campaign - July 1943 to May 1945

The Italian campaign began with the Allied invasion of Sicily in July 1943, followed by the Allied invasion of the southern end of the Italian peninsula in September 1943.

Between the invasion of Sicily and the invasion of the Italian mainland, Benito Mussolini was deposed as leade of the Fascist party and the Italian government. Soon thereafter Italy left the war. Meanwhile Germany sent troops into Italy and disarmed the Italian Army.

Subsequently a new Italian government joined the war against Germany, while Benito Mussolini escaped to northern Italy where under German patronage he organized a new Fascist government called the Italian Socialist Republic.

Physical Map of Italy

An Italian Timeline Part 1 - The Mussolini Era, 1922 to 1943

• Oct 1922 - Benito Mussolini, leader of Italian Fascist movement, becomes Italy's youngest Prime Minister.
• Oct 1935 - Italy invades Ethopia (then known as Abyssinia) in east Africa.
• 1936 - Ethopia added to the Italian Empire.
• Apr 1939 - Italy invades and occupies Albania.
• Jun 1940 - Italy invades southeastern France.
• Sep 1940 - Italy invades Egypt from Lybia beginning long see-saw North African campaign.
• Oct 1940 - Italy invades Greece from Albania.
• Oct 1940 - Axis powers pact - Germany, Italy, Japan.
• Feb 1941 - First German forces join Italians in Lybia.
• Oct 1942 - Battle of El Elamein begins British drive to eject Axis from Lybia.
• Nov 1942 - British and Americans invade French North Africa and drive eastward.
• May 1943 - Tunisia surrender of all North African Italian and German forces.
• Jul 1943 - British and Americans invade Italian island of Sicily.
• 25 Jul 1943: Mussolini voted out of office by Fascist Grand Council.

Benito Mussolini - El Duce, Fascist leader of Italy 1922-1943

Mussolini Apr '45 - Second from Left

An Italian Timeline Part 2 - Italy Leaves the Axis, July - October 1943

• July 25 - Mussolini is replaced by General Pietro Badoglio and imprisoned. 
• August 6 - Additional German troops begin entering Italy.
• August 17 - Allied campaign to capture Sicily ends.
• September 2 - Italy leaves war via a secret armistice with Allies.
• September 3 - First Allied landing on the mainland of Italy - British at Calibria.
• ~ September 8 - Pietro Badoglio and Italian royal family flee to British-occupied Brindisi, leaving Italian armed forces without orders.  Germans begin to disarm Italian armed forces. Many are sent to work as forced laborers; several thousand are executed.
• September 9 - Additional Allied landings on the Italian mainland: British at Taranto and British & Americans at Salerno.
• September 12 - Mussolini rescued from captivity by German commandos at the Gran Sasso ski resort in central Italy. 
• September 23 - Mussolini proclaims Italian Social Republic in northern Italy.
• September 27 - Beginning of four-day uprising in Naples; Germans withdraw from city.
• October 13 - Pietro Badoglio's government declares war on Germany.​

An Italian Timeline Part 3 - The Allied Campaign in Italy, July 1943 - May 1945

• July 9, 1943 - Allied Invasion of Sicily.
• August 17 - Allied campaign in Sicily ends.
• ​September 3 - First Allied landing on the mainland of Italy - British at Calabria.
• September 9 - Additional Allied landings on the Italian mainland: British at Taranto and Brits & Americans at Salerno.
• October 1 - Allies occupy Naples on the west coast and Foggia near the east coast.
• Oct 1942 - Jan 1943 - Allies attack the Winter Line area and advance to the Gustav Line.
• Jan - May 1943 - Bloody Gustav Line battles in the Cassino area.
• Jan - May 1943 - Allied beachhead invasion at Anzio followed by four months of stalemate.
• Jun - Aug 1944 - Allies advance northward in Italy to Gothic Line.
• Aug 1944 - Apr 1945 - Moderate gains by Allies past Gothic Line with significant casualties.
• Apr - May 1945 - Allies break out of Gothic Line and advance to Italian Alps.

The Italian Campaign in Sicily and the Mainland

Sources for the The Italian Mainland webpage

• The header page map Regions of Italy is courtesy of italiantourism.us.
• The Physical Map of Italy is courtesy of privateinternetaccess.com.
• The The Italian Campaign in Sicily and the Mainland map is courtesy of Infobase Publishing.

Extended Family Members Who Served in the Italian Campaign:

• Roland and Rodney Paulson, my uncle's nephews, were identical twins from Ames, Iowa who served together on a B-17 flying from the Foggia area. Their squadron used Azon, the Air Force's first guided bomb. Roland, as the lead bombardier, once disabled the Avisio viaduct on the main German supply line to Italy for several days.
• Ralph Shower of Terre Haute, Indiana, my wife's uncle, was a member of a port battalion stationed in Naples. Companies from his battalion would load ships in Naples, and then accompany the ships to the Anzio beachhead, where they would unload the ships while under fire.
• Ralph Edward Spencer, Jr. of Boomer Township, my stepuncle, served with the 3rd Infantry Division in North Africa, Sicily, the Italian mainland, and then in southern France.