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subpages: Sicily Italy Leaves the Axis Salerno-Naples
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subpages: Sicily Italy Leaves the Axis Salerno-Naples
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bigpigeon.us webpage WWII Germany > The MTO > Sicily to Naples > Italy Leaves the Axis, © 2025 by Robert A. Christiansen, updated by RAC 14 Jun 2025
Allied success in Sicily, along with previous Italian losses in the war, caused the overthrow of the Italian strongman Benito Mussolini, a secret Italian armistice with the Allies, and the German occupation of Italy.
Allied success in Sicily, along with previous Italian losses in the war, caused the overthrow of the Italian strongman Benito Mussolini, a secret Italian armistice with the Allies, and the German occupation of Italy.
Narrative - Italy Leaves the Axis, 1943:
The Italian Campaigns 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.
In July 1943, Benito Mussolini was deposed as leader 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.
With German help, Benito Mussolini escaped to northern Italy where under German patronage he organized a new Fascist government called the Italian Socialist Republic.
Once the Allies were firmly established in southern Italy, the new Italian government joined the war against Germany.
The Italian Campaigns 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.
In July 1943, Benito Mussolini was deposed as leader 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.
With German help, Benito Mussolini escaped to northern Italy where under German patronage he organized a new Fascist government called the Italian Socialist Republic.
Once the Allies were firmly established in southern Italy, the new Italian government joined the war against Germany.
Timeline - Italy Leaves the Axis, 1943:
- May - All Italian and German forces in North Africa surrender in Tunisia.
- 9 July - British and Americans invade Italian island of Sicily.
- 25 July - Mussolini is voted out of office by Fascist Grand Council, replaced by General Pietro Badoglio, and imprisoned.
- 6 August - Additional German troops begin entering Italy.
- 17 August - Allied campaign to capture Sicily ends.
- 2 September - Italy leaves war via a secret armistice with Allies.
- 3 September - First Allied landing on the mainland of Italy - British at Calabria.
- ~ 8 September - 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.
- 9 September - Additional Allied landings, including a major landing at Salerno south of Naples, on the Italian mainland.
- 12 September - Mussolini rescued from captivity by German commandos at the Gran Sasso ski resort in central Italy.
- 23 September - Mussolini proclaims Italian Social Republic in northern Italy.
- 27 September - Beginning of four-day uprising in Naples; Germans withdraw from city.
- 13 October - Pietro Badoglio's government declares war on Germany.
██ Sources for Big Pigeon's WWII Germany > The MTO > Italy > Italy Leaves the Axis webpage ██
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