Italian Armistice

The Armistice of Cassibile was an armistice signed on 3 September 1943 by Walter Bedell Smith and Giuseppe Castellano, and made public on 8 September, between the Kingdom of Italy and the Allies ("United Nations") of World War II. It was signed at a conference of generals from both sides in an Allied military camp at Cassibile in Sicily, which had recently been occupied by the Allies. The armistice was approved by both King Victor Emmanuel III and Italian Prime Minister Pietro Badoglio. The armistice stipulated in fact the surrender of Italy to the Allies.

After its publication, Germany retaliated against Italy breaking off the Pact of Steel and attacked Italian forces in Italy, South of France and the Balkans. Italian forces were quickly defeated and most of Italy was occupied by German troops, while the King, the government and most of the navy reached territories occupied by the Allies.

Following the surrender of the Axis powers in North Africa on 13 May 1943, the Allies bombed Rome first on 16 May, invaded Sicily on 10 July and were preparing to land on the Italian mainland.

In the spring of 1943, preoccupied by the disastrous situation of the Italian military in the war, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini removed several figures from the government whom he considered to be more loyal to King Victor Emmanuel than to the Fascist regime. These moves by Mussolini were described as slightly hostile acts to the king, who had been growing increasingly critical of the war.

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