The Armistice with Italy is an armistice that occurred on September 8, 1943, during World War II. It was signed by Italy and the Allied armed forces, who were occupying the southern half of the country at the time. It is also referred to in Italy as the Armistizio di Cassibile (from the place in which it was signed) or the Armistizio dell'8 Settembre (more simply 8 Settembre). A white flag is traditionally used to represent a truce. ... September 8 is the 251st day of the year (252nd in leap years). ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total dead: 12 million World War II... In general, allies are people or groups that have joined an alliance and are working together to achieve some common purpose. ...

Background

In the spring of 1943, preoccupied by the disastrous situation of the Italian military in the war, Mussolini removed from their positions in the Italian government several figures who he reputed to be more faithful to the king than to the Fascist regime. These moves by Mussolini have been described as slightly hostile acts to the king, who had been growing increasingly critical of the poor conduct of Italy in the conflict. After this sequence of decisions, Victor Emmanuel probably began to consider countermoves that in the end would lead to the Armistice and to Mussolini's downfall. 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (July 29, 1883 – April 28, 1945) led Italy from 1922 to 1943. ...

In order to help carry out his plan, the King asked Dino Grandi to get involved. Grandi was one of the leading members of the Fascist hierarchy and, in his younger years, he was considered to be the sole credible alternative to Mussolini as leader of the Fascist Party. The King was also motivated by the suspicion that Grandi's ideas about Fascism might be changed abruptly. Various ambassadors, including Pietro Badoglio himself, proposed to him the vague possibility of succeeding Mussolini as dictator. Count Dino Grandi (1895-1988), born in Mordano (BO), Emilia. ... Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler Fascism (in Italian, fascismo), capitalized, refers to the right-wing authoritarian political movement which ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943 under the leadership of Benito Mussolini. ... Pietro Badoglio (September 28, 1871 - November 1, 1956) was an Italian soldier and politician. ...

The secret frondeur later involved Giuseppe Bottai, another high member of the Fascist directorate and Minister of Culture, and Galeazzo Ciano, probably the second most powerful man in the Fascist party and also Mussolini's son-in-law. The conspirators devised an Order of the Day for the next reunion of the Grand Council of Fascism which contained a proposal to restore direct control of politics to the king . In this Council, held on July 23, 1943, Mussolini was arrested and substituted with Badoglio. This went against what had been promised to Grandi, who had been told that another general of greater personal and professional qualities (Caviglia) would have taken the place of Mussolini. Giuseppe Bottai (b. ... Galeazzo Ciano Galeazzo Ciano, Count of Cortellazzo (March 18, 1903 – January 11, 1944), was Benito Mussolinis Foreign Minister and son-in-law. ... July 23 is the 204th day (205th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 161 days remaining. ... 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ...

The nomination of Badoglio apparently did not change the position of Italy alongside Germany in the war. However, it was another move of the Royal Savoia family towards peace. Many channels, in fact, were being probed to seek a treaty with the Allies. The House of Savoy was a dynasty of nobles who traditionally had their domain in Savoy, a region between Piedmont, Italy, France and French-speaking Switzerland. ...

General Giuseppe Castellano.

Image File history File linksMetadata Giuseppe_Castellano. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Giuseppe_Castellano. ...

Towards the signing

In particular, three Italian generals (including Giuseppe Castellano) were separately sent to Lisbon in order to contact Allied diplomats. However, to start out the proceedings the Allied diplomats had to solve a problem concerning who was the most authoritative envoy: the three generals had in fact soon started to quarrel about the question of who enjoyed the highest authority. In the end, Castellano was admitted to speak with the Allied diplomats in order to set the conditions for the surrender of Italy. Among the representatives of the allies, there was the English ambassador to Portugal, Ronald Campbell, and two generals sent by Dwight Eisenhower, the American Walter Badell Smith and the British Kenneth Strong. District or region Lisbon Mayor   - Party Carmona Rodrigues PSD Area 84. ... Ronald Campbell (born August 14, 1943) is the Labour member of Parliament for Blyth Valley in north-east England. ... Dwight David Ike Eisenhower (October 14, 1890–March 28, 1969), American soldier and politician, was the 34th President of the United States (1953–1961) and supreme commander of the Allied forces in Europe during World War II, with the rank of General of the Army. ...

Initially, the Allies were not entirely happy about the proposal of a surrender of Italy. The military campaign against the Axis forces there seemed to have gained steam, and a defeat of Italy was considered only a matter of time. The surrender of Germany's weaker ally would certainly have accelerated that end; however, it would also have reduced the benefits gained by a total conquest of the Italian territory.

Ultimately, though, further examination of the possibilities after the end of the war in Italy led the Allies to seriously discuss the question. In particular, the United States wanted to avoid the possible consignment of Italy to Great Britain after the war, as this would have given the Britons absolute control over the strategic Mediterranean area (including control over oil trade). Natural olive oil Synthetic motor oil Oil, in a general sense, is a chemical compound that is not miscible with water, and is in a liquid state at ambient temperatures. ...

On August 27 Castellano returned to Italy and, three days later, briefed Badoglio about the Allied request for a meeting to be held in Sicily, which had been suggested by the British ambassador to the Vatican. August 27 is the 239th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (240th in leap years), with 126 days remaining. ... Sicilian redirects here. ...

Conditions

Badoglio still considered it possible to gain favourable conditions in exchange for the surrender. He ordered Castellano to insist that any surrender of Italy was subordinate to a landing of Allied troops on the Italian mainland (the Allies at this point were holding only Sicily and some minor islands). Badoglio also dared to ask for access to Allied military plans. But this was clearly unreasonable, as the war was still ongoing and the Allied Staff could have done nothing but reject it. Landing is the last part of a flight, where a flying animal or aircraft returns to the ground. ... In general, allies are people or groups that have joined an alliance and are working together to achieve some common purpose. ...

On August 31 general Castellano reached Termini Imerese, in Sicily, by plane and was subsequently transferred to Cassibile, a small town in the neighbourhood of Syracuse. It soon became obvious that the two sides in the negotiations had adopted rather distant positions. Castellano pressed the relatively reasonable request that the Italian territory be defended from the inevitable reaction of the German Wehrmacht against Italy after the signing. In return, he received only vague promises, which included the launching of a Parachute Division over Rome. Moreover, these actions were to be conducted contemporaneously with the signing and not preceding it, as the Italians had wanted. August 31 is the 243rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (244th in leap years), with 122 days remaining. ... Termini Imerese is a city of about 50,000 inhabitants in the province of Palermo on the northern coast of Sicily. ... Map of central Mediterranean Sea, showing location of Syracuse on the island of Sicily. ... German cavalry and motorized units entering Poland from East Prussia during the Polish Campaign of 1939 Wehrmacht (Defence force) was the name of the armed forces of Germany from 1935 to 1945. ... City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) Founded 21 April 753 BC (mythical), early 1st millennium BC (archaeological) Region Latium Area  - City Proper  1285 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 2,553,873 almost 4,300,000 1. ...

The following day Castellano was received by Badoglio and his entourage. The Minister of Foreign Affairs Raffaele Guariglia declared that the Allied conditions were to be accepted. Other generals maintained however that the Army Corps deployed around Rome was insufficient to protect the city, due to lack of fuel and ammunition, and that the armistice had to be postponed. Badoglio did not pronounce himself in the meeting. In the afternoon he appeared before the King, who decided to accept the armistice conditions.

The way to the signing

A confirmation telegram was sent to the Allies. The message, however, was intercepted by the German armed forces, which had long since begun to suspect that Italy was seeking a separate armistice. The Germans contacted Badoglio, who repeatedly confirmed the unwavering loyalty of Italy to its German ally. His reassurances were doubted by the Germans, and the Wehrmacht started to devise an effective plan to take control of the Italian soil as soon as the Italian government had switched allegiance to the Allies. Telegraphy (from the Greek words tele = far away and grapho = write) is the long distance transmission of written messages without physical transport of letters, originally over wire. ...

On September 2 Castellano set off again to Cassibile, with an order to confirm the acceptance of the Allied conditions. He had no written authorisation from the head of the Italian Government, Badoglio, who wanted to dissociate himself as much as possible from the upcoming defeat of his country. September 2 is the 245th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (246th in leap years). ...

The signing ceremony began at 2:00 p.m. on September 3: Castellano, in lieu of Badoglio, and Badell Smith, in place of Eisenhower, apposed their signatures to the accepted text. A bombing mission on Rome by 500 airplanes was stopped at the last moment: it had been Eisenhower's deterrent to accelerate the procedure of the armistice. Harold Macmillan, the British representative in the Allied Staff, informed Winston Churchill that the armistice had been signed "without amendments of any kind". September 3 is the 246th day of the year (247th in leap years). ... The Right Honourable Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC (10 February 1894–29 December 1986), nicknamed Supermac and Mac the Knife, was a British Conservative politician and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963. ... Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British politician and author, best known as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. ...

Only after the signing had taken place was Castellano informed of the additional clauses that had been presented by general Campbell to another Italian general, Zanussi, who had also been in Cassibile since August 31. Zanussi, for unclear reasons, had not informed Castellano about them. Badell Smith, Nevertheless, explained to Castellano that these further conditions were to have taken effect only if Italy had taken on a fighting role in the war alongside the Allies.

In the afternoon of the same day Badoglio had a briefing with the Italian Ministers of Navy, Air Forces and War, and with the King's representatives as well. However, he omitted any mention of the signing of the armistice, referring only to ongoing negotiations.

When the armistice was publicly declared, on September 8, the majority of the Italian Army had been not informed about it. Badoglio fled from Rome, taking shelter on the Allied side. No orders had been given at all about the line of conduct to be taken in the face of the German armed forces. The Italian troops, dispersed and badly organized, were soon overwhelmed. The Wehrmacht therefore occupied, without meeting great resistance, all of the remaining territory still not under Allied control. On September 3, Canadian troops began landing in the southernmost tip of Calabria. The day after the armistice declaration, September 9, the Allies also disembarked at Salerno (Operation Avalanche) and Taranto (Operation Slapstick). September 8 is the 251st day of the year (252nd in leap years). ... Calabria, formerly Brutium, is a region in southern Italy which occupies the toe of the Italian peninsula south of Naples. ... September 9 is the 252nd day of the year (253rd in leap years). ... Map of Italy showing Salerrno southeast of Naples Salerno is a town and a province capital in Campania, south-western Italy, located on the gulf of the same name on the Tyrrhenian Sea. ... Operation Avalanche was the codename for the landings near the port of Salerno, executed on 9 September 1943, part of the Allied invasion of Italy. ... Founded 706 BC as Taras () Region Apulia Mayor Rossana Di Bello Area  - City Proper  217 km² Population  - City (2001)  - Density (city proper) 201,349 973/km² Time zone CET, UTC+1 Latitude Longitude 40°28 N 17°14 E www. ... Operation Slapstick was a part of the Allied invasion of Italy during World War II on 9 September 1943. ...

See also

• Military history of Italy during World War II
• Allied invasion of Italy
• European Theatre of World War II