|
The landing
of Allied forces in Sicily in July 1943 prompted the downfall of the
Fascist Italian leader and Hitler’s ally, Benito Mussolini.
On July 24,
1943, the Fascist High Council, which had not met since the war
began, summoned Mussolini to a meeting at which King Victor Emmanuel
was appointed in his stead as commander-in-chief of the Italian
armed forces. The next day, the king dismissed Mussolini from all of
his functions, had him arrested, and sent him to prison in an
ambulance. Allied forces landed in Italy on September 2; Italy
surrendered on September 8. However, in a daring rescue action, a
German commando unit released Mussolini from incarceration, and a
new Fascist government, set up under his leadership in northern
Italy, claimed that it was continuing to prosecute the war alongside
the Germans. This government had no real power, but the Germans
invaded and occupied most of Italy. Not until June 4, 1944, did
Allied forces enter Rome. On April 27, 1945 partisans
captured Mussolini as he attempted to flee to Switzerland, and shot
him the next day. |
