We explain what the armistice between Italy and the Allies in World War II was like, as well as the historical context and the role of Pietro Badoglio.
Giuseppe Castellano signed the armistice for Italy and Walter B. Smith represented Dwight Eisenhower.
What was the armistice between Italy and the Allies like in 1943?
The Armistice of Italy, also called the Armistice of Cassibile, was signed between the Italian government and the Allied armed forces on 3 September 1943 in the village of Cassibile, Sicily. It was made public on 8 September 1943 and ended Italy’s participation on the Axis side during World War II (1939-1945).
The signing of the armistice came shortly after the Allied landing in Sicily which precipitated the dismissal of Benito Mussolini as Prime Minister of Italy (25 July 1943) and his replacement by Marshal Pietro Badoglio. Brigadier General Giuseppe Castellano negotiated and signed the armistice on behalf of Badoglio, while Major General Walter B. Smith signed on behalf of the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces, Dwight D. Eisenhower.
After the signing of the armistice, the Italian government sided with the Allies but much of Italy was occupied by Nazi Germany.which installed a puppet government in northern and central Italy presided over by Mussolini (the Italian Social Republic or Republic of Salò). In any case, the Allied offensive allowed them to reach Rome in June 1944 and, By early May 1945, Allied victory in Europe was assured.
Key points
- The armistice between Italy and the Allies in the context of the Second World War was signed on 3 September 1943 and made public on 8 September of the same year.
- Fascist Italy had aligned itself with Nazi Germany and entered the war against the Allies in June 1940, but after the Allied landing in Sicily in July 1943 the fascist leader Benito Mussolini was deposed by the king.
- Italy’s new Prime Minister Pietro Badoglio and Allied Commander-in-Chief Dwight Eisenhower negotiated the armistice by which Italy ceased hostilities against the Allies and left the Axis.
- Following the signing of the armistice, Nazi Germany militarily occupied most of Italy and turned it into a puppet state presided over by Mussolini, while the Allies continued to advance from the south. Badoglio declared war on Germany on 13 October 1943.
The historical context
Since 1922, the Kingdom of Italy was ruled by the fascist leader Benito Mussolini. In May 1939, Fascist Italy signed the Pact of Steel with Nazi Germany and in September the German invasion of Poland sparked the start of World War II.
Italy entered the war against the Allies (led at that time by the United Kingdom and France) only in June 1940, when Nazi Germany had achieved important military victories and was about to complete the conquest of France. From 1941, the Axis powers (Germany, Italy and the Empire of Japan) also had to face the Soviet Union (USSR) and the United States, which joined the Allied side.
The signing of the armistice between Italy and the Allies
At the end of 1942, the German and Italian troops based in Egypt were defeated by the Allies in the battle of El Alamein and the arrival of more troops in North Africa forced the defeat of the Axis in that region in the first months of 1943. The next step was the Allied landing in Sicily on July 10, 1943, which he took King Victor Emmanuel III to dismiss and imprison Mussolini on July 25, 1943.
As the Allies continued their advance through southern Italy, Italy’s new Prime Minister Pietro Badoglio has started negotiations (via Brigadier General Giuseppe Castellano) with representatives of the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces, Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Negotiations concluded on 3 September 1943 in the village of Cassibile, Sicily, with the signing of the armistice between the Italian government and the Allied armed forcesThe armistice was made public on September 8 and On October 13, 1943, the Badoglio government declared war on Nazi Germany.
Who was Pietro Badoglio?
Pietro Badoglio was part of the fascist government but contributed to the fall of Mussolini in July 1943.
Pietro Badoglio (1871-1956) was a general who during the First World War (1914-1918) He was in charge of the armistice negotiations on behalf of Italy..
Following the March on Rome that brought Benito Mussolini to power in Italy, Badoglio was initially hesitant, but eventually agreed to become politically involved with the fascist regime, where he held important posts and missions. He was governor of Libya from 1928 to 1934 and led the Italian troops that invaded Ethiopia in 1935, for which he received the title of Duke of Addis Ababa.
In 1940 He disagreed with the measures adopted by Mussolini for Italy’s entry into World War II. During the defeats of the campaign against Greece, In December 1940, he resigned from his post as commander-in-chief of the Italian army and absolved himself of any responsibility for Mussolini’s decisions.
He collaborated in the fall of Mussolini on July 25, 1943, He was appointed Prime Minister and signed the armistice with the Allies. On September 3, 1943, after announcing Italy’s unconditional surrender to the Allies on the 8th, he dissolved the National Fascist Party and declared war on Nazi Germany on October 13In June 1944, after the Allied capture of Rome, he resigned and retired from politics.
The armistice between Italy and the Allies
The armistice between the Italian government and the Allied armed forces was signed on 3 September 1943 at a military camp in the village of Cassibile, Sicily, Italy. It was signed by Brigadier General Giuseppe Castellano on behalf of Italian Prime Minister Pietro Badoglio and by Major General Walter B. Smith on behalf of Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces, Dwight D. Eisenhower. The armistice was made public five days later on 8 September 1943.
Armistice with Italy
September 3, 1943
The following armistice conditions are presented by General D.D. Eisenhower, Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces, acting on authority of the United States and British Governments and in the interest of the United Nations, and are accepted by Marshal Pietro Badoglio, Head of the Italian Government:
1. Immediate cessation of all hostile activity by the Italian armed forces.
2. Italy will do its utmost to deny the Germans facilities that could be used against the United Nations.
3. All prisoners or internees of the United Nations will be handed over immediately to the Allied Commander-in-Chief and none of them may be evacuated to Germany either now or at any other time.
4. Immediate transfer of the Italian fleet and Italian air force to points designated by the Allied Commander-in-Chief, with such details of disarmament as he may prescribe.
5. The Italian merchant navy can be requisitioned by the Allied Commander-in-Chief to meet the needs of his military-naval program.
6. Immediate surrender of Corsica and all Italian territories, both insular and mainland, to the Allies, to be used as bases of operations and for other purposes that the Allies consider appropriate.
7. Immediate guarantee of free use by the Allies of all airfields and naval ports on Italian territory, regardless of the pace of evacuation of Italian territory by German forces. These ports and fields will be protected by the Italian armed forces until this function is assumed by the Allies.
8. Immediate withdrawal to Italy of all Italian armed forces participating in the current war, whatever region they may be currently involved in.
9. Guarantee from the Italian Government that in case of necessity it will employ all the armed forces at its disposal to ensure the prompt and exact fulfillment of this armistice.
10. The Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces reserves the right to take any measures which he considers necessary for the protection of the interests of the Allied Forces in the continuance of the war, and the Italian Government undertakes to take such administrative or other measures as may be required by the Commander-in-Chief, and in particular the Commander-in-Chief will establish Allied military government in such parts of Italian territory as he judges necessary for the military interest of the United Nations.
11. The Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces shall have the full right to impose disarmament, demobilization and demilitarization measures.
12. Other political, economic and financial conditions that Italy will be obliged to fulfil will be transmitted at a later date.
The terms of this Armistice shall not be made public without the prior approval of the Allied Commander-in-Chief. The English text shall be considered the official text.
Marshal Pietro Badoglio, head of the Italian government
By: Giuseppe Castellano, Brigadier General, attached to the Italian High Command
Dwight D. Eisenhower, United States Army General, Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces
By: Walter B. Smith, Major General, U.S. Army, Chief of Staff
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References
- Armistice with Italy, 3 September 1943, in: Bevan, CI (comp.) (1969), Treaties and Other International Agreements of the United States of America 1776-1949: Volume 3 (Multilateral treaties, 1931-1945). Department of State Publications.
- Britannica, Encyclopaedia (2022). Pietro Badoglio. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/
- Hughes, TA & Royde-Smith, JG (2023). World War II. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/
- Stone, N. (2013). Brief history of World War II. Ariel.