Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini was the fascist leader of Italy from 1922-1943. In 1940 he lead Italy to join World War II with Germany and Japan, the Axis powers. He rose to power after World War I when the Italian government was in chaos, not knowing how to repair and rebuild after such a devastating war. When the Allies invaded Sicily in the summer of 1943, Italians overthrew Mussolini, and he was forced to surrender to them.
Italy During World War II
During World War II, Mussolini tried to restore the Roman empire by invading countries with his strong military. Some of the countries the Italians invaded were Ethiopia, Greece, Yugoslavia, Romania, Hungary, Libya, Somalia, Albania, and other countries in Northern Africa. When Italy surrendered in 1943, they had to return the territories and countries they had conquered.
Italy Overthrown
Italy was overthrown in July of 1943 when the Allied forces landed in Sicily, the island that the "boot" is kicking. The invasion, code named Operation Husky, started on July 10, 1943. Instead of attacking from the mainland and going south, where the Germans were, the Allied forces attacked northward and went all the way to Rome. They wanted to divert some of the Nazi forces away from Northern Europe, so they attacked Italy.
Italy Surrenders
Italy officially surrendered and withdrew from fighting the Allies on September 3, 1943. The final declaration of surrender, however, occurred on the fifth. The surrender was signed in secret by a representative of Marshal Pietro Badoglio, who had become new Prime Minister of Italy after Mussolini was killed. Badoglio said to the Italian people that, “the Italian forces will cease all acts of hostilities against the Anglo-American forces [Allies], wherever they may be. They will, however, oppose attacks of any other forces.”
Italy Vs Germany
The Italians declared war on Nazi Germany on October 13, 1943, a month after they had surrendered to the Allies. New York Times writer Milton Bracker said that he thought that the Italian's dislike of the Germans grew as the fighting spirit waned. He noticed that after the Italians surrendered, the German soldiers and Italian civilians started to fight and bicker, leading to more and more dislike and lack of sympathy between the former partners. All of this continued to stack up, leading to Italy making the decision to fight the Germans. They were a major help to the Allies because they had more information about the Germans, their supplies, and their land.
nazi Germany's Fall
The Germans still tried to prevent the Allies' advances into Europe, but they struggled to prevent it without the Italian's support. The Allies worked their way up Northern Italy, gaining more and more territory from the Germans. Germany eventually surrendered to the Allies on May 7, 1945, thanks to the help of the Italian forces.
Reconstructing the Government
After the war was over, the Italian government lay in ruins. After the monarchy was taken over by Mussolini and Fascism, the political system had to be completely redesigned. In 1946 a country-wide vote was taken to decide what the new government system would be. 12 million people voted for a republic and 10 million for the monarchy so a monarch was formed. The nation elected 556 people to become members of Parliament. A new constitution was written, giving birth to a new nation.
Now test your "WWII" knowledge! Click here to take the quiz!