Armistice of Cassibile — armistice between the Kingdom of Italy and the Allies of World War II
Italy's secret armistice with the Allies ended Italian-Allied hostilities in WWII and triggered German occupation of most of the peninsula.
Key Facts
- Date signed
- 3 September 1943
- Date publicly announced
- 8 September 1943
- Allied signatory
- Major-General Walter Bedell Smith
- Italian signatory
- Brigade-General Giuseppe Castellano
- Mussolini freed by Germany
- 12 September 1943
- Signing location
- Allied military camp, Cassibile, Sicily
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
By mid-1943, Allied forces had invaded and occupied Sicily, and Italy's military position was deteriorating rapidly. King Victor Emmanuel III and Prime Minister Pietro Badoglio sought to extricate Italy from the war, entering into secret negotiations with the Allies to arrange a surrender while keeping the proceedings hidden from Nazi Germany, Italy's principal Axis partner.
On 3 September 1943, at an Allied military camp in Cassibile, Sicily, Major-General Walter Bedell Smith signed the armistice on behalf of the Allies and Brigade-General Giuseppe Castellano signed for Italy, formally ending hostilities between the two parties. The agreement was approved by Victor Emmanuel III and Badoglio but kept secret until 8 September, when it was publicly announced.
Germany, having anticipated the armistice, immediately attacked Italian forces across Italy, southern France, Greece, Yugoslavia, and the Dodecanese, forcibly disbanding the Italian armed forces in the north and center. Germany established the Italian Social Republic as a puppet state under Mussolini, who had been freed on 12 September. The king, government, and most of the Navy fled south, and an Italian resistance movement emerged in German-occupied territory.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Walter Bedell Smith.
Side B
1 belligerent
Giuseppe Castellano, Pietro Badoglio.