Allied Invasion of Sicily & How was Mussolini removed from power? Flashcards
Allied Invasion of Italy
What happened on 13 May 1943
- Axis troops in North Africa surrendered to Allied forces and with Tunisia occupied a route to invade Scilly was opened up
Allied Invasion of Italy
What happened on the 9th July 1943
- British, American and Commonwealth troops landed on Sicily
- They faced little resistance and had occupied the western half of the island within one week
Allied Invasion of Italy
What happened on the 19th July 1943
-Hitler & M
- Mussolini met Hitler and requested troops to be moved from the Soviet Union to the Mediterranean to help defend Italy but this was rejected
Allied Invasion of Italy
What happened on the 19th July 1943
-Rome
Allied planes bombed Rome leaving 1500 dead
Allied Invasion of Italy
What happened on the 19th July 1943
-M weak leader
- Mussolini showed his inadequacies as a military leader when hew asked one of his generals if there was any plan in place to defend Sicily,
- despite the fact Mussolini had placed himself in charge of the whole military campaign so drawing up a strategy was in fact his job
Allied Invasion of Italy
What happened on the 17th August 1943
- The Allies had control of Sicily
What was the orgins of the plan to remove Mussolini from power
- The regime was well aware of the deep unpopularity of the war * The plan to depose Mussolini had therefore begun in late 1942, when leading fascists Dino Grandi and Galeazzo Ciano raised the idea of seeking peace
- 38 days after the allied invasion of Sicily, the allies had defeated Italian and German troops.
- This was an ideal launch pad for an invasion of Italy which now looked inevitable
How was the King involved in the planning to depose Mussolini
- However only the King could dismiss Mussolini and so Grandi needed his support
- Through early 1943, Grandi and the king discussed options and creating a government that could negotiate with the allies.
- However, the Vatican & the King opened up secret peace talks with the Allies
How did Grandi organise Mussolini’s removal from power
- Mussolini held a meeting of the Fascist Grand Council which Grandi saw as his opportunity to remove Mussolini
- Grandi made contact with Bottai and Ciano to persuade the other FGC members to support the resolution that the council had lost confidence in Mussolini as the leader of Italy
Grandi spent … days getting the necessary …
Grandi spent 8 days getting the necessary generals and chiefs of Police
The King only appears to have agreed to support the removal of Mussolini …. days before the council met
1-2
What happened with the vote
- In the event the council voted by 19 to 7 to support Grandis resolution
- Mussolini just ignored the vote
What happened when Mussolini went to see the King
- Victor Emmanuel Ill told Mussolini that he was to be replaced by Marshal Badoglio
- Mussolini attempted to leave but he was placed in an ambulance and taken to prison
- This was an anticlimactic end to Mussolini’s reign
