Armistice of Cassibile

The Armistice of Cassibile (Italian: Armistizio di Cassibile) was signed on 3 September 1943 by Italy and the Allies, marking the end of hostilities between them during World War II. The armistice was approved by both Victor Emmanuel III and Marshal Pietro Badoglio, who was serving as Prime Minister of Italy at the time. The signing of the armistice was kept secret on that day, and was announced to the media on 8 September.

It was signed by Major-General Walter Bedell Smith for the Allies and Brigade-General Giuseppe Castellano for Italy, at a summit in an Allied military camp at Cassibile, Sicily, which had recently been occupied by the Allies. Nazi Germany, having anticipated the armistice, responded by attacking Italian forces in Italy, southern France, Greece, Yugoslavia, the Dodecanese, and freeing Benito Mussolini on 12 September. The Italian armed forces were forcefully disbanded in the north and center of the country, with most of Italy being occupied by the Germans, who established a puppet state, the Italian Social Republic led by Mussolini. The king, the Italian government and most of the Navy fled to southern Italy under the protection of the Allies. An Italian resistance movement emerged in German-occupied Italy.