July–September 1943General sourceWell documented
The Allied Invasion of Italy and the Fall of Mussolini
On the timeline · around July–September 1943 ·
What happened
The Allies landed in Sicily on July 10, 1943 (Operation Husky). Amid the collapse, Benito Mussolini was deposed and arrested on July 25. The new Italian government under Marshal Pietro Badoglio secretly negotiated an armistice, announced on September 8. German forces then occupied much of Italy and fought on there for the rest of the war.
Why it matters
Italy became the first Axis power to fall, opening a new front in southern Europe and knocking Mussolini's Fascist regime from power.