The government made no attempt to establish contact with the Anglo-Americans or defend the country from the German invasion. The new foreign minister, Guariglia, was ambassador to Turkey, and time was lost while waiting for his return from Ankara. The King, after his activism on 25 July, was inactive, delegating the political action to d'Acquarone and Badoglio. The last sentence of the communique of 25 July, while not deceiving Hitler, puzzled the Allies. It marked the beginning of an ambiguous policy of the Badoglio government, which would bring about the national catastrophe of 8 September: the meltdown of the armed forces, the missing defense of Rome followed by the flight of the royal family and the government, the freeing of Mussolini with the establishment of the Italian Social Republic and the Civil War, all of which have their roots in those forty six days between the 25 July and the armistice.