page_title: Military history of the United Kingdom during World War II
section_title: Surrender of Italy
hierarchical_section_title: Military history of the United Kingdom during World War II / The Italian campaign / Surrender of Italy
caption_attribution_description: English: The British Army in Italy 1943 Troops coming ashore from landing ships at Reggio, 2-3 September 1943.
context_page_description: The military history of the United Kingdom in World War II covers the Second World War against the Axis powers, starting on 3 September 1939 when Britain and France, followed by most of Britain's Dominions and Crown colonies, declared war on Nazi Germany in response to the invasion of Poland by Germany. Winston Churchill became prime minister and head of a coalition government in May 1940. Despite the defeat of its European allies and the British Expeditionary Force in the first year of the war leading to the Dunkirk evacuation, Britain and its Empire continued the fight alone against Germany. Churchill engaged industry, scientists and engineers to advise and support the government and the military in the prosecution of the war effort. Germany's planned invasion of the UK was averted by its failure to establish air superiority in the Battle of Britain, and by its marked inferiority in naval power. Subsequently, urban areas in Britain suffered heavy bombing during the Blitz in late 1940 and early 1941.
  By August 1941, Prime Minister Winston Churchill and American President Franklin Roosevelt had drafted the Atlantic Charter to define goals for the post-war world.
context_section_description: After operations in Sicily, the Italian Government was teetering on the brink of collapse. Italian dictator Benito Mussolini was ousted by the Grand Council of Fascism and, on orders of King Victor Emmanuel, Mussolini was taken into custody. Peace feelers were put out to the Allies. However, the invasion of Italy still proceeded.
  On 3 September 1943, the first attacks were made directly across the Straits of Messina by Eighth Army in Operation Baytown. V and XIII Corps carried out that attack. Montgomery's forces leap-frogged up the toe of Italy over the next few days. A subsidiary landing, Operation Slapstick, was also made on 9 September at the Italian naval base of Taranto by the 1st Airborne Division.
  Also on 3 September, King Victor Emmanuel and Marshal Pietro Badoglio secretly signed an armistice with the Allies. On 8 September, the armistice was made public and a government was set up in southern Italy. What was known as the "Badoglio Government" joined the Allies against the Axis.
  The main attack, Operation Avalanche, was delivered on 9 September at Salerno. Salerno was chosen for the site of the attack because it was the furthest north that the single-engined fighters based in Sicily could realistically provide cover. Escort carriers also stood off shore to supplement the cover given by land-based aircraft. A subsidiary landing, Operation Slapstick, was also made on the same day at the Italian naval base of Taranto by the British 1st Airborne Division, landed directly into the port from warships. News of the Italian surrender was broadcast as the troop convoys were converging on Salerno.
  The Germans reacted extremely quickly to the Italian surrender. They disarmed the Italian troops near their forces and took up defensive positions near Salerno. Italian troops were disarmed throughout Italy and Italian-controlled areas in what was known as Operation Axis (Operation Achse).
  The landings at Salerno were made by the U.S. Fifth Army under Lieutenant General Mark Clark. It consisted of the U.S. VI Corps landing on the right flank and the British X Corps landing on the left. Initial resistance was heavy, however heavy naval and air support combined with the approach of Eighth Army from the south eventually forced the Germans to withdraw. By 25 September a line from Naples to Bari was controlled by Allied forces.
  Further relatively rapid advances continued over the next few weeks, but by the end of October, the front was stalled. The Germans had taken up extremely powerful defensive positions on the Winter Line. There the front would remain for the next six months.
  About two months after his ouster, Mussolini was rescued by the Germans in Operation Oak (Unternehmen Eiche). He set up the Italian Social Republic in northern Italy.
caption: British Troops coming ashore from landing ships at Reggio, 3 September 1943.
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