The Armistice of Cassibile

Italy's declaration of war on the United States in December 1941 had closed the American embassy in Rome. By 1943, the governments had to communicate through channels shaped by military operations, intermediaries, and the search for surrender terms. An agreement to stop fighting would also have to work before German forces could prevent the Italian authorities from carrying it out. [1] [2] [3]

At half past five on 3 September 1943, Giuseppe Castellano and Walter Bedell Smith signed an armistice at Fairfield Camp in Sicily. Robert Murphy, the American diplomat present, reported that they signed beneath an olive tree. He sent Roosevelt a branch. [2]

Mussolini had fallen after the Allied invasion of Sicily, and his successor, Marshal Pietro Badoglio, sought a way out of the war as German troops strengthened their position in Italy. Italian negotiators wanted Allied landings near Rome to protect the government from its former ally. The Allies demanded surrender and threatened further destruction if Italy refused. [2] [3]

Smith signed for Eisenhower; Castellano’s authority from Rome arrived only an hour before the ceremony. Italy agreed to stop fighting the Allies, release prisoners, and place its fleet and aircraft where the Allied command directed. The signature remained secret until the public announcement on 8 September. [2] [4] [3]

German forces then occupied much of the country while the Allies fought north from their beachheads. Italy had left the Axis war, but fighting between German and Allied armies continued across its territory. [3]

Diplomatic relations were restored in October 1944, and an American ambassador reopened the embassy in Rome in January 1945. [1] [3]

Related Reading

• Italy and the United States