Italy Declared War on Its Former Ally

On 13 October 1943, the government of Italy declared war on Nazi Germany, its former Axis partner. The decision formalized a rupture that had begun weeks earlier, but it did not end the German occupation or settle who would fight whom across the peninsula. Italy’s prime minister, Pietro Badoglio, had led the country through the armistice negotiations; now his government openly placed itself at war with Germany.

Benito Mussolini had been removed from office on 25 July, and King Victor Emmanuel III had appointed Badoglio in his place. Badoglio initially announced that Italy would remain loyal to Germany. Secret negotiations with the Allies followed, and the Italian government signed an armistice on 3 September. General Dwight D. Eisenhower announced it on 8 September. The declaration of war on 13 October went further: the Allies then accepted Italy as a co-belligerent, though not as an ally.

The armistice had not brought an orderly change of sides. German forces occupied Italy, disarmed Italian units, and seized strongholds from a disorganized Italian military. On 9 September, Allied forces landed at Salerno under General Mark Clark’s command. The new declaration therefore came amid occupation and continuing combat, not after Germany had been driven out or Italian authority restored across the country.

For the Allied leadership, Italian forces could still matter. The Allies believed the Italian military might help drive out the Germans, and Italian cooperation could strengthen Italy's position in the peace settlement. The October decision announced the government’s enemy; the struggle against German control remained unfinished. Mussolini, meanwhile, had been rescued by German forces and made head of the Italian Social Republic in areas not occupied by the Allies. Italy’s declaration drew a clear line between Badoglio’s government and Germany, but the country itself remained divided by occupation and war.