Italian Instrument of Surrender

Instrument of Surrender
The Additional Conditions for the Armistice with Italy ; The Instrument of Surrender of Italy
	Marshal Pietro Badoglio (at left) and General Dwight D Eisenhower (at right) with Lord Gort, Air Chief Marshal Arthur Tedder, Lt. Gen. Sir Noel Mason-MacFarlane, and General Harold Alexander, aboard the British battleship HMS Nelson prior to the signing of the surrender document at Malta.
Type	Capitulation
Signed	29 September 1943
Location	Malta, aboard the British battleship HMS Nelson
Condition	Signed
Amendment	Amended by protocol on November 9, 1943
Replaced by	Treaty of peace of February 10, 1947
Signatories	Pietro Badoglio; Dwight D. Eisenhower;
Parties	Italy; United States; United Kingdom;
Ratifiers	Government of ItalyAllied Governments

The Additional Conditions for the Armistice with Italy (Italian: Condizioni aggiuntive di armistizio con l'Italia), or the Instrument of Surrender of Italy as referred by the Allies, was a legal document which was signed between Italy and the Allies at Malta on 29 September 1943.^[1]

It was signed by Marshal Pietro Badoglio for Italy, and General Dwight D. Eisenhower for the Allies, at Malta aboard the British battleship HMS Nelson. The term Additional Conditions for the Armistice with Italy was coined by the Italians as they had already signed the Armistice of Cassibile, an armistice ending the hostilities between Italy and the Allies, on 3 September.^[2] The agreement signed at Malta is considered to be the 'longer' version of the armistice. For the Allies, it was considered the Instrument of Surrender of Italy.

Background

Following the Fall of the Fascist regime in Italy, which saw Benito Mussolini ousted and arrested by King Victor Emmanuel III and replaced as Prime Minister of Italy by Badoglio. The Italians had begun to contact the Allies to cease hostilities between them. On 3 September, the Armistice of Cassibile was signed by General Giuseppe Castellano on behalf of Badoglio and General Walter Bedell Smith on behalf of Eisenhower (Supreme Allied commander for the Mediterranean theatre). The armistice had to take effect on 8 September along with the Badoglio Proclamation.^{[citation needed]}

Before the armistice. Germany had been distrustful of Italy as it believed that Italy was secretly negotiating with the Allies for a separate peace. After the Badoglio Proclamation and for the armistice to take effect on 8 September. Germany began Operation Achse, a campaign to disarm Italian forces and occupy Italy. On 23 September, the Italian Social Republic was established by the Germans with Mussolini, after a German force led by SS Obersturmbannführer Otto Skorzeny rescued him from Campo Imperatore, as the head of state.^[3]^{[page needed]}

Signing

The surrender document was signed by Badoglio and Eisenhower respectively aboard HMS Nelson, with both Allied and Italian officers were present in the signing ceremony. The article included that all Italian land, air, and naval forces must surrender to the Allies unconditionally, that Fascist organizations must be dismantled throughout Italy and the Italian dictator Mussolini along with his high-ranking Fascist officials must be handed over to the United Nations. The surrender instrument was immediately in effect.

Aftermath

On 13 October 1943, the newly-formed government by King Victor Emmanuel III and Badoglio, the Kingdom of the South, the government-in-exile of the Kingdom of Italy,^{[clarification needed]} declared war on Germany and became a co-belligerent fighting alongside the Allies.

Notes

^ Governor of Malta
^ Commander of the Mediterranean Air Command
^ Later head of the Allied Commission in Italy
^ Commander of the 15th Army Group

References

^ Garland, Albert N; Smyth, Howard McGaw (1965). Sicily and the Surrender of Italy. United States Army in World War II: Mediterranean Theater of Operations. p. 559. Appendix D
^ Smyth, Howard McGaw (Spring 1948), "The Armistice of Cassibile", Military Affairs, 12 (1): 12–35, doi:10.2307/1982522, JSTOR 1982522
^ Di Michele, Vincenzo (2015). The Last Secret of Mussolini. Il Cerchio. ISBN 978-8884744227.

Bibliography

Ivan Palermo, The Story of an Armistice , Le Scie, Mondadori, Milan, 1967

External links

Armistice with Italy: Instrument of Surrender of Italy, 29 September 1943, The Avalon Project

[1] Governor of Malta

[2] Commander of the Mediterranean Air Command

[3] Later head of the Allied Commission in Italy

[4] Commander of the 15th Army Group

[5] Garland, Albert N; Smyth, Howard McGaw (1965). Sicily and the Surrender of Italy. United States Army in World War II: Mediterranean Theater of Operations. p. 559. Appendix D

[6] Smyth, Howard McGaw (Spring 1948), "The Armistice of Cassibile", Military Affairs, 12 (1): 12–35, doi:10.2307/1982522, JSTOR 1982522

[7] Di Michele, Vincenzo (2015). The Last Secret of Mussolini. Il Cerchio. ISBN 978-8884744227.

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