In World War Two, there were three axis powers: Germany, Japan, and Italy. When you think about WWII, you mostly think about Germany and Japan, but Italy did play a role in the turnout of WWII. At the time, the dictator of fascist Italy was Benito Mussolini. In his eyes, the main goal of the Italian involvement in the war was to gain more land across the Mediterranean and in some parts of Africa. In 1943, the Allies decided that they should launch an attack on the southern Italian border, this was called the Italian campaign. They first took over Sicily, then moved up through the country. Eventually, the allied forces captured Mussolini and imprisoned him by order of the Italian King, Victor Emmanuel III, even though his crown and corresponding power was not recognized politically by other foreign powers. After Mussolini’s arrest, the country split and erupted into civil war. The northern half was still under the control of Nazi Germany, while the southern half sided with the allies and secretly negotiated the terms for Italy’s surrender and potential help in defeating the Germans. After the Allies broadcasted Italy’s surrender, German soldiers took Italian territory and forced the confused Italian soldiers to surrender. Later in 1943, Italian forces (south Italy) rallied together and officially joined the Allies and declared war on Germany. This army that helped the Allies was called the Italian Co-Belligerent Army. With the Italian help, the Allies ended up receiving a German surrender in 1945, thus ending the war in Europe.
Nick, I believe you are correct in writing that most people underestimate Italy's involvement in the war. Just as you do, I think it is important to recognize the importance of Italy's involvement, as Mussolini and Fascist Italy were a significant part of the Axis Powers, and while they did not influence the war as much as Japan or Germany, it certainly would have been a different war without them. Some questions that I have regarding Italian involvement were what exact territorial gains/advances did Italian forces obtain under the direction of Mussolini? How influential were the Italian Co-Belligerents in the later years of the war?
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