Events of 1943
YUGOSLAVIAJanuary - Operation Weiss (White) commences. A joint Italo-German campaign to eliminate Yugoslavian partisans.
ITALY
January 2 - British frogmen sink the Italian cruiser Ulpio Traiano in Palermo with explosive charges.
January 7 - Italian destroyer Bersaglieri is sunk in Palermo by U.S. bombers.
| January 8 - Conte Ciano meets with Bottai and Farinacci about possible replacements for Mussolini.
Some names mentioned include Field Marshal Ugo Cavallero, Field Marshal Pietro Badoglio,
Dino Grandi and Gottai and Farinacci themselves. Athough Mussolini's gastric problems were
growing ever more serious, he kept abreast of possible overthrows of his government through
informers and the OVRA, who notified him at his retreat in La Rocca della Caminate.
He decides to clear out most of the members of his government with new loyalists. January 9 - Italian destroyer Corsaro sinks off the coast of Tunisia after hitting a mine. AFRICA January 10 - The Arditi Regiment, in teams of 9 to 10 men, parachute in various places in Libya, Tunisia and Algeria for covert warfare duties. Although not as successful as they had hoped to be, they managed to destroy or damage the bridges in Bonira, Beni Mansour and Uadi Bouduvaou. |
 Ciano |
January 12 - Italian Torpedo Boat Ardente sinks after being rammed by destoyer Grecale.
January 17 - Italian destroyer Bombardiere is sunk off the coast of Sicily by British submarine HMS United.
January 31 - Mussolini replaces armed forces Chief of Staff, Field Marshal Ugo Cavallero, with General Vittorio Ambrosio.
Italian Torpedo Boat Marcello Prestinari sinks after hitting a mine.
February 3 - Italian destroyer Saetta and Torpedo Boat Uragano sink off the coast of Tunisia after hitting a minefield.
February 5 - Mussolini fires Conte Ciano as Foreign Minister.
AFRICA
March -The consequences of Ultra begin pitting the Germans against the Italians. The British receive advance warning of the actions in Medenine through the deciphering of Enigma. They then begin to spread word that they learned of these plans from senior Italian officials. The same applied to Alam el Halfa battle in August 1942. Tension begins to mount between the Germans and Italians, who deny the allegations.
Considerable losses inflicted on the British 56th Division by Italian forces in Mareth.
March 1 - Italian destroyer Geniere is sunk in Palermo by U.S. bombers. Italian Torpedo Boat Monsone is sunk near Naples by U.S. bombers.
March 5 - Fiat Aeronautics plant in Turin goes on strike. This is the first strike since Mussolini enters office in 1922. Mussolini calls on his Fascists troops to stop the strike, but they refuse to make the workers stop protesting. Other strikes erupt, grounding Italy's war making capabilities.
March 8 - Italian Torpedo Boat Ciclone sinks off the coast of Tunisia after hitting a mine.
March 24 - Italian destroyers Lanzerotto Malocello and Ascari sink off the coast of Tunisia after hitting a mine field.
April 1 - Italian destroyer Lubiana (Former Yugoslav destroyer Ljubljana) runs aground off Tunisia and is considered a lost.
AUSTRIA
April 6 - Mussolini meets with Hitler in Austria. Mussolini requests that Germany and Italy attempt to make peace with Russia in order to concentrate on the weakening Axis forces in Africa. Il Duce fears an eventual invasion of Italy was possible once Africa was lost. Hitler dismisses the idea of peace with Russia and assures Mussolini of a victory in the conquest of the Soviet Union. Mussolini returns to Rome with renewed hope. General Ambrosio assigns his top aides to come up with a plan to oust Mussolini.
MEDITERRANEAN
April 10 - Italian cruiser Trieste is sunk near La Maddalena by U.S. bombers.
April 16 - British destroyer HMS Pakenham and Italian Torpedo Boat Cigno sink after a convoy battle off the coast of Sicily.
April 19 - Italian destroyer Alpino is sunk in La Spezia by U.S. Bombers.
AFRICA
April 20-21 - Folgore Parachute division, dwindled to 200 men, succeed in conquering the Takrouna stronghold whose village was was placed on a hill deemed impracticable to climb. There the Folgore defended it to the end until they were finally overwhelmed by superior allied forces, resisting until they were complteley annihilated.
April 28 - Italian Torpedo Boat Sagittario sinks British MTB 639 off the coast of Sicily.
Italian Torpedo Boat Climene is sunk off the coast of Sicily by British submarine HMS Unshaken.
April 29 - Considerable losses inflicted on the British 56th Division by Italian forces in Enfidaville.
TUNISIA
April 30 - Italian destroyers Lampo and Leone Pancaldo are sunk off the coast of Tunisia by U.S. bombers.
May 4- Italian Torpedo Boat Perseo is sunk off the coast of Tunisia by British destroyers.
May 7 - Italian Torpedo Boat Tifone is scuttled in Tunisia prior to Allied forces approaching the harbor.
| May 8 - Tunisia falls to the Allies. May 12 - German General Von Arnim is captured. May 13 - 275,000 Italian and German forces surrender to Allied troops on the Cape Bon pennisula. Field Marshal Messe is captured. May 25 - Italian Torpedo Boat Groppo is sunk in Messina by U.S. bombers. May 28 - Italian Torpedo Boats Anatares and Angelo Bassini are sunk in Livorno by U.S. bombers. June 2 - Italian Topedo Boat Castore is sunk off the coast of Greece by British destroyers. June 12 - Allied invasion force enters the Island of Pantelleria and Lampedusa, encountering 12,000 Italian soldiers who surrender immediately. This invasion makes the Fascist government of Italy certain of an eventual invasion of Italy. Franco Cargnel and Vito Procida parachute near Benghazi and covertly reach the Benina North Airport, there they put explosive charges in 20 allied aircraft, destroying them all.
|
 Field Marshal Messe |
ITALY
July 9-10 - Allied paratroopers parachute onto Sicily followed by mass invasion by landing crafts. The Allies face sporatic engagements from the demoralized Italian soldiers.
July 16 - Mussolini and 15 of his cabinet members meet. The discussion turns to the possibility of Mussolini relieving himself of some of his authority and assign responisbilities to others in order to make the government more efficient. Mussolini agrees to bring this matter to attention at the next Grand Council meeting.
July 17 - Italian cruiser Scipione Africano sinks British MTB 316 off Messina.
| July 19 - Mussolini again meets with Hitler in the Northern Italian town of Feltre.
By now, Mussolini was very influenced by the stronger Hitler, and it was much to his discontent
that this was the case. Members of Mussolini's party urged him to speak to Hitler about a possible
way for Italy to exit the war, but Mussolini only asks for more military assistance. Hitler agrees,
only if it is run under German authority. The tide had finally turned, Italy was now under the control
of the German forces. Romans are shocked at the first of a series of Allied bombings of the Eternal City. Pope Pius XII, robe covered in blood, gives Last Rites to many of the dying Italians in the streets. The death toll eventually reaches 1,400 and 6,000 injured. July 21 - Mussolini learns of Dino Grandi's plan to oust him and restore total authority back to the Grand Council. |
 Pope Pius XII |
| July 24 - Grand Council convenes. Grandi, with a hand grenade hidden by his thigh for
possible suicide rather than an arrest, is criticized by Mussolini for wanting to strip him of his powers.
Mussolini agrees on a roll call vote in which a majority was not achieved to oust him. July 25 - Mussolini meets with King Victor Emmanuelle. The King expresses to Mussolini that Italy no longer wants war and that he is the most hated man in Italy. Caught off guard, Mussolini responds with an offer of resignation which is accepted by the King. The King then offers Mussolini an armed escort which he accepts. Mussolini did not know that this was actually an arrest. Pietro Badoglio is soon proclaimed the new Prime Minister.
After news of Mussolini's arrest, many fellow Fascist leaders flee Rome. Italians and Germans alike remain silent as the new Badoglio government proclaims that the war will continue. Even with this proclamation, many Italians begin to cheer the ousting of Mussolini. Hundreds of people are ordered shot as Badoglio's government attempts to gain order. |
 Dino Grandi |
Badoglio soon begins to try and find a way out of the war without Germany knowing. He begins secretive talks with the Allies in the Vatican. General Guiseppe Castellano secretly meets with Allies in Spain and Portugal. The new Italian government offers to assist in the war against Germany, but need Allied reinforcements in Rome before the declaration of war against Germany is delivered. The Allies feel uncomfortable with this offer, because the nature of war calls for a unconditional surrender of the enemy before any real negotiations could be accomplished. To show Italy's good faith, Castellano offers the Allies the German troop placements in Italy along with strengths and weaknesses of key areas.
After many trips to and from Portugal, the Allies offer Italy a 2-part surrender agreement. These were known as the Short Terms and the Long Terms. These Terms included the cessation of hostilities, returning of allied prisoners, surrender of the military arsenal and the establishment of an allied military government.
ITALY
August 5 - Italian Torpedo Boat Pallade is sunk in Naples by U.S. bombers.
August 8 - Italian destroyer Freccia is sunk in Genova by U.S. bombers.
August 9 - Italian destroyer Vincenzo Gioberti is sunk off La Spezia by British submarine HMS Simoon.
August 17 - Axis resistance in Sicily ends.
August 28 - Italian Torpedo Boat Lince is sunk in Taranto by British submarine HMS Ultor.
August 31 - Allies offer to give Italy 48 hours to officially surrender and then they would drop a U.S. Airborne divison near Rome to help defend against the Germans. Italy wants more time to prepare to fight the Germans, but the Allies refuse the wait.
September 3 - General Montgomery lands 2 Divisions near Reggio di Calabria. Prime Minister Badoglio radios Castellano the authorization to surrender.
September 8 - Badoglio sends a code to General Eisenhower repudiating the surrender terms. The Italian government was beginning to feel shaky of letting Allies freely into Rome. The Long Terms seemed to be made by the victor for the defeated and Italy was still capable of fighting for the Allies. Eisenhower, upset over the lack of progress in the surrender talks, broadcasts Italy's surrender over the radio at 6:30 PM.
Italy was now placed in a tough situation, to either confirm the surrender, or face warring both the Allies and Germany. At 7:45, Badoglio informs his country of the Italian surrender. Italians cheer and the Germans become infuriated.
September 9 - Allies come ashore at Taranto and Salerno.
Badoglio orders his military to stop any hostilities and the Germans begin to disarm the Esercito. Thousands of Italian soldiers are taken prisoner. Many Italian officers protest this disarming and are shot. Over 615,000 Italians soldiers are taken prisoner. Only 1% offer to join the Germans.
The Italian fleet sails to Malta as part of the Short Terms, and to prevent them from getting into German hands. The Italian Battleship Roma is the only casualty; sunk by a German guided bomb.
Cruiser Taranto, Destroyers Maestrale, Corazziere, Nicole Zeno and FR 21 (Former French destroyer Lion) and Torpedo Boats Antonio Cascino and Procione are scuttled in various ports to prevent German capture.
Italian destroyer Antonio Da Noli is sunk off Corsica after hitting a mine.
King Victor Emmanuelle and Prime Minister Badoglio flee Rome and set up a Government in Brindisi. The Italian Armed Forces become confused and leaderless. They do not know whether to fight the Germans or not.
German troops try to occupy Bari harbor. General Nicola Bellomo, commander of the XII MVSN Zone, forms a group of Italian forces and counter-attacks the German position, with himself personally leading the action. Bellomo joines men of 151st Militia Legion, 9th Engineer Regiment and some sailors, guardie di finanza and carabinieri. Atleast 100 men, more or less, with few support weapons comprise this emeregency Italian force. After two hours of fighting, The Germans were ousted out of Bari. General Bellomo was wounded more than one time in this event.
September 11 - Italian Torpedo Boat T6 (Former Yugoslav Torpedo Boat T6) is scuttled off Cesenatico. Italian Torpedo Boat T8 (Former Yugoslav Torpedo Boat T8) is sunk in Punta Oliva by German bombers.
Torpedo Boats Giuseppe La Masa and Partenope are scuttled in the port of Naples when German forces approach the harbor.
Torpedo Boats Impetuoso and Pegaso are scuttled in Mallorca.
Italian destroyer Quintino Sella is sunk by a German S-Boote in the Adriatic.
September 12 - From July 27 to September 12, the Italian Military Intelligence (SIM) and German Intelligence Agents play cat and mouse in the German attempt to locate Mussolini. On September 12, Lt. Otto Skorzeny pilots a glider to Gran Sasso and rescues Mussolini. Mussolini is then flown to Hitlers Headquarters in Rastenburg.
September 23 - Mussolini is flown back to Northern Italy in his resort at La Rocca delle Caminate and proclaimed Head of State of the new Italian Socialist Republic, with the capital as Salò. This "new" nation would be known as the Salò Republic (Italian Socialist Republic RSI) . Mussolini would continue to promote his Fascist ideals and state how he was let down by the Italian people. Mussolini orders a revival of his military with a new uniformed military including the Republic National Guard, police and 10th Squadron naval commandos.
September 25 - Italian Torpedo Boats Francesco Stocco, Enrico Cosenz and Giuseppe Sirtori are scuttled in Corfu, Greece when German troops invade the island.
October 1 - Italian Destroyer Euro is sunk in Leros by German bombers.
October 13 - King Victor Emmanuelle declares war on Germany.
October 16 - Gestapo enter Rome and arrest 1,000 Jews. Pope Pius XII offers asylum to 4,700 Jews in the monasteries and convents in Rome.
Sources: World War II, Time Life Books, Italy at War; World War II, Time Life Books, The War in the Desert; SIEGE: MALTA 1940-1943 by Ernle Bradford, World War II Strange and Fascinating Facts, by McCombs and Worth. Destroyers of World War 2 and Cruisers of World War 2 by Mike J. Whitley; courtesy Stefan Schlemmer
