Episode 92: Italy Surrenders to the Allies

The Italian government began to negotiate an armistice with the Allies in the middle of August 1943. On September 3, Italian General Castellano signed the Italian surrender in Sicily. The surrender was kept secret until September 8, when Italian General Pietro Badoglio announced the armistice to the Italian people. The text was also announced in the United States. German reaction was immediate, devastating, and brutal.