Badoglio Proclamation

TheBadoglio Proclamationwas a speech read onEnte Italiano per le Audizioni Radiofoniche(EIAR) at 19:42 on 8 September 1943 by MarshalPietro Badoglio,Italian head of government, announcing that theArmistice of CassibilebetweenItalyand theAlliessigned on the 3rd of September had come into force. It followed a speech onRadio Algiersby U.S. GeneralDwight D. Eisenhowerat 18:30 (17:30 Algerian time^[1]) also announcing the armistice.

Text[edit]

The Italian government, recognising the impossibility of continuing the unequal struggle against an overwhelming enemy force, in order to avoid further and graver disasters for the Nation, sought an armistice from general Eisenhower, commander-in-chief of the Anglo-American Allied forces. The request was granted. Consequently, all acts of hostility against the Anglo-American force by Italian forces must cease everywhere. But they will react to possible attacks from any other source.^[2]

Results[edit]

The abandonment of Rome by themilitary high command,the head of government Badoglio, KingVictor Emmanuel IIIand the king's son, Crown PrinceUmberto,their move towardsPescarathenBrindisi,and above all the proclamation's use of a format which did not give the clauses of the armistice in a clearly comprehensible form (which was largely wrongly interpreted as meaning a complete end to the war) all led to confusion. This was particularly so among theItalian Armed Forceson all fronts, who remained unaware of the armistice's precise content and disbanded themselves. Over 600,000 Italian soldiers were captured by the German army and sent to various prisoner-of-war camps under the designation I.M.I. (internati militari italiani,orItalian Military Internees) in the weeks immediately after the announcement. More than half of all Italian soldiers laid down their arms and returned home (as referred to in the title of the 1960 film set at the time,Tutti a casa). The Italian and German high commands intercepted the Eisenhower broadcast first^[3]and so the Germans immediately putOperation Achseinto effect to disarm their former allies and occupy the wholeItalian Peninsula,on 9 September sinking the Italian battleshipRoma,which had been ordered on the night of 8 September to sail with the entire Italian fleet toMaltain accordance with the armistice's clauses, under the cover-story of attacking the Allied forces landing at Salerno inOperation Baytown.

At the same time part of the Italian armed forces decided to remain loyal to the king, giving rise to theItalian resistance(one of whose first examples ended in themassacreof the33rd Infantry Division "Acqui"onCephaloniaby the Germans) and part joined the free individuals, parties and movements such as the Brigata Maiella. Other branches, especially in the north, such as the Xª Flottiglia MAS, decided to remain loyal to fascist Italy and the Germans. Despite the proclamation, the Allies thwarted a massive and immediate release of Italian prisoners of war loyal to the Italian king and the Badoglio regime, to avoid their possibly rejoining the Fascist forces in northern Italy.

References[edit]

^Le 17.30 di AlgeriBBC News
^Il governo italiano, riconosciuta l'impossibilità di continuare l'impari lotta contro la soverchiante potenza avversaria, nell'intento di risparmiare ulteriori e più gravi sciagure alla Nazione ha chiesto un armistizio al generale Eisenhower, comandante in capo delle forze alleate anglo-americane. La richiesta è stata accolta. Conseguentemente, ogni atto di ostilità contro le forze anglo-americane deve cessare da parte delle forze italiane in ogni luogo. Esse però reagiranno ad eventuali attacchi da qualsiasi altra provenienza
^"L'eroica fine della corazzata Roma".Archived fromthe originalon 2010-06-26.Retrieved2010-06-03.

Bibliography[edit]

(in Italian)Elena Aga-Rossi,Una nazione allo sbando. L'armistizio italiano del settembre 1943 e le sue conseguenze.Bologna, Il Mulino, 2003
(in Italian)Silvio Bertoldi,Apocalisse italiana. Otto settembre 1943. Fine di una nazione.Milano, Rizzoli, 1998.
(in Italian)Davide Lajolo,Il voltagabbana.1963
(in Italian)Oreste Lizzadri,Il regno di Badoglio.Milano, Edizioni Avanti!, 1963
(in Italian)Luigi Longo,Un popolo alla macchia.Milano, Mondadori, 1952
(in Italian)Paolo Monelli,Roma 1943.Torino, Einaudi, 1993
(in Italian)Ruggero Zangrandi,1943: 25 luglio–8 settembre.Milano, Feltrinelli, 1964
(in Italian)Ruggero Zangrandi,Il lungo viaggio attraverso il fascismo.Milano, Feltrinelli, 1976
(in Italian)Ruggero Zangrandi,L'Italia tradita. 8 settembre 1943.Milano, Mursia, 1995

External links[edit]

[1] Le 17.30 di AlgeriBBC News

[2] Il governo italiano, riconosciuta l'impossibilità di continuare l'impari lotta contro la soverchiante potenza avversaria, nell'intento di risparmiare ulteriori e più gravi sciagure alla Nazione ha chiesto un armistizio al generale Eisenhower, comandante in capo delle forze alleate anglo-americane. La richiesta è stata accolta. Conseguentemente, ogni atto di ostilità contro le forze anglo-americane deve cessare da parte delle forze italiane in ogni luogo. Esse però reagiranno ad eventuali attacchi da qualsiasi altra provenienza

[3] "L'eroica fine della corazzata Roma".Archived fromthe originalon 2010-06-26.Retrieved2010-06-03.

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