Italy
Tag
(226)1919
1920
1921
1922
1923
1924
1928
1929
1933
1934
1935
1936
1937
1939
1940
March
May
June
- 28
- The death of Italo BalboOn 28 June 1940 Italian anti-aircraft guns over Tobruk mistakenly shot down the aircraft of Marshal Italo Balbo, Governor of Libya. Nine people were killed.
- A convoy clash off CreteOn 28 June 1940 British cruisers caught three Italian destroyers carrying supplies for Tobruk. Espero was sunk covering the escape of the other two.
July
- 01
- Graziani takes command in LibyaOn 1 July 1940 Marshal Rodolfo Graziani arrived in Tripoli as Balbo's successor. Mussolini demanded a swift attack on Egypt; Graziani held back.
- Italian air raids on PalestineIn July 1940 Italian bombers from Rhodes began attacking Haifa. The first raid, on 15 July, set oil tanks ablaze; the second, on 24 July, killed over forty.
August
- 01
- The Italian submarine base at BordeauxIn summer 1940 the Regia Marina set up the BETASOM base at Bordeaux. Italian submarines joined the Battle of the Atlantic under Dönitz’s operational control.
- Operation HurryOn 2 August 1940 the carrier HMS Argus flew off twelve Hurricanes to Malta, while aircraft from Ark Royal bombed the airfield near Cagliari in Sardinia.
September
October
November
December
1941
January
- 19
- The British offensive in East AfricaOn 19 January 1941 British and Indian troops entered Kassala, abandoned by the Italians, and pushed into Eritrea. The offensive on Italian East Africa began.
- Hitler and Mussolini meet at the BerghofIn January 1941 Mussolini, beaten in Libya and Albania, met Hitler at the Berghof. He was promised troops for Libya but told nothing of plans against the USSR.
February
- 25
- The sinking of the cruiser Armando DiazOn 25 February 1941 the British submarine Upright torpedoed the Italian cruiser Armando Diaz, escorting a Libya convoy off Kerkennah. About 460 men died.
- The British take MogadishuOn 25 February 1941 General Cunningham’s African troops entered Mogadishu unopposed, two weeks after advancing from Kenya into Italian Somaliland.
March
April
May
June
July
August
November
December
1942
1943
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
- 03
- The Armistice of CassibileOn 3 September 1943 Castellano and Bedell Smith signed a secret “short armistice” in Sicily. Italy surrendered, but this was announced only on 8 September.
- Operation BaytownOn 3 September 1943 the British Eighth Army's XIII Corps crossed the Strait of Messina to Calabria. The Allies were back on the mainland almost unopposed.
- 08
- Key eventThe Italian surrender announcedOn 8 September 1943 Eisenhower announced Italy's surrender on the radio, and Badoglio had to confirm it. At noon B-17s bombed Kesselring's HQ at Frascati.
- Operation AchseOn the evening of 8 September 1943, minutes after Italy's surrender was announced, Germany launched Operation Achse and disarmed the Italian army within days.
- 10
- The Germans occupy RomeOn 10 September 1943, after two days of fighting by Italian troops and civilians left by their commanders, Rome capitulated to the Germans. Occupation began.
- The surrender of the Italian fleetOn 9–11 September 1943 the Italian fleet obeyed the armistice and sailed for Malta. En route German guided bombs sank the battleship Roma and Admiral Bergamini.
- 16
- The Dodecanese campaign beginsAfter Italy's surrender the British lost the race for Rhodes, but in mid-September 1943 they occupied Kos, Leros and Samos. The Dodecanese campaign had begun.
- The crisis at SalernoOn 13 and 14 September 1943 a German counter-attack nearly split the Salerno beachhead. On 16 September Eighth Army patrols met the Fifth Army.
October
November
December
1944
January
February
March
- 01
- The strikes in northern ItalyOn 1 March 1944 a general strike began in Turin, Milan, Genoa and other cities of occupied Italy. The Germans and the Salò Fascists replied with deportations.
- The second bombing of the VaticanOn 1 March 1944 six small bombs fell just outside the Vatican wall, killing a workman and damaging the Holy Office. The British privately admitted a mistake.
April
May
June
July
August
September
November
December
1945
February
April
- 28
- The death of MussoliniOn 27 April 1945 partisans captured Mussolini at Dongo; on 28 April they shot him with Clara Petacci, and on 29 April the bodies were put on display in Milan.
- The surrender of the 148th DivisionAt Collecchio and Fornovo di Taro the Brazilians trapped the German 148th Division and remnants of Italian divisions. On 29 April 1945 some 15,000 surrendered.