The Armistice of Cassibile was made public on 8 September . German forces moved rapidly to take over the Italian zones of occupation in the Balkans and southern France , and to disarm Italian forces in Italy . In some cases , the Italian troops , that had no superior orders and suffered many desertions , resisted the Germans , most notably in the Greek island of Cephalonia , where over 5,100 men of the 33rd '' Acqui '' Division were massacred after running out of ammunition and surrendering ; in Rome , after the royal family and the government had fled , a disorganized defense by the Italian troops stationed around the capital was unable to defeat the German attack . Additionally , individual soldiers or whole units , like the 24th '' Pinerolo '' Division in Thessaly , went over to the local resistance movements . Only in Sardinia , Corsica , Calabria and in the southern part of Apulia were Italian troops able to offer successful resistance and hold off the Germans until relieved by the arrival of the Allies
massacred
Massacre of the Acqui Division
Operation Achse