Italy initially had been a leading member of the Axis powers , however after facing multiple military losses including the loss of all of Italy 's colonies to advancing Allied forces , '' Duce '' Benito Mussolini was deposed and arrested in July 1943 by order of King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy in co-operation with members of the Grand Council of Fascism who viewed Mussolini as having led Italy to ruin by allying with Germany in the war . Victor Emmanuel III dismantled the remaining apparatus of the Fascist regime and appointed Field Marshal Pietro Badoglio as Prime Minister of Italy . On 8 September 1943 , Italy signed the Armistice of Cassibile with the Allies , ending Italy 's war with the Allies and ending Italy 's participation with the Axis powers . Expecting immediate German retaliation , Victor Emmanuel III and the Italian government relocated to southern Italy under Allied control . Germany viewed the Italian government 's actions as an act of betrayal , and German forces immediately occupied all Italian territories outside of Allied control , in some cases even massacring Italian troops
massacring
Massacre of the Acqui Division
Allies of World War II