The Liberation of Europe and the Fall of the Third Reich (1943-1945)

The Allies landed in Sicily in July 1943, and Mussolini fell from power on 25 July after a vote of the Grand Council of Fascism; the new Italian government announced an armistice with the Allies on 8 September 1943, prompting Germany to occupy central and northern Italy immediately. What followed was a grinding campaign through successive defensive lines, including the costly Battle of Monte Cassino, with Rome finally liberated on 4 June 1944, just two days before the Normandy landings.