September 3, 1943 Italy, having broken with Hitler, concluded an armistice with the allied command, and soon declared war on Nazi Germany. During the armistice negotiations, it was decided that allied landings would be landed at several points in Italy, including near Rome, simultaneously with the announcement of the armistice. However, at the very last moment, under circumstances that remained unclear for a long time, the already prepared operation near Rome was canceled, which had tragic consequences for the Italian capital and for Italy as a whole. As you know, the signing of the truce was preceded by events of great historical significance. The crushing defeats inflicted by the Red Army on the German - fascist troops at Stalingrad and on the Kursk Bulge created a radical change in the course of World War II. When the overwhelming majority of Hitler's armed forces were engaged in fighting on the Soviet-German front, Anglo-American troops defeated and drove the Italo-German armies out of Africa, and on July 10 landed in Sicily. The military defeat of Italy was accompanied by the collapse of the Italian economy, a sharp deterioration in the material situation of workers. Italy was on the verge of a national catastrophe. A revolutionary movement was growing in the country, with the Communists in the vanguard. Under these circumstances, the ruling circles of Italy were forced to remove Mussolini from power in order to lead the country out of the war and prevent a revolutionary explosion. In Italy, the government of P. Badoglio was established. In the course of negotiations with the Allies on the conclusion of an armistice, which it began with great delay, led sluggishly and indecisively, a very acute and important question arose about how, after the conclusion of the armistice, to prevent the capture of Rome by German troops. The issue of defending the Italian capital had military, political and economic aspects. Here was the government, the state administration bodi ... Read more