Italy would become a member of NATO after the war, but lost the region of Istria and the Dalmatian city of Zadar to Yugoslavia, and all its colonies excluding Somalia.īrief overview of nation's technological capabilities. Significant partisan actions took place in northern Italy. The royal government remained in control of the south, declared war on Germany, and was eventually re-established as the government of all of Italy shortly before the end of the war in the spring of 1945. Badoglio and the king escaped to Brindisi without giving any order to the army, which surrendered to the Germans without putting up a fight. The new royal government of Marshal Pietro Badoglio signed an armistice with the allies, but most of the country was quickly occupied by the Germans, who established a puppet government under Mussolini in the north, the Italian Social Republic (also known as the Salò Republic, from its headquarters). The Allies started to invade Italy in the summer of 1943 and Mussolini's government collapsed. Italy's war effort went poorly, resulting in defeats in Greece, North Africa, Ethiopia, and the Mediterranean Sea. Despite the Pact of Steel with Nazi Germany, Italy did not join in the war until June 1940, planning to get a share of Allied territory with the defeat of France. Italy had completed conquests (Ethiopia and Albania) prior to its entry into World War II.
