SIGNIFIGANCE
Benito Mussolini giving a speech (Library of Congress)
With the Italian forces out of the way, the Allies only had to worry about the German forces. The main focus of the invasion was for the Allies to obtain Italy, like they had with North Africa, and force Germany out of Italy completely. After the allies captured Rome, it gave them a route to attack the Germans. The Allied Invasion of Italy neutralized Italy, causing the Germans to lose one of their most powerful allies in WWII. Mussolini was overthrown and his reign of Italy ended. The invasion of Italy came to an anti-climatic end. This would eventually lead to the surrender of the Germans in 1945.
99th Pursuit Squadron (National Archives)
On January 16th, 1941 the formation of the 99th Pursuit Squadron was announced, which would be made up of African Americans. These units were very unique in the military history of the United States because of the fact that there were only African-Americans in them. These units were involved with the previous capture of North Africa from the Germans and were also in the invasion of Italy. The 332d Fighter Group flew more than 3000 missions and destroyed 300 enemy planes during war.
Italy was a close ally of Germany before the invasion of Italy. After Germans learned of the agreement between Badoglio and the Allies, they immediately seized Italian military installations and imprisoned their former allies. Since the Allies were surprised with how secure the Germans were in Italy, the Allies were too slow, and the Germans established a defensive line called the Gustav line, which the Allies later tried to penetrate.
Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler together in Munich, Germany (National Archives)