Pietro Badoglio in the context of "Italian East Africa"

Duce (/ˈduːtʃeɪ/ DOO-chay, Italian: [ˈduːtʃe]) is an Italian title, derived from the Latin word dux, 'leader', and a cognate of duke. National Fascist Party leader Benito Mussolini was identified by Fascists as Il Duce ('The Leader') of the movement since the birth of the Fasci Italiani di Combattimento in 1919. In 1925 it became a reference to the dictatorial position of Sua Eccellenza Benito Mussolini, Capo del Governo, Duce del Fascismo e Fondatore dell'Impero ('His Excellency Benito Mussolini, Head of Government, Leader of Fascism and Founder of the Empire'). Mussolini held this title together with that of President of the Council of Ministers: this was the constitutional position which entitled him to rule Italy on behalf of the king of Italy. Founder of the Empire was added for the exclusive use by Mussolini in recognition of his founding of an official legal entity of the Italian Empire on behalf of the king in 1936 following Italy's victory in the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. The position was held by Mussolini until 1943, when he was removed from office by the king and the position of Duce was discontinued, while Marshal Pietro Badoglio was appointed Presidente del Consiglio.

This position was the model which other fascist leaders adopted, such as the position of Führer by Adolf Hitler and Caudillo by Francisco Franco. In September 1943, Mussolini styled himself as the "Duce of the Italian Social Republic" (Italian: Duce della Repubblica Sociale Italiana), and held the position until the collapse of the Italian Social Republic and his execution in April 1945.

The prime minister of Italy, officially the president of the Council of Ministers (Italian: Presidente del Consiglio dei ministri), is the head of government of the Italian Republic. The office of president of the Council of Ministers is established by articles 92–96 of the Constitution of Italy; the president of the Council of Ministers is appointed by the president of the Republic and must have the confidence of the Parliament to stay in office.

Prior to the establishment of the Italian Republic, the position was called President of the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom of Italy (Presidente del Consiglio dei ministri del Regno d'Italia). From 1925 to 1943 during the Fascist regime, the position was transformed into the dictatorial position of Head of the Government, Prime Minister, Secretary of State (Capo del Governo, Primo Ministro, Segretario di Stato) held by Benito Mussolini, Duce of Fascism, who officially governed on the behalf of the king of Italy. King Victor Emmanuel III removed Mussolini from office in 1943 and the position was restored with Marshal Pietro Badoglio becoming prime minister in 1943, although the original denomination of President of the Council was only restored in 1944, when Ivanoe Bonomi was appointed to the post of prime minister. Alcide De Gasperi became the first prime minister of the Italian Republic in 1946.

The prime minister of Italy, officially the president of the Council of Ministers (Italian: Presidente del Consiglio dei ministri), is the head of government of the Italian Republic. The office of president of the Council of Ministers is established by articles 92–96 of the Constitution of Italy; the president of the Council of Ministers is appointed by the president of the Republic and must have the confidence of the Parliament to stay in office.

Prior to the establishment of the Italian Republic, the position was called the President of the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom of Italy (Presidente del Consiglio dei ministri del Regno d'Italia). From 1925 to 1943 during the Fascist regime, the position was transformed into the dictatorial position as the Head of the Government, Prime Minister, Secretary of State (Capo del Governo, Primo Ministro, Segretario di Stato) held by Benito Mussolini, Duce of Fascism, who officially governed on the behalf of the king of Italy. King Victor Emmanuel III removed Mussolini from office in 1943 and the position was restored with Marshal Pietro Badoglio becoming prime minister in 1943, although the original denomination of President of the Council was only restored in 1944, when Ivanoe Bonomi was appointed to the post of prime minister. Alcide De Gasperi became the first prime minister of the Italian Republic in 1946.

Operation Achse (German: Fall Achse, lit. 'Case Axis'), originally called Operation Alaric (Unternehmen Alarich), was the codename for the German operation to forcibly disarm the Italian armed forces after Italy's armistice with the Allies on 3 September 1943.

Several German divisions had entered Italy after the fall of Benito Mussolini in July 1943, while Italy was officially still an ally of Germany, despite the protests of the new Italian government under Pietro Badoglio. The armistice was made public on 8 September. German forces moved rapidly to take over the Italian zones of occupation in the Balkans and southern France, and to disarm Italian forces in Italy.

The Armistice of Cassibile (Italian: Armistizio di Cassibile) was signed on 3 September 1943 by Italy and the Allies. It marked the end of hostilities between Italy and the Allies during World War II.

It was signed on September 3rd by Major-General Walter Bedell Smith for the Allies and Brigade-General Giuseppe Castellano for Italy. The armistice's signing took place at a summit in an Allied military camp at Cassibile, Sicily, which had recently been occupied by the Allies. The armistice was approved by both Victor Emmanuel III and Marshal Pietro Badoglio, who was serving as Prime Minister of Italy at the time. The signing of the armistice was kept secret on that day, and was announced to the media on September 8th.

The Armistice of Cassibile (Italian: Armistizio di Cassibile) was signed on 3 September 1943 by Italy and the Allies. It marked the end of hostilities between Italy and the Allies during World War II.

It was signed on 3 September by Major-General Walter Bedell Smith for the Allies and Brigade-General Giuseppe Castellano for Italy. The armistice's signing took place at a summit in an Allied military camp at Cassibile, Sicily, which had recently been occupied by the Allies. The armistice was approved by both Victor Emmanuel III and Marshal Pietro Badoglio, who was serving as Prime Minister of Italy at the time. The signing of the armistice was kept secret on that day, and was announced to the media on 8 September.

The Kingdom of the South (Italian: Regno del Sud) was the short period of the Kingdom of Italy from 1943 to 1944, when Pietro Badoglio controlled the country in the aftermath of the German occupation of Italy in the latter part of World War II. During this period, the country was under the Allied Military Government of Occupied Territories in southern Italy, as opposed to the German-occupied northern and central Italy, where the Italian Social Republic was established.

Strictly speaking, the term is used with reference to the period between September 1943, when King Victor Emmanuel III and the government fled Rome to Brindisi in the aftermath of the Armistice of Cassibile until Rome was liberated by the Allies on June 1944 and resumed its function as capital of Italy. However, its use is often extended to cover the period up to 1945 and the end of the war, that is, the entire period that Italy remained divided, during which time the Italian government, although it had re-established itself in Rome, still did not have full control of its nominal territory or local, police and military bodies. Administrative, military and political activities, and their documentation, were split between those managed by the government of Rome, by the Italian Social Republic, by the partisan forces and by the armies in the field.

The Italian Co-belligerent Army (Italian: Esercito Cobelligerante Italiano), or Army of the South (Esercito del Sud), were names applied to various units of the now former Royal Italian Army during the period when they fought alongside the Allies during the Italian Campaign and civil war of World War II from October 1943 onwards. During the same period, the pro-allied Italian Royal Navy and Italian Royal Air Force were known as the Italian Co-belligerent Navy and Italian Co-belligerent Air Force respectively. From September 1943, pro-Axis Italian forces became the National Republican Army of the newly formed Italian Social Republic.

The Italian Co-belligerent Army was the result of the Allied armistice with Italy on 8 September 1943; King Victor Emmanuel III dismissed Benito Mussolini as Prime Minister in July 1943 following the Allied invasion of Southern Italy, and nominated Marshal of Italy (Maresciallo d'Italia) Pietro Badoglio instead, who later aligned Italy with the Allies to fight the Social Republic's forces and its German allies in Northern Italy.