Having been deposed by the King Victor Emmanuel, Beni. Mussolini was arrested and held prisoner on the Gran Sasso Mountain in the Abruzzo Region. Hitler sent a unit of crack troops tu free him and brought him to an area of Salo in the Lake Garda region where Mussolini established his second sregime. Ironically, Salo is not far from D'Annunzio's Vittoriale. Thus, for the duration of the war, Italy technically had two governments, each claiming legitimacy over the other. The situation created lots of problems for the Italian civilians antl more specifically for the military. While any adhered to the newly established government of General Badoglio, many others continued on the side of Germany--embers of the 10th Light Flotilla being one of those units. While the advancing Allies annihilated units like the 10th Light Flotilla, Italian Communist partisans captured Mussolini and his mistress, Clara Petacci. The partisans executed them by hanging them by their feet, upside down.

In the end, thanks to Mussolini Italy lost everything: all the territories gained antl annexed by previous administrations, especially the African colonies. Its prestige on the world stage plummeted to its lowest point, and the respect of the common people had all but gone. If it hadn't been for America's benevolent intercession in the form of food and other supplies, Italy would have gone communist thanks to Palmiro Togliatti. He did every thing he could to turn Italy into a satellite of the Soviet Union.