Flea Circus

Much to the dismay of the Italians, on the afternoon of September 8, 1943, General Eisenhower made public the armistice between the Allies and the Italian government. The Italians had been playing a dangerous balancing act between the Germans and Allies, trying to get out of the war without …

1943-09-08

AP026

Much to the dismay of the Italians, on the afternoon of September 8, 1943, General Eisenhower made public the armistice between the Allies and the Italian government. The Italians had been playing a dangerous balancing act between the Germans and Allies, trying to get out of the war without negative consequences. That evening, the Germans put into play “Operation Flohzirkus (Flea Circus),” sending the 2nd Fallschirmjäger Division north from its base towards Rome. The Axis was broken forever when the Germans met the first Italian outposts at the town of Mezzocamino, southwest of Rome.

Mezzocamino, Italy

Operation Achse, originally called Operation Alaric, 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. The Germans disarmed over a million Italian troops within a matter of days, annihilating the Italian military and state. 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 of Cassibile 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.

German

Italian

Scenario Type = Standard