This book, first published in 1972, examines the tumultuous period between Mussolini’s dismissal and the German occupation of Rome 45 days later. Double-dealing, treachery, vindictiveness, cowardliness, contradictory orders are the hallmarks of this time, and the protagonists include Mussolini, Hitler, Eisenhower, Maxwell Taylor, the Italian King, Churchill and Badoglio. Its was then that Italy arranged a virtually meaningless armistice with the Allies, the terms of which were never clear to anyone. This book reconstructs these days with a clear and thorough analysis, using new evidence not previously available to researchers.