Who Defends Rome? The Forty-Five days, July 25–September 8, 1943

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.

Part 1. The Weaving of Webs 1. The Critics 2. The Antagonists 3. The Scene-Shifters 4. The Spectators 5. In the Wings 6. The Curtain Rises 7. The Backstage Manoeuvres Part 2. The Forty-Five Days 8. The People Exult 9. The Armies Prepare 10. The Illusion of Freedom 11. The Reality of Repression 12. The Exiles Return 13. Wolves Become Sheep 14. The Onset of Apathy 15. War… 16. …or Peace? 17. The Bombings 18. The Laggard Emissary 19. The Double-Track 20. The Allied Dilemma 21. The Missing General 22. Reinforcing Power 23. Hounds and Hares 24. The New Negotiator 25. The Return of the Dove 26. The Bluffing 27. Surrender… 28. …But When? 29. Slow Train to Turin 30. Clandestine Mission Part 3. The Battle for Rome 31. Caught in the Middle 32. The Council of Fear 33. The Order of Battle 34. The Distant Drums 35. The Flight 36. Who Defends Rome? 37. The Withdrawal 38. The Battle for Rome 39. An Army Dissolves 40. The Submerged City

Melton S. Davis