News of the surrender of the Italian government of Marshal Badoglio flashed across newsrooms throughout the world on this September 8th in 1943. Mussolini had been overthrown and Italy wanted out of the war.
Unfortunately, Italy was under German occupation and they had no intention of giving up. So even though the Italian army had officially laid down their arms in war against the allies, they were now fighting the German army who refused to yield an inch. In a few days Allied forces would land on Italian soil and begin the long and hard fought campaign to shake the Nazi presence over the next year.
Here are a series of Shortwave broadcasts from Allied Headquarters in North Africa featuring reports both to newspapers but also radio outlets covering the war. In broadcasting terms, this was what was known as a "closed circuit" - material not intended for live broadcast but for use at a later time. No such thing as satellite feeds at the time, no uploads or downloads - just the distant fade-in and out of breaking news and bulletins to a breathless audience on this September 8, 1943.
