Et Tu, Brute?: The Assassination of Benito Mussolini

******

From the August 22nd, 1936 New York Times, early evening extra:

WAR IN EUROPE

Italy Invaded By German Troops

From the August 23rd, 1936 morning edition of the New York World- Telegram:

SPANISH REBELS CLAIM MAJOR GAINS SOUTH OF MADRID; RIOTS KILL 13 IN BARCELONA

From a CBS radio news broadcast that same evening:

Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain addressed his fellow countrymen on the BBC tonight regarding the Nazi invasion of Italy. In his speech, he warned that if German troops did not withdraw from Italian soil by 10:30 AM London time tomorrow morning Great Britain would consider herself to be in a state of war with Germany....

From the August 24th, 1936 afternoon edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer:

ENGLAND AT WAR WITH GERMANY; FRANCE JOINS WAR EFFORT

Belgian Frontier Fortifications On Alert

From the book Clash Of Steel: The Nazi Assault On Italy, copyright 1996 HarperCollins Publishing:

The pro-Hitler insurgents in Rome were nothing if not patient. They waited close to twelve hours for confirmation that the Wehrmacht had established a foothold on Italian soil before moving to overthrow Badoglio....

From the August 25th, 1936 evening edition of the Los Angeles Times:

PRO-HITLER COUP D’ETAT OUSTS BADOGLIO IN ITALY

New Regime Vows “Unconditional Friendship” With Germany

POPE, COLLEGE OF CARDINALS EVACUATED TO FRANCE AS GERMAN TROOPS ADVANCE TOWARD ROME

Vatican Spokesmen Say Evacuation Intended To Forestall Nazis From Seizing Pontiff

From the August 26th, 1936 morning edition of the Washington Post:

FDR DENOUNCES “NAKED AGGRESSION” BY GERMANY

Hints Break In Diplomatic Ties May Be Forthcoming

Wilkie Says He’ll Be “Tough As Steel” On Berlin If Elected President

From the August 27th, 1936 Daily Mail:

EXPEDITIONARY FORCE ARRIVES IN FRENCH NORTH AFRICA

General Ironside Pledges Axis Aggression Will Be Met “With Heavy Resistance”; Additional British Troops Dispatched To French Border With Spain

From Clash Of Steel:

Hitler was furious that the Pope had eluded him. He’d hoped to use Pius as a bargaining chip to force the Western Allies to acquiesce to his demands in Europe, but the Pontiff’s escape had foiled that hope. Still, things were going well for the most part from Berlin’s perspective; the pro-German coup in Rome had gone off with only one or two minor hitches and Britain and France had been caught flat-footed. Once Italy had been properly subjugated, taking over the Sudetenland would be a snap, at least according to Hitler’s thinking. The only other nation on earth besides Britain which had the military strength to challenge the Führer’s expansionist plans was thousands of miles across the Atlantic, and politically divided to boot-- and considered by Hitler and his Nazi courtiers to be racially inferior to the “pure” Aryan Reich...

From the August 29th, 1936 morning edition of the Boston Globe:

ITALIAN-AMERICANS DEMONSTRATE IN BOSTON, NEW YORK, AND CHICAGO TO DENOUCE NAZIS’ INVASION OF ITALY

Urge Roosevelt To Declare War On Germany

From the August 30th, 1936 afternoon edition of the New York Post:

KUHN JUSTIFIES INVASION OF ITALY AS “SELF-DEFENSE”

German-American Bund Leader Defends Nazi Occupation, Calls Badoglio “A Selfish Dog”

From the August 31st, 1936 morning edition of the Chicago Tribune:

LEADING ITALIAN-AMERICANS CENSURE FRITZ KUHN

German-American Bund Chief Accused Of Being A Traitor

From the September 1st, 1936 afternoon edition of the New York Times:

POLAND THREATENS WAR WITH GERMANY

Warsaw Denounces Nazi Occupation Of Italy And Agitation In Sudetenland As “Naked Barbarism”

From the September 2nd, 1936 evening edition of the Miami Herald:

RED ARMY COMMENCES WAR GAMES NEAR POLISH BORDER

No Comment From Stalin Whether Exercises Have Anything To Do With War In Italy

From the September 3rd, 1936 afternoon edition of the Boston Herald- American:

POLAND DECLARES WAR ON GERMANY

Warsaw Foreign Minister Hints Military Alliance Pact With Britain, France May Be In Works

From a Warner Pathe newsreel released September 8th, 1936:

The dark skies above the Polish frontier suddenly become ablaze with gunfire as Polish and German warplanes clash for the first time! Anti-aircraft guns roar to life in defense of Warsaw against German bombers! Planes from both sides tumble to the earth in a curtain of flame....From the rooftops and penthouses of hotels in the center of the Polish capital, foreign journalists follow the deadly ballet and dispatch running accounts of the air battle to their editors back home...With the break of dawn the next morning, diplomats and Polish military leaders gather to survey the carnage and get their first glimpse of Germany’s newest front-line fighter aircraft, the Messerschmitt 109...

From the September 4th, 1936 afternoon edition of the Chicago Sun-Times:

TANKS, INFANTRY CLASH NEAR POLISH BORDER

CZECHS DECLARE WAR ON GERMANY

Please Comment In The Discussion Forum

Sitemetre