Battle of Europe

The news of Italy's surrender came over the air at 11:47 a.m. (E.W.T.). By lunchtime the extras were on the streets. But after the thunderous fall of Mussolini, after the conquest of Sicily and the Italian invasion, the biggest news of the war had an air of anticlimax. The U.S., by & large, greeted the collapse of Fascism's cradle with almost complacent indifference. An old New York custom sent down a brief explosion of ticker tape and torn telephone-book pages from its sky scraper windows; on Mulberry Street the sad-eyed people of "Little Italy" over came their...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!