Over the Rome radio, at 11 p.m. of July 25, 1943, came 47 words:
The King has accepted the resignation from office of the Head of the Government, Prime Minister and State Secretary, tendered by His Excellency Cavaliere Benito Mussolini, and has appointed as Head of the Government, Prime Minister and State Secretary His Excellency Cavaliere Marshal of Italy Pietro Badoglio.
The crashing notes of Giovinezza did not end that evening's terse news. For the first time in more than two decades, the Fascist hymn was replaced by Italy's Marcia Reale.
The war had...