episode-header-image

Apr 2023

52m 22s

190 - Mussolini's Last 10 Days

About this episode

In April 1945, with the Allies closing in, the Italian dictator, Benito Mussolini, with his German bodyguards, decided to flee Milan. The convoy was later joined by a Luftwaffe column retreating toward Germany, making a powerful force.

In this episode, we're going to be looking at Mussolini's last days and the race between the OSS, the SOE and the Italian partisans to kill or capture him.

I am joined by Malcolm Tudor.

Malcolm is an Anglo-Italian author specialising in Italy during WWII. He was last with us in episode 86, discussing the SAS in Italy. His new book is Mussolini, The Last 10 Days, A New Investigation.

Patreonpatreon.com/ww2podcast

Up next

274 - The Battle of Meiktila

What was the situation in Burma following the Allied victories at Imphal and Kohima? By the summer of 1944, those two hard-fought battles had marked a major turning point in the Burma campaign. Japanese forces were in retreat, and the initiative had passed firmly to the Allies. B ... Show More

273 - Operation Barbarossa, June–July 1941

In this episode of the WW2 Podcast, we’re turning our attention to the opening phase of one of the most brutal and vast campaigns of the Second World War—Operation Barbarossa. On 22 June 1941, Hitler launched his long-anticipated invasion of the Soviet Union. In the first two wee ... Show More

272 - Second Front: Anglo-American Rivalry

When we talk about the Second Front, most of us think of the Allied invasion of Northwest Europe—D-Day, June 1944. But in his new book, Second Front: Anglo-American Rivalry and the Hidden Story of the Normandy Campaign, historian Professor Marc Milner offers a different perspecti ... Show More

Recommended Episodes

Mussolini's Rise & Fall

Exactly a century after the 1922 March on Rome which brought fascist dictator Benito Mussolini to power, the far-right party Brothers of Italy have been voted into government.Fratelli d'Italia (FDL), which has its roots in Italy’s post-war Neo-fascist social movement, is lead by ... Show More

September 1943, and German troops have just landed in gliders to rescue Benito Mussolini from the mountain resort where he was being held. “I knew my friend Adolf Hitler would not desert me,” he said later. But Mussolini died before the end of the war, shot and then strung up wit ... Show More

399. The Savage Storm: World War II and The Battle for Italy

The Battle for Italy in 1943 proved to be one of the bloodiest and most brutal episodes of the Second World War. Following hot on the heels of their recent victory in Sicily, the Allies crossed the Straits of Messina and entered Italy in September, to fight their way up the Itali ... Show More

Mussolini's Favourite Daughter

What do we know about the people who shared the surname Mussolini with the Italian fascist dictator? Edda Mussolini may have been Benito’s daughter, but she was also the wife of a convicted traitor, an unwilling mother and a hard-drinking socialite. To find out about Edda’s life ... Show More

Hitler: Mussolini’s Prison Break (Part 23)

In Italy, Il Duce is overthrown. So Hitler stages a daring mission to rescue his fascist partner. With the Red Army rampant, another epochal battle sends the Wehrmacht on the retreat. Soon, more bad news will reach the Berghof, as Allied troops start landing in Normandy. But with ... Show More

World War II victory in North Africa

Peter Royle, 103, endured a month of solid fighting in the hills outside of Tunis in 1943. Eventually the Allies prevailed and took more than 250,000 German and Italian prisoners of war. They declared victory in Tunisia on 13 May. Peter came close to dying many times. He recalls ... Show More

194. The First Fascist

Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook discuss the 'first' fascist, Gabriele D'Annunzio, with historian Lucy Hughes-Hallett. D'Annunzio was a key figure in Italian literature before becoming a political figure later in his life. Although never personally identifying with fascism, his ... Show More

The Late, Great Stephen Ambrose: WWII and Getting Down to Business (The Italian Campaign)

On this episode of Our American Stories, even before the U.S./British victory in the North African campaign in May 1943, there was disagreement among the Allies on the best strategy to defeat the Axis. Eventually the U.S. and British political leadership reached a compromise in w ... Show More

World War II victory in North Africa

Peter Royle, 103, endured a month of solid fighting in the hills outside of Tunis in 1943. Eventually the Allies prevailed and took more than 250,000 German and Italian prisoners of war. They declared victory in Tunisia on 13 May. Peter came close to dying many times. He recalls ... Show More

Listen to millions of songs and podcasts on Anghami