In April 1945, Mussolini and his mistress were captured while attempting to flee to neutral Switzerland and were executed by Italian partisans.

   In April 1945, Mussolini and his mistress were captured while attempting to flee to neutral Switzerland and were executed by Italian partisans. Although the Italian partisans hoped to liberate large swathes of Italy from German control, in reality they achieved success only in carrying out small-scale operations. In the spring of 1945, guerrilla activity resumed in Italy, but the only tangible achievement of the Italian Resistance was the execution of Mussolini and his mistress as they attempted to flee to Switzerland in April 1945.

   In contrast, in Italy, although partisans who began operations after the surrender sided with the Allies, they were unable to establish liberated zones. Their attempts were easily suppressed by German forces between September and October 1944, and in November 1944, General Alexander, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, broadcast a call to the partisans to cease large-scale operations.

  From a military standpoint, the resistance against German forces in Yugoslavia was of greater significance. Resistance to the Nazis triggered a military coup on March 27, 1941, leading to the overthrow of Prince Paul, the regent of Yugoslavia, just two days after he had brought the country into the Axis alliance. In response, Germany invaded on April 6 with the support of Italian forces.

    The challenges of organizing resistance within the ethnic melting pot that was Yugoslavia, combined with the German army’s ruthless reprisals, appear to have been the primary factors that led the Chetniks, under Mihailović’s command, to refrain from taking action against the German forces and instead wait for a future opportunity to reestablish Serbian dominance in the postwar situation. Mihailović, who had likely already adopted this strategy by the fall of 1941, was increasingly forced into full cooperation with the Italian and German armies due to the rise of the rival communist guerrilla movement.