Surrender of Caserta

Surrender at Caserta

Surrender of German Army Group C and Fascist forces of the Italian Social Republic to the Allies.
SS General Wolff's proxy for the surrender of Caserta
Type	Capitulation
Signed	29 April 1945
Location	Royal Palace of Caserta, Italy
Effective	1 May (Italian forces) 2 May (German forces)
Negotiators	Karl Wolff Heinrich von Vietinghoff Rodolfo Graziani Harold Alexander
Signatories	Viktor von Schweinitz Eugen Wenner (on behalf of Graziani) William Duthie Morgan Terence Sydney Airey Lyman Louis Lemnitzer Aleksei Kislenko
Parties	Germany  Italian Social Republic  United Kingdom  United States  Soviet Union
Ratifiers	German High Command Italian High Command United Kingdom United States Soviet Union

The Surrender of Caserta (Italian: Resa di Caserta, pronounced [ˈreːza di kaˈzɛrta]) of 29 April 1945 was the written agreement that formalized the surrender of German and Italian Fascist forces in Italy, ending the Italian Campaign of World War II.^[1] The document, signed at the Royal Palace of Caserta, in Campania, was to become effective on 2 May 1945.

Although British Field Marshal Harold Alexander claimed the Surrender of Caserta shortened the war in Europe by six to eight weeks and saved Northern Italy from more destruction along with tens of thousands of lives, the German Commander-in-Chief of Army Group C Heinrich von Vietinghoff had noted on 28 April that fighting would cease within one or two days regardless of negotiations, the German troops having neither arms nor ammunition left.^[2] Further destruction was thus unlikely, Army Group C having decided already on 11 April not to carry out Hitler's scorched earth policy.^[2]

General Rodolfo Graziani, the Minister of Defense of the RSI (Repubblica Sociale Italiana, the Italian fascist regime), send a delegation to General Wolff to announce the surrender of the Italian Social Republic as well. At the same day. Graziani handed himself on General Crittenberger's US IV Corps.

Owing in part to Allied air attacks, the German forces in Italy had received no supplies from Germany since the first week of April.^[3] Since Allied aircraft had destroyed all bridges across the Po river, the Germans abandoned their heavy weapons and motor vehicles south of it during the Allied spring offensive.^[4][5] What was left of the German infantry was mostly wiped out during the fighting.^[5] The remaining troops had retreated across the Po using improvised transports and were reorganized by blocking detachments to man the front line and fight on, but without arms their situation was hopeless.^[5]