The Last Days of Mussolini

In the late winter of 1945, Benito Mussolini found himself acutely aware that his life had nearly run its course. From the moment he had been overthrown in July 1943, arrested, then rescued by the Germans and forced by Hitler to take up the reins of government once again, Mussolini had been a misera [...]
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In the late winter of 1945, Benito Mussolini found himself acutely aware that his life had nearly run its course. From the moment he had been overthrown in July 1943, arrested, then rescued by the Germans and forced by Hitler to take up the reins of government once again, Mussolini had been a miserable figure in the grip of anger, shame and depression. The Germans had lost faith in him and humiliated him almost daily, denying him any real exercise of power, brutalising and even enslaving his people and stealing his country's assets. Moseley's comprehensive and highly engaging work throws light on the last twenty months of the despot's life and culminates with the dramatic capture and execution of Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacci by partisans of the Italian resistance on 28 April, 1945. Various authors have named a dozen or so people as the 'real' killer of Mussolini, but this book offers convincing evidence that Walter Audisio, a Communist partisan named in official accounts as the assassin, did in fact pull the trigger. Likewise, Mussolini's alleged correspondence with Churchill is shown to be spurious.