European theatre of World War II major German forces in the west were encircled and trapped in the Ruhr. On April 27, 1945, as Allied forces closed in on Milan, Mussolini was captured by Italian Partisans. He was trying to flee Italy to Switzerland and was traveling with a German anti-air battalion. On April 28, Mussolini and several of the other Fascists captured with him were taken to Dongo and executed by firing squad. The bodies were then taken to Milan and unceremoniously strung up in front of a filling station. Hitler, learning of Mussolini's death, realized that the end had finally come. He remained in
Slovene Lands in World War II governments saw in Pietro Badoglio's government a guarantee of an anti-communist post-war Italy. Slovene Lands in World War II World War II in the Slovene Lands started in April 1941 and lasted until May 1945. Slovenia was in a unique situation during World War II in Europe, only Greece shared its experience of being trisected, however, Slovenia was the only region that experienced a further step — absorption and annexation into neighboring Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Hungary. The Slovene-settled territory was divided largely between Nazi Germany and the Kingdom of Italy, with smaller territories occupied by Hungary, and the