Axis troops arrived in Tunisia on 19 November 1942 and the Tunisian Campaign turned much of the country into a battlefield. Moncef Bey was confronted by demands from Pétain to remain loyal to France and from Roosevelt to allow free passage for Allied troops. Moncef Bey proclaimed Tunisian neutrality while secretly informing Roosevelt that Tunisia would support the Allies. He also refused an offer from the Italian ambassador Bombieri to repudiate the Treaty of Bardo and enter into a new treaty with Italy.