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Operation Slapstick, a lesser-known British WWII endeavor in September 1943, involved the airborne division executing an unconventional sea landing to swiftly capture Italy's port city of Taranto, paving the way for broader Allied advances in the Italian campaign.
Allies invaded Italy on 3 September 1943.
At first sight, the invasion of Italy seems normal. It seems logical that the Allies wanted to open a second front right away.
But when you study more closely how things happened, you see that, once again, there is something fishy.
The fishy thing is the fact that just when the Allies were on the verge of invading Italy, Mussolini was thrown out of the power.
And what is fishier is how things happened. On 24 July 1943, The Grand Council of Fascism met. It was the first time that this body had met since the start of the war. One of the resolutions on the agenda asked the king to resume his full constitutional powers; to the detriment of Mussolini of course. This motion carried by a 19-7 margin. The next day, Mussolini was arrested by Carabinieri on king’s orders.