Signed at Cassible in Sicily on 3 September, it was not announced to the Italian nation until five days later. Here is a translation of the proclamation made by Prime Minister Pietro Badoglio: The Italian government, recognising the impossibility of continuing the unequal struggle against an overwhelming enemy force, in order to avoid further and graver disasters for the Nation, sought an armistice from general Eisenhower, commander-in-chief of the Anglo-American Allied forces. The request was granted. Consequently, all acts of hostility against the Anglo-American force by Italian forces must cease everywhere. But they may react to possible attacks from any other source. Here is the first part of the translation from the Italian of an item describing the aftermath of the armistice in Wikipedia. The amendments in bold type have been made by me. The abandonment of Rome by the military high command, the head of government Badoglio, King Victor Emmanuel III and the king's son, Crown Prince Umberto, their move towards Pescara then Brindisi, and above all the proclamation's use of a format which did not give the clauses of the armistice in a clearly comprehensible form (which was largely wrongly interpreted as meaning a complete end to the war) all led to confusion. This was particularly so among the Italian Armed Forces on all fronts, who remained unaware of the armistice's precise content and disbanded themselves. Over 600,000 Italian soldiers were captured by the German army and sent to various internment camps in Germany and German-held territories under the designation I.M.I. (internati militari italiani, or Italian Military Internees) in the weeks immediately after the announcement. More than half of all Italian soldiers laid down their arms and returned home (as referred to in the title of the 1960 film set at the time, Tutti a casa). The Italian and German high commands intercepted the Eisenhower broadcast first and so the Germans immediately put Operation Achse into effect to disarm their former allies and occupy the whole Italian Peninsula, on 9 September, sinking the Italian battleship Roma, which had been ordered on the night of 8 September to sail with the entire Italian fleet to Malta in accordance with the armistice's clauses, under the cover-story of attacking the Allied forces landing at Salerno in Operation Baytown.
I recently read this... from a year later... SS Rex - Wikipedia "On 8 September 1944, she was attacked in the Bay of Capodistria (now Koper, Slovenia), south of Trieste by 12 RAF Bristol Beaufighter aircraft of 272 Squadron escorted by nine North American P-51 Mustang aircraft assigned to 15th Air Force's 52nd Fighter Group. She was listing and on fire after being struck by 59 RP-3 rockets and numerous 20 mm cannon-shells. A second attack, later that day, by 12 more Beaufighters of 39 Squadron and 16 Squadron (South African Air Force) resulted in her turning over and sinking in shallow water." And wondered if sinking it was the Allies' best solution. https://twitter.com/MediaHistoryNow/status/1486816658245173250?t=3dxDEYJSNiSSMcav57n-fg&s=19
Looking at the detail the Allies seemed concerned it could be used to blockade a harbour , with Rex laid up at Genoa, but after the city was bombed, the Italian Line decided to move it to Trieste. To prevent German forces from using the liner to blockade the harbor entrance, Rex was moved near Pula, where she lay for some time. On 6 September 1944, Rex was spotted under tow south of Trieste, by a Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot, and showed a slight list.[7]
