Surrender of Caserta

The Surrender of Caserta (Resa di Caserta, ) of 29 April 1945 was the written agreement that formalized the surrender of German and Italian Fascist forces in Italy, ending the Italian Campaign of World War II.

Background
Owing in part to Allied air attacks, the German forces in Italy had received no supplies from Germany since the first week of April. Since Allied aircraft had destroyed all bridges across the Po river, the Germans abandoned their heavy weapons and motor vehicles south of it during the Allied spring offensive. What was left of the German infantry was mostly wiped out during the fighting. The remaining troops had retreated across the Po using improvised transports and were reorganized by blocking detachments to man the front line and fight on, but without arms their situation was hopeless.

Surrender
On 26 April, General Rodolfo Graziani, the Minister of Defense of the RSI (Repubblica Sociale Italiana, the Italian fascist regime), send a delegation to General Wolff to be given to General Wenner to announce the surrender of Fascist forces of the Italian Social Republic as well. On 29 April. Graziani handed himself on General Crittenberger's US IV Corps.

German Commander-in-Chief of Army Group C Heinrich von Vietinghoff had noted on 28 April that fighting would cease within one or two days regardless of negotiations, the German troops having neither arms nor ammunition left. Further destruction was thus unlikely, Army Group C having decided already on 11 April not to carry out Hitler's scorched earth policy.

The document, signed at the Royal Palace of Caserta, in Campania, was to become effective on 2 May 1945.

Aftermath
British Field Marshal Harold Alexander in statement said that the Surrender of Caserta shortened the war in Europe by six to eight weeks and saved Northern Italy from more destruction along with tens of thousands of lives.