Today in World War II History—Sept. 8, 1943

US troops en route to landing beaches at Salerno, Italy cheer the Italian surrender, 8 September 1943 (US Army Center of Military History)

75 Years Ago—Sept. 8, 1943: Eisenhower announces secretly negotiated Italian surrender at 6:30 pm, 9 hours before the Allied landings at Salerno and Taranto.

Germans activate Operation Achse (occupying Italy and Italian-occupied French Riviera) at 8 pm, entering Rome and taking over the Italian coastal division at Salerno.

On Corsica, civilians rise up against Italians and occupy capital of Ajaccio.