 By January of the same year, half of the Italian forces fighting in the Soviet Union had been destroyed, the African campaign had failed, the Balkans remained unstable, and Italians wanted an end to the war.In July 1943, the Allies invaded Sicily in an effort to knock Italy out of the war and establish a foothold in Europe.On 25 July, Mussolini was ousted by the Great Council of Fascism and arrested by order of King Victor Emmanuel III, who appointed General Pietro Badoglio as new Prime Minister.