Great Fall However, each great leader has their drawbacks; The Italian nation relied too heavily on the Nazi Germans, and the German army had been at war with the triple entente and United States. Italy’s dependency was soon to crumble. Joining the Second World War has been known as Mussolini’s largest mistake in his reign. Italy was at peace prior to joining the war and decided to support the Germans who were at war with France and Britain currently. Italy then declared war on France, in support of the Nazi Germans. However, as the war continued over the years, Italy’s weakness began to come out between the cracks, as their military showed no strength or modernization to compete with the new weapons and planes of the opponents (U.S, British, and French). By mid 1943, Italy had lost all of their colonies in South Africa, and were slowing being taken over, losing the Mediterranean Sea also. In July 1943 an invasion in Sicily occurred in Italy that was planned by the Americans and British, which ultimately created serious problems for Mussolini. The island of Sicily was lost, and now the enemy was using it as a base to invade the rest of Italy. Italy was left standing with no German support and Mussolini with his hands caught in the air, as the Italian people witnessed their leader fall. Following this invasion, Mussolini was captured and thrown in jail by his former members of the Fascist Government. “Mussolini was deposed by a revolt within his own Fascist Grand Council, and Victor Emmanuel III, the