A rare photograph of Italian troops
evidently surrendering to American soldiers on a Normandy
battlefield has fuelled speculation about possible Italian
military involvement against Allied forces after D-Day.
Also surrendering with the Italians in the picture are
German soldiers.
The Italians in the photo wore military uniforms but some
of them wore typical Sicilian "coppola" flat caps favoured by
shepherds.
The Italian soldiers were not wearing the insignia of the
Republic of Salò, the Nazi puppet government set up in northern
Italy under figurehead leadership of Benito Mussolini.
One theory is that the Italians were forced labourers known
as "Interned Italian Workers".
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