Up to the very last minute, the Germans had used Rome and the diplomatic delusion of the never-ending talks about the "open city" in order to take any possible advantage out of it, including using the Italian capital to cover their ordered retreat behind a safer defence line.
Indtil sidste øjeblik havde tyskerne brugt Rom og den diplomatiske illusion om evindelig tale om den åbne by til at fjerne enhver fordel ved det, herunder at bruge den italienske hovedstad til at dække deres beordrede tilbagetog til mere sikre forsvarslinjer.