There had been a hope that, with the surrender of the Italian government, the Germans would withdraw to the north, since at the time Adolf Hitler had been persuaded that Southern Italy was strategically unimportant.
Aliații speraseră că, după capitularea guvernului italian, germanii aveau să se retragă spre nord, de vreme ce existau informații conform cărora Adolf Hitler considera că sudul Italiei nu prezintă importanță strategică.