The expression Italian Civil War is used to define the period between September 8, 1943, the date of the armistice of Cassibile, and May 2, 1945, the date of the surrender of Caserta. The war was fought between the forces of the fascist Italian Social Republic of Benito Mussolini, allied to the Axis, and the Italian partisans, aided by the Allies and the remnants of the Italian Royal Army, loyal to King Victor Emmanuel III. Some of the historians who have studied the Italian civil war have not restricted their analysis to the war itself, but they have also studied the consequences that it had on the Italians after the surrender.