Short answers, pulled from the story.
Operation Achse began on the 8th of September 1943 as a German campaign to disarm Italian forces following Italy's armistice to the Allies. The operation involved rapid military actions across central northern Italy, the Balkans, and the Ionian Islands starting immediately after Field Marshal Kesselring received orders.
Field Marshal Albert Kesselring commanded Axis forces in southern Italy while Field Marshal Erwin Rommel led Army Group B in central northern Italy. Both commanders executed plans to neutralize Italian units and capture strategic locations including Rome, Naples, and various islands.
German forces captured approximately 950,000 Italian soldiers across all theaters with over 402,000 sent home and hundreds of thousands interned in Germany. Casualties included executions of officers in Albania and Greece plus deaths from starvation among dispersed troops in winter 1943-1944.
Major combat zones included Rome where paratroopers attacked on the 8th of September 1943, the Balkan region covering Slovenia Dalmatia Croatia Bosnia Herzegovina Montenegro Albania and Greece, and the Ionian Islands including Crete Rhodes Kos and Leros. Fighting continued until November 1943 when German forces secured control over most territories.
Italian units failed due to lack of clear orders confusion among commanders and absence of Allied support for peripheral garrisons. Many divisions disintegrated quickly while others surrendered without resistance leaving German forces to occupy entire regions by mid-September 1943.