Hitler agreed that the Chetniks could not be trusted, and issued orders to German forces to stop cooperating with the Chetniks and assist NDH authorities to disarm them. However, German commanders were given sufficient leeway that they were able to avoid carrying out the orders. Following the fall of Fascism in Italy, Tomislav II abdicated as King of Croatia on the orders of Victor Emmanuel III. With the King officially gone, Pavelić assumed functions as Head of State of the NDH under the title of "Poglavnik" and appointed Nikola Mandić as new Prime Minister. Italy was later invaded and occupied by the Germans in Operation Achse. As soon as the Italians capitulated in September 1943, Pavelić was quick to amalgamate Italian-annexed Dalmatia into the NDH and offer an amnesty to Croats that had joined the rebels. However, the Germans occupied the previously Italian-occupied zone themselves, including the mines and key agricultural areas. By November 1943, Pavelić and his regime controlled little of the territory of the NDH, and by March 1944 "SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Waffen-SS" (Brigadier) Ernst Fick observed that ""In terms of power, Dr. Ante Pavelić is only mayor of the city of Zagreb, excluding the suburbs"". One of the key events in the history of the Independent State of Croatia was the Lorković-Vokić coup of 1944. Minister Mladen Lorković and army officer Ante Vokić suggested a plan whereby Croatia would change sides in the war and Pavelić would no longer be head of state in accordance with British demands. At first, Pavelić supported their ideas but changed his mind following a visit from a local Gestapo officer who told him that Germany would win the war with new weapons under development. Pavelić arrested Lorković and Vokić along with others involved in the coup (some representatives of the Croatian Peasant Party and a number of "Domobran" officers). Lorković and Vokić were shot at the end of April 1945 in the Lepoglava prison. After plans for an "Anglo-American" coup were discovered, from September 1944 until February 1945 Pavelić negotiated with the Soviet Union. The Soviets agreed to recognize the Croatian state on condition that the Red Army had free access and Communists were allowed free rein.