Worried about the German reaction, Carboni suggested to disavow the armistice and blame it on Badoglio's initiative, claiming that he had acted without informing the king and government, and to continue the war alongside Germany; Marchesi, despite being by far the lowest ranking among those present, replied pointing out that such an action would be against all rules of military honor, would cause an extremely harsh Allied reaction, and would be useless as the Allies were in possession of all documents pertaining the negotiations that had led to the armistice and about its signature, and could thus easily disprove any claims about it being made without the knowledge of the king and government.

After Marchesi's speech, Carboni's proposal was rejected, and the council ended with the decision that Badoglio would make a radio broadcast confirming the news of the armistice to the Italian population and armed forces.

Marchesi then joined the king, Badoglio, Ambrosio, De Courten, Sandalli and other high-ranking members of the government and of the armed forces in their flight towards Pescara and from there, after boarding the corvette Baionetta, to Brindisi.

With regard to the Council of the Crown held on 8 September, Zangrandi noted that the presence of Marchesi was expressly requested by Ambrosio who was the only one, together with Badoglio, aware of the details of the negotiations, of the armistice clauses and of the very short timeframe for its planned implementation.

Therefore, according to Zangrandi, Major Marchesi's intervention was not spontaneous and the result of his exasperation due to the slowness of the decisions, but a maneuver concocted by Ambrosio to convince the participants to immediately accept the armistice, of which they had only come to know in that moment.