Summary
Greece entered World War II on 28 October 1940, when the Italian army invaded fromAlbania, beginning the Greco-Italian War. The Greek army was able to stop the invasion and was even able to push the Italians back into Albania, thereby winning one of the first victories for the Allies. The Greek successes and the inability of the Italians to reverse the situation forced Nazi Germany to intervene in order to protect their main Axis partner's prestige. The Germans invaded Greece and Yugoslavia on 6 April 1941, and overran both countries within a month, despite British aid to Greece in the form of an expeditionary corps. The conquest of Greece was completed in May with the capture of Crete from the air, although the Fallschirmjäger suffered such extensive casualties in this operation that the Germans abandoned large-scale airborne operations for the remainder of the war. The German diversion of resources in the Balkans is also considered by some historians to have delayed the launch of the invasion of the Soviet Union by a critical month, which proved disastrous when the German army failed to take Moscow.
Yugoslavia and Greece: The Balkan Campaign
Italians decide to try and establish themselves by attacking the Greeks
They are unsuccessful
Choose bad time of year in October
Germans have to bail them out "Operation Marita".
Also attack Yugoslavia with "Operation Punishment".
Detrimental because it delays Operation Barbarossa, the attack on Russia
They are unsuccessful
Choose bad time of year in October
Germans have to bail them out "Operation Marita".
Also attack Yugoslavia with "Operation Punishment".
Detrimental because it delays Operation Barbarossa, the attack on Russia
The Balkan Campaign of World War II began with the Italian invasion of Greece on 28 October 1940. In the early months of 1941, Italy's offensive had been stalled and a Greek counter-offensive pushed into Albania. Germany sought, by deploying troops to Romania and Bulgaria, to aid Italy by attacking Greece from the east; while the British landed troops and aircraft to shore up Greek defences.