Katana VentraIP

German invasion of Greece

The German invasion of Greece, also known as the Battle of Greece or Operation Marita (German: Unternehmen Marita[13]), was the attacks on Greece by Italy and Germany during World War II. The Italian invasion in October 1940, which is usually known as the Greco-Italian War, was followed by the German invasion in April 1941. German landings on the island of Crete (May 1941) came after Allied forces had been defeated in mainland Greece. These battles were part of the greater Balkans Campaign of the Axis powers and their associates.

Following the Italian invasion on 28 October 1940, Greece, with British air and material support, repelled the initial Italian attack and a counter-attack in March 1941. When the German invasion, known as Operation Marita, began on 6 April, the bulk of the Greek Army was on the Greek border with Albania, then a vassal of Italy, from which the Italian troops had attacked. German troops invaded from Bulgaria, creating a second front. Greece received a small reinforcement from British, Australian and New Zealand forces in anticipation of the German attack. The Greek army found itself outnumbered in its effort to defend against both Italian and German troops. As a result, the Metaxas defensive line did not receive adequate troop reinforcements and was quickly overrun by the Germans, who then outflanked the Greek forces at the Albanian border, forcing their surrender. British, Australian and New Zealand forces were overwhelmed and forced to retreat, with the ultimate goal of evacuation. For several days, Allied troops played an important part in containing the German advance on the Thermopylae position, allowing ships to be prepared to evacuate the units defending Greece.[14] The German Army reached the capital, Athens, on 27 April and Greece's southern shore on 30 April, capturing 7,000 British, Australian and New Zealand personnel and ending the battle with a decisive victory. The conquest of Greece was completed with the capture of Crete a month later. Following its fall, Greece was occupied by the military forces of Germany, Italy and Bulgaria.[15]


Hitler later blamed the failure of his invasion of the Soviet Union on Mussolini's failed conquest of Greece.[16] Andreas Hillgruber has accused Hitler of trying to deflect blame for his country's defeat from himself to his ally, Italy.[17] It nevertheless had serious consequences for the Axis war effort in the North African theatre. Enno von Rintelen, who was the military attaché in Rome, emphasises, from the German point of view, the strategic mistake of not taking Malta.[18]

Prelude[edit]

Topography[edit]

To enter Northern Greece, the German army had to cross the Rhodope Mountains, which offered few river valleys or mountain passes capable of accommodating the movement of large military units. Two invasion courses were located west of Kyustendil; another was along the Yugoslav-Bulgarian border, via the Struma river valley to the south. Greek border fortifications had been adapted for the terrain and a formidable defence system covered the few available roads. The Struma and Nestos rivers cut across the mountain range along the Greek-Bulgarian frontier and both of their valleys were protected by strong fortifications, as part of the larger Metaxas Line. This system of concrete pillboxes and field fortifications, constructed along the Bulgarian border in the late 1930s, was built on principles similar to those of the Maginot Line. Its strength resided mainly in the inaccessibility of the intermediate terrain leading up to the defence positions.[68][69]

German superiority in ground forces and equipment;[171]

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The bulk of the Greek army was occupied fighting the Italians on the Albanian front.

German air supremacy combined with the inability of the Greeks to provide the RAF with adequate airfields;

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Inadequacy of British expeditionary forces, since the force available was small;

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Poor condition of the Hellenic Army and its shortages of modern equipment;

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Inadequate port, road and railway facilities;

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Absence of a unified command and lack of cooperation between the British, Greek and Yugoslav forces;

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Turkey's strict neutrality; and

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The early collapse of Yugoslav resistance.

[170]

Pilavios, Konstantinos (director); Tomai, Fotini (text & presentation) (28 October 2010). (Motion Picture) (in Greek). Athens: Service of Diplomatic and Historical Archives of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Archived from the original on 31 October 2010. Retrieved 28 October 2010.

"The Heroes Fight like Greeks—Greece during the Second World War"

(5 December 1940). "President Roosevelt to King George of Greece". Peace and War: United States Foreign Policy, 1931–1941. Archived from the original on 14 August 2007. Retrieved 1 August 2007.

Roosevelt, Franklin D.

. Department of Veterans' Affairs. May 2001. Archived from the original on 20 May 2009. Retrieved 5 May 2009.

"A Great Risk in a Good Cause, Australians in Greece and Crete April – May 1941"

. The Avalon Project. Yale Law School. Archived from the original on 13 October 2007. Retrieved 12 September 2007.

"Judgement: The Aggression Against Yugoslavia and Greece"

. Australian War Memorial. Archived from the original on 6 June 2007. Retrieved 4 July 2007.

"To Greece"

on the Yad Vashem website

The Fate of the Jews in South-Eastern Europe During the First Years of the War