German invasion of Greece

• 1. The Italian Ultimatum

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  In the early hours of the 28th of October 1940, Italian Ambassador Emanuele Grazzi presented Greek dictator Ioannis Metaxas with a three-hour ultimatum. The document demanded free passage for Italian troops to occupy unspecified strategic sites within Greek territory. Metaxas rejected the demand in a famous refusal that Greeks now commemorate as Ohi Day. Even before the deadline expired, Italian forces invaded Greece through Albania. The principal thrust targeted Epirus, where hostilities began at the Battle of Elaia, Kalamas. Italian troops failed to break the defensive line and were forced to halt their advance. Within three weeks, the Greek army launched a counter-offensive into Albanian territory. They captured significant cities including Korça and Sarandë. Neither changes in Italian command nor substantial reinforcements improved the position of the Italian army.

• 2. Hitler's Balkan Gamble

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  Adolf Hitler decided to intervene on the 4th of November 1940, four days after British troops arrived at Crete and Lemnos. His primary fear was that British aircraft based in Greece would bomb Romanian oil fields. These fields represented one of Germany's most important sources of oil during the war. As Hitler planned an invasion of the Soviet Union, securing Romanian oil became critical. German planners believed even small air raids could bring about vast fire and destruction. The massive Italian defeats in the Balkans had pushed Fascist Italy to the brink of collapse by late 1940. Hitler convinced himself that without his intervention, Fascist Italy would be knocked out of the war in 1941. If Italy fell, Britain could use the central Mediterranean again. This potential loss of Vichy control over its African empire worried Hitler deeply. He ordered his Army General Staff to attack Northern Greece from bases in Romania and Bulgaria.

• 3. The Metaxas Line Breach

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  German forces attacked the Metaxas Line starting on the 6th of April with one infantry unit and two divisions of the XVIII Mountain Corps. Strong resistance meant the first day yielded little progress. A German report described how the 5th Mountain Division was repulsed in the Rupel Pass despite strong air support. Two German battalions managed to get within 200 meters of Fort Rupel but were practically destroyed. Of the 24 forts making up the line, only two had fallen after being destroyed. Germans pummeled the forts with artillery and dive bombers while reinforcing the 125th Infantry Regiment. A high snow-covered mountainous passage considered inaccessible by Greeks was crossed by the 6th Mountain Division. This division reached the rail line to Thessaloniki on the evening of the 7th of April. The 5th Mountain Division crossed the Struma river under great hardship attacking along both banks. Most fortresses held until Germans occupied Thessaloniki on the 9th of April. Minor isolated fortresses continued fighting for days more before heavy artillery took them.

• 4. Retreat To Thermopylae

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  On the 13th of April, British commander Henry Maitland Wilson withdrew all forces to the Haliacmon river and then to the narrow pass at Thermopylae. The defences of Olympus and Servia passes consisted of the 4th New Zealand Brigade and 5th New Zealand Brigade. For three days, the advance of the 9th Panzer Division stalled in front of these positions. During the night of the 15th of April, a German motorcycle battalion attacked the ridge but was repulsed by the New Zealand 21st Battalion. Later that day, a German armoured regiment struck the coastal and inland flanks. The New Zealanders held despite being enveloped on both sides. On the 18th of April, the Battle of Tempe Gorge ended when German armoured infantry crossed the river on floats. The 6th Mountain Division worked their way around the New Zealand battalion which was subsequently dispersed. On the 19th of April, the first XVIII Mountain Corps troops entered Larissa and took possession of an airfield where British had left their supply dump intact.

• 5. The Evacuation Chaos

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  By the 30th of April, the evacuation of about 50,000 soldiers was completed though heavily contested by the German Luftwaffe. At least 26 troop-laden ships were sunk during the operation. Germans captured around 8,000 Empire and Yugoslav troops in Kalamata who had not been evacuated. The Dutch troop ship Slamat was part of a convoy evacuating about 3,000 British, Australian and New Zealand troops from Nafplio. As the convoy headed south in the Argolic Gulf on the 27th of April, it was attacked by nine Junkers Ju 87s. The attack damaged Slamat and set her on fire. Two destroyers rescued survivors but another Ju 87 attack sank them both. The total number of deaths from the three sinkings was almost 1,000. Only 27 crew from Wryneck survived along with 20 crew from Diamond. Eleven crew and eight evacuated soldiers from Slamat also survived.

• 6. Crete's Graveyard

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  Nazi forces attacked Crete on the 20th of May 1941 employing parachute forces in a massive airborne invasion. They targeted the three main airfields at Maleme, Rethymno and Heraklion. After seven days of fighting and tough resistance, Allied commanders decided the cause was hopeless. They ordered a withdrawal from Sfakia during the night of the 24th of May. King George II and his government were evacuated from Crete to Egypt. By the 1st of June 1941, the evacuation was complete and the island fell under German occupation. In light of heavy casualties suffered by the elite 7th Fliegerdivision, Hitler forbade further large-scale airborne operations. General Kurt Student would dub Crete the graveyard of the German paratroopers and a disastrous victory. The Greek Navy and Merchant Marine played an important part in evacuating Allied forces to Crete while suffering heavy losses as a result.

• 7. The Barbarossa Delay Debate

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  In 1942, members of British Parliament characterized the campaign in Greece as a political and sentimental decision. Anthony Eden argued that the Battle of Greece delayed Operation Barbarossa, the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union. Film-maker Leni Riefenstahl reported Hitler saying if Italians hadn't attacked Greece, Germany could have anticipated Russian cold by weeks. Field Marshal Alan Brooke seemed to concede that the Balkan Campaign delayed the offensive against the Soviet Union. However, Basil Liddell Hart and de Guingand pointed out that delaying the Axis invasion was not among UK strategic goals. In 1952, the Historical Branch of the UK Cabinet Office concluded the Balkan Campaign had no influence on launching Operation Barbarossa. Robert Kirchubel stated main causes for deferring Barbarossa were incomplete logistical arrangements and unusually wet winter rivers. Antony Beevor wrote in 2012 that most historians accept it made little difference to eventual outcome.