The Defence and Fall of Greece, 1940–41

The Defence and Fall of Greece, 1940–41 PDF Author: John Carr
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1473828309
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 297

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Book Description
This military history of the WWII Battle of Greece presents a vivid and detailed account with special focus on the Greek forces defending their homeland. On October 28th, 1940, the Greek Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas refused to accept an ultimatum from Italy’s Fascist leader Benito Mussolini. Immediately upon his refusal, Italian forces began the invasion of Greece via Albania. This aggression was prompted by Mussolini's desire for a quick victory to rival Hitler's rapid conquest of France and the Low Countries. But Mussolini had underestimated the skill and determination of the defenders. Within weeks, the Italian invaders were driven back over the border and Greek forces actually advanced deep into Albania. Eventually, Hitler was forced to intervene, sending German forces into Greece via Bulgaria on April 6th. The Greeks, assisted by British forces, were overwhelmed by the Germans and their blitzkrieg tactics. After Athens fell on April 27th, the British evacuated to Crete. But the following month, German airborn troops invaded and eventually took the strategically vital island. John Carr's masterful account of these desperate campaigns draws heavily on Greek sources to emphasize the oft-neglected experience of Greeks soldiers and their contribution to the fight against fascism.

The Defence and Fall of Greece, 1940–41

The Defence and Fall of Greece, 1940–41 PDF Author: John Carr
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1473828309
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 297

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Book Description
This military history of the WWII Battle of Greece presents a vivid and detailed account with special focus on the Greek forces defending their homeland. On October 28th, 1940, the Greek Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas refused to accept an ultimatum from Italy’s Fascist leader Benito Mussolini. Immediately upon his refusal, Italian forces began the invasion of Greece via Albania. This aggression was prompted by Mussolini's desire for a quick victory to rival Hitler's rapid conquest of France and the Low Countries. But Mussolini had underestimated the skill and determination of the defenders. Within weeks, the Italian invaders were driven back over the border and Greek forces actually advanced deep into Albania. Eventually, Hitler was forced to intervene, sending German forces into Greece via Bulgaria on April 6th. The Greeks, assisted by British forces, were overwhelmed by the Germans and their blitzkrieg tactics. After Athens fell on April 27th, the British evacuated to Crete. But the following month, German airborn troops invaded and eventually took the strategically vital island. John Carr's masterful account of these desperate campaigns draws heavily on Greek sources to emphasize the oft-neglected experience of Greeks soldiers and their contribution to the fight against fascism.

The Defence and Fall of Greece

The Defence and Fall of Greece PDF Author: John Carr
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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The Defence and Fall of Greece 1940-1941

The Defence and Fall of Greece 1940-1941 PDF Author: John Carr
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1781591814
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 280

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Book Description
On 28th October 1940, the Greek premier, Ioannis Metaxis, refused to accept a deliberately provocative ultimatum from Mussolini and Italian forces began the invasion of Greece via Albania. This aggression was prompted by Mussolini's desire for a quick victory to rival Hitler's rapid conquest of France and the Low Countries. On paper, Greek forces were poorly equipped and ill-prepared for the conflict but Mussolini had underestimated the skill and determination of the defenders. Within weeks the Italian invasion force was driven back over the border and Greek forces actually advanced deep into Albania.??A renewed Italian offensive in March 1941 was also given short shrift, prompting Hitler to intervene to save his ally. German forces invaded Greece via Bulgaria on 6 April. The Greeks, now assisted by British forces, resisted by land, sea and air but were overwhelmed by the superior German forces and their blitzkrieg tactics. Despite a dogged rearguard action by Anzac forces at the famous pass of Thermopyale, Athens fell on the 27th April and the British evacuated 50,000 troops to Crete. This island, whose airfields and naval bases Churchill considered vital to the defence of Egypt and the Suez Canal, was invaded by German airborne troops the following month and eventually captured after a bitter thirteen-day battle. The remaining British troops were evacuated and the fall of Greece completed. ??John Carr's masterful account of these desperate campaigns, while not disparaging the British and Commonwealth assistance, draws heavily on Greek sources to emphasize the oft-neglected experience of the Greeks themselves and their contribution to the fight against fascism.

The Battle of Greece, 1940-1941

The Battle of Greece, 1940-1941 PDF Author: Alexandros Papagos
Publisher: Athens : Scazikis "Alpha" Editions
ISBN:
Category : Greece
Languages : en
Pages : 454

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The Hollow Legions

The Hollow Legions PDF Author: Mario Cervi
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Greece, 1940-1941

Greece, 1940-1941 PDF Author: Charles Greig Cruickshank
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 216

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Book Description
"This volume looks at the role Greece played in the war during the years 1940-1941. Based primarily on original material, the text examines the efforts of Britain and Germany to win the support of the Balkan countries. Also studied are Hitler's campaign to preserve peace in the Balkans and Mussolini's blunder in attacking Greece in 1940"--Publisher.

The Balkans 1940–41 (1)

The Balkans 1940–41 (1) PDF Author: Pier Paolo Battistelli
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472842588
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 97

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Book Description
The first of two volumes on the Axis campaigns in the Balkans, exploring Mussolini's fateful decision to move against Greece in October 1940. The Greek President Metaxas rejected the Italian ultimatum with a famous 'Oxi' ('No'), and what followed was Italy's first debacle in World War II. In the wake of Italy's rapid annexation of Albania in April 1940, Mussolini's decision to attack Greece in October that year is widely acknowledged as a fatal mistake, leading to a domestic crisis and to the collapse of Italy's reputation as a military power (re-emphasized by the Italian defeat in North Africa in December 1940). The Italian assault on Greece came to a stalemate in less than a fortnight, and was followed a week later by a Greek counter-offensive that broke through the Italian defences before advancing into Albania, forcing the Italian forces to withdraw north before grinding to a half in January 1941 due to logistical issues. Eventually, the Italians took advantage of this brief hiatus to reorganize and prepare a counteroffensive, the failure of which marked the end of the first stage of the Axis Balkan campaign. The first of two volumes examining the Axis campaigns in the Balkans, this book offers a detailed overview of the Italian and Greek armies, their fighting power, and the terrain in which they fought. Complimented by rarely seen images and full colour illustrations, it shows how expectations of an easy Italian victory quickly turned into one of Mussolini's greatest blunders.

Inside Hitler's Greece

Inside Hitler's Greece PDF Author: Mark Mazower
Publisher: Yale University Press
ISBN: 9780300089233
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 474

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Book Description
Archival materials and first-hand accounts create an insightful study of the impact of the Nazi occupation of Greece on the lives, psyches, and values of ordinary people.

Armies of the Greek-Italian War 1940–41

Armies of the Greek-Italian War 1940–41 PDF Author: Phoebus Athanassiou
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472819195
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 50

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Book Description
In October 1940 an Italian army some 200,000 strong invaded Greece across its largely undefended border with Albania. Although supported by Great Britain, at first by sea and in the air and later by landing British and ANZAC troops from North Africa, Greece bore the main brunt of the six-month war. Outclassed in materiel and outnumbered, LtGen Papagos's Greek army was so successful against the Italians in north-west Greece that, by 22 November 1940, it was advancing into Italian-held Albania. This would eventually force Hitler to send in German reinforcements to support his beleaguered Italian allies, delaying his invasion of the Soviet Union. Complete with contemporary photographs and full-colour uniform plates, this fascinating study explores the history, organization, and appearance of the armies of this oft forgotten conflict.

Heroes Fight Like Greeks

Heroes Fight Like Greeks PDF Author: Ronald J. Drez
Publisher: Ghost Road Press
ISBN: 9780981652597
Category : Crete (Greece)
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
In this powerful and engaging historical narrative, decorated combat veteran and critically acclaimed author Ronald J. Drez unfolds the astounding tale of the arduous Greek Resistance against the Axis Powers in World War II. Along with Great Britain, Greece was the only country to stand against the Pact of Steel and the dreaded Nazi and Fascist regimes of Hitler and Mussolini. Although Greece technically fell to Germany in 1941, the indomitable spirit and courage of the Greek people never did. Indeed, the Nazis feared the fierce Greek Resistance fighters so much that Hitler was never able to seize control of any Greek land. In this meticulously researched volume, Drez has succeeded in shining a light into one of the most overlooked aspects in the great annals of World War II history. Packed with personal testimony and many rare photographs and illustrations, Heroes Fight Like Greeks is an indisputably important report on one of the most harrowing World War II stories. Foreword by Douglas Brinkley