The Defence and Fall of Greece, 1940-41

by John Car

Overview

Narrates the spirited but ultimately doomed Greek defense against invasion by Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany in 1940 and 41.

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 defense 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781526781826
Publisher:	Pen and Sword
Publication date:	08/05/2020
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

John Carr has enjoyed a career as a journalist, correspondent and broadcaster (The Times, Wall Street Journal Europe, Vatican Radio), mainly in the Mediterranean and particularly Greece, where he now resides.

Table of Contents

Preface vi

List of Plates x

Maps xi

Chapter 1 'Incoming Torpedo!': Greece on the Eve of War 1

Chapter 2 Over the Edge 16

Chapter 3 Punch and Counterpunch 37

Chapter 4 Mud, Blood and Cold Steel 61

Chapter 5 In the Teeth of the Blizzard 74

Chapter 6 Fiats and Gladiators 100

Chapter 7 Metaxas: 'Let us fall like men' 116

Chapter 8 Apocalypse on Hill 731: The Spring Offensive 139

Chapter 9 Falling Stars 163

Chapter 10 'This one's for the Elli!': The Naval War 173

Chapter 11 The Allies Arrive 191

Chapter 12 6 April 1941: The Saga of Fort Rupel 203

Chapter 13 Final Countdown 217

Chapter 14 Behind the Wire 237

Appendix 243

Notes 244

Sources 252

Index 254

Editorial Reviews

…the author has performed an admirable job of assimilating Greek and Italian sources […] and producing an even-handed, multifaceted account of events from 1940 through 1941.

Stone & Stone Second World War Books