Balkans Campaign
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| Balkan Campaign | |||||||||||
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| Part of World War II | |||||||||||
 German paratroopers on Crete in 1941 |
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| Combatants | |||||||||||
| Germany Italy Bulgaria |
Albania Greece United Kingdom Australia New Zealand Yugoslavia |
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| Commanders | |||||||||||
| Maximilian von Weichs Giovanni Messe |
Alexander Papagos Henry Maitland Wilson |
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| Balkans Campaign |
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| Greco-Italian War - Yugoslavia - Greece - Crete |
The Balkans Campaign was the Italian and German invasion of Greece and Yugoslavia during World War II. It began with Italy's annexation of Albania in April 1939 and ended with the capture of Crete by German forces on June 1, 1941.
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[edit] Annexation of Albania
Albania's territorial integrity was confirmed at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, after U.S. President Woodrow Wilson dismissed a plan by the European powers to divide Albania amongst its neighbours. With the complete collapse of the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian empires after World War I, the Albanians looked to Italy for protection against enemies. After 1925, however, Benito Mussolini sought to dominate Albania. In 1928 Albania became a kingdom under Zog I, a clan chief and former prime minister. Zog failed to stave off Italian ascendancy in Albanian internal affairs. In April 1939 Mussolini's troops occupied Albania, overthrew Zog, and annexed the country.
[edit] Greco-Italian War
- Main article: Greco-Italian War
The Greco-Italian War, lasting from October 28, 1940 to April 30, 1941, was a part of World War II. The Italians invaded Greece, but were repulsed and driven back into Albania. Due to the success of the Greek counteroffensive, Germany was forced to intervene in April 1941, invading Yugoslavia and Greece.
[edit] Invasion of Yugoslavia
- Main article: Invasion of Yugoslavia
The Invasion of Yugoslavia (also known as Operation 25) began on April 6, 1941 and ended with the occupation and dismemberment of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, some parts of Croatia, and in Syrmia the puppet Independent State of Croatia was set up by Germany and Italy; in Serbia and Banat a puppet Serbian state was also set up by Germany; in Montenegro a puppet Independent State of Montenegro was set up by Italy.
[edit] Battle of Greece
- Main Article Battle of Greece
The German Invasion of Greece - code-named Unternehmen Marita (Operation Marita) by Germany - was the direct result and continuation of the Greco-Italian War. On April 6, 1941, the German Army invaded northern Greece, while other elements launched an attack against Yugoslavia. Breaking through the Yugoslav lines in southern Yugoslavia allowed Germany to send reinforcements to the battlefields of northern Greece. The German army out-flanked the Greek Metaxas Line fortifications and, despite the assistance provided by a British expeditionary corps, set out to capture the southern Greek cities. The Battle of Greece ended with the German entry into Athens and the capture of the Peloponnese, although about 40,000 Allied soldiers were evacuated to Crete, prompting one of the largest airborne attacks in the history of warfare: Operation Merkur, or the Battle of Crete.
[edit] Operation Merkur
- Main article: Battle of Crete
On May 20, 1941, German paratroopers were dropped over the airfields of northern Crete to occupy the island. They were met by heavy resistance from Allied forces and the local Cretan population but eventually the defenders were overwhelmed by the tactically superior German forces. However, the loss of so many paratroopers forced the Wehrmacht Supreme Command to reconsider its airborne warfare doctrine.
[edit] Aftermath
By June 1, 1941, all of Albania, Yugoslavia and Greece was under Axis control. Greece was placed under triple occupation, and Yugoslavia was dissolved and occupied. Germany had gained a significant strategic advantage: direct access to the Mediterranean. The Allied High Command feared that Crete and Greece would be used as "springboard" for an invasion of British Egypt or Cyprus. However, any plans for a large-scale invasion of Egypt and Palestine were abandoned when Operation Barbarossa commenced on June 22.
[edit] The Resistance
Throughout the remainder of the war, active Greek and Yugoslav resistance movements forced Germany and her allies to garrison hundreds of thousands of soldiers permanently in the two countries, denying them to the other fronts. Especially after 1943, the threat of an Allied invasion and the activities of the partisans necessitated large-scale counter-insurgency operations, involving several divisions, including elite Panzer and Gebirgsjäger units.
[edit] The Dodecanese campaign
A brief flare-up occurred after the Italian surrender in 1943, when a race developed between the British and the Germans to secure the Italian-occupied and strategically important Dodecanese Islands. The Germans quickly succeeded in disarming the Italian garrison of Rhodes, but the British were successful in occupying the islands of Samos, Leros and Kos. However, the Germans were quickly able to launch aerial and naval attacks, and, using special forces, to occupy the islands.
[edit] External links
- Summaries [1]
- Timeline of the Balkans Campaign
- World War Two Online Newspaper Archives - The Invasion of the Balkans: Yugoslavia, Greece and Crete, 1940-1941
- U.S. Army - The German campaigns in the Balkans
- World War II in the Balkans
| Campaigns and theatres of World War II |
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