1941 Bail Out the Brits Again

How Germany Did It
© The Hamilton Spectator, Reproduced with the permission of the Hamilton Spectator.

The Invasion of the Balkans: Yugoslavia, Greece and Crete, 1940-1941

On October 28, 1940, the Italian Duce, Benito Mussolini, invaded northern Greece from Albania, which was at that time under Italian control. Although greatly outnumbered, within a month the Greek army had pushed the Italians back into Albania.

Adolf Hitler was unwilling to allow Italy, his major ally, to be humiliated and he prepared to attack Greece, Britain's last European ally. He had already got the cooperation of Hungary, Rumania and Bulgaria, which were to the north and east of Greece, but Yugoslavia lay between the German forces and Greece. A move against the government in the Yugoslav capital of Belgrade provided the excuse for the Germans to attack both Yugoslavia and Greece on April 6, 1941. Resistance in Yugoslavia quickly collapsed. The Greek armies, reinforced by British, Australian and New Zealand forces, did not last much longer. German soldiers raised the swastika flag over the famous Acropolis in Athens on April 27.

Greek, British and British Commonwealth soldiers who escaped from Greece moved to the nearby island of Crete, where they were joined by fresh New Zealand, British and Australian forces. Hitler's men hit them hard with a new form of German "blitzkrieg" warfare, the first major airborne ssault ever attempted. General Kurt Student's parachutists landed and surrounded the defenders on May 20. Although the Germans suffered many losses, they had driven Allies out by the end of the month.

Flight Lieutenant V.C. Woodward, a Canadian flying a Hawker Hurricane in No. 33 Squadron, RAF, shot down as many as ten Italian and German aircraft in the chaotic conditions of Greece and Crete. He finished the campaign fighting on the ground in Crete armed only with his pistol.

Related Newspaper Articles

English Articles

• Text of the Italian Note to Greece
  The New York Times, 29/10/1940
  
• 'We Fight A Common Foe' The King and Mr. Churchill Assure Leaders of Greece
  The Globe and Mail, 29/10/1940
  
• Report 175 000 British Troops Land in Greece
  The Globe and Mail, 12/03/1941
  
• Hitler's Order of the Day
  The New York Times, 07/04/1941
  
• Latest Moves in Balkans
  The Globe and Mail, 10/03/1941
  
• British, Allies, in Final Stand Before Boches
  The Hamilton Spectator, 28/04/1941
  
• How Germany Did It
  The Hamilton Spectator, 03/05/1941
  
• Nazis Try to Invade an Island
  The Globe and Mail, 21/05/1941
  
• 20 000 Air Troops Already Landed and More Pouring In
  The Globe and Mail, 24/05/1941
  
• Tear Nazi Flag Off Acropolis
  The Globe and Mail, 02/06/1941

French Articles

• À la porte des Balkans
  Le Devoir, 26/03/1940
  
• La bataille pour le pétrole
  Le Devoir, 11/05/1940
  
• L'invasion italienne en Grèce est commencée
  Le Devoir, 28/10/1940
  
• "Des trains transportent en Roumanie une armée allemande de 300,000 hommes"
  Le Devoir, 26/12/1940
  
• Dans les Balkans. 31 transports aériens allemands survolent Budapest et se dirigent vers la Roumanie et la Bulgarie
  Le Devoir, 11/02/1941
  
• L'attitude de la Yougoslavie décidera dans les Balkans. Il n'y a pas de Division canadienne à Salonique
  Le Devoir, 07/03/1941
  
• "Dans les Balkans. Des soldats britanniques arrivent à Salonique"
  Le Devoir, 20/03/1941
  
• Yougoslavie et Grèce. Grecs et Yougoslaves défendent leur territoire contre les divisions blindés du F�rher
  Le Devoir, 07/04/1941
  
• La Grande-Bretagne combattra aux côtés de la Yougoslavie jusqu'au triomphe de la justice. Une armée expéditionnnaire anglaise en Grèce
  Le Devoir, 07/04/1941
  
• À Ottawa. M. Hanson veut savoir si nos soldats iront dans le Proche-Orient
  Le Devoir, 08/04/1941
  
• Les troupes britanniques repoussent plusieurs attaques allemandes sur le flanc droit de la ligne de défense alliée en Grèce
  Le Devoir, 15/04/1941
  
• Grèce. Les troupes impériales ont occupé de nouvelles positions défensives au sud de Lamia;
  Le Devoir, 22/04/1941
  
• "Grèce. 45, 000 soldats britanniques ont été évacués de Grèce pour poursuivre la guerre sur d'autres théâtres"
  Le Devoir, 30/04/1941
  
• Grèce. L'évacuation des troupes impériales touche à sa fin
  Le Devoir, 01/05/1941
  
• Le compte rendu officiel de la campagne de Grèce
  Le Devoir, 03/05/1941
  
• La bataille de Crète. La flotte anglais fait échec aux tentatives allemandes d'amener des renforts par mer
  Le Devoir, 27/05/1941
  
• Déclaration de M. Churchill. Les pertes britanniques et allemandes en Crète
  Le Devoir, 10/06/1941
  
• L'ennemi en débandade dans les Balkans
  Le Devoir, 25/09/1944
  
• Vaste mouvement de retraite des Allemands
  Le Devoir, 25/10/1944
  

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Source: https://www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/exhibitions/newspapers/operations/greece_e.html