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| - The Greco-Italian War, sometimes called the Italo-Greek War, was a conflict between Italy and Greece which lasted from 28 October 1940 to 23 April 1941. It marked the beginning of the Balkan campaign of World War II, and the initial Greek counter-offensive was the first successful land campaign against the Axis in the War. After the intervention of Nazi Germany on 6 April 1941, the conflict is known as the Battle of Greece. In Greece it is known as the "War of '40" and in Italy as the "War of Greece".
- The Greco-Italian War, sometimes called the Italo-Greek War, was a conflict between Italy and Greece, which lasted from 28 October 1940 to 23 April 1941. It marked the beginning of the Balkan campaign of World War II and the initial Greek counter-offensive was the first successful land campaign against the Axis in the war. The conflict known as the Battle of Greece began with the intervention of Nazi Germany on 6 April 1941. In Greece, it is known as the "War of '40" and in Italy as the "War of Greece".
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| abstract
| - The Greco-Italian War, sometimes called the Italo-Greek War, was a conflict between Italy and Greece, which lasted from 28 October 1940 to 23 April 1941. It marked the beginning of the Balkan campaign of World War II and the initial Greek counter-offensive was the first successful land campaign against the Axis in the war. The conflict known as the Battle of Greece began with the intervention of Nazi Germany on 6 April 1941. In Greece, it is known as the "War of '40" and in Italy as the "War of Greece". By the middle of 1940, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini had grown jealous of Adolf Hitler's conquests and wanted to prove to his Axis partner that he could lead Italy to similar military successes. Italy had occupied Albania in the spring of 1939 and several British strongholds in Africa, such as the Italian conquest of British Somaliland in the summer of 1940, but could not boast of victories on the same scale as Nazi Germany. At the same time, Mussolini wanted to reassert Italy's interests in the Balkans, feeling threatened by Germany, and secure bases from which British outposts in the eastern Mediterranean could be attacked. He was irritated that Romania, a Balkan state in the supposed Italian sphere of influence, had accepted German protection for its Ploiești oil fields in mid-October. On 28 October 1940, after Greek dictator Ioannis Metaxas rejected an Italian ultimatum demanding the occupation of Greek territory, Italian forces invaded Greece. The Greek army counterattacked and forced the Italians to retreat. By mid-December, the Greeks occupied nearly a quarter of Albania, tying down 530,000 Italian troops. In March 1941, a major Italian counterattack failed, humiliating Italian military pretensions. On 6 April 1941, coming to the aid of Italy, Nazi Germany invaded Greece through Bulgaria and Yugoslavia. On 12 April, the Greek army began retreating from Albania to avoid being cut off by the rapid German advance. On 20 April, the Greek army of Epirus surrendered to the Germans and on 23 April 1941, the armistice was repeated, including the Italians, effectively ending the Greco-Italian war. The Greek victory over the initial Italian offensive of October 1940 was the first Allied land victory of the Second World War and helped raise morale in occupied Europe. Some historians, such as John Keegan, argue that it may have influenced the course of the entire war by forcing Germany to postpone the invasion of the Soviet Union in order to assist Italy against Greece. The delay meant that the German forces invading the Soviet Union had not attained their objectives for that year before the harsh Russian winter, leading to their defeat at the Battle of Moscow.
- The Greco-Italian War, sometimes called the Italo-Greek War, was a conflict between Italy and Greece which lasted from 28 October 1940 to 23 April 1941. It marked the beginning of the Balkan campaign of World War II, and the initial Greek counter-offensive was the first successful land campaign against the Axis in the War. After the intervention of Nazi Germany on 6 April 1941, the conflict is known as the Battle of Greece. In Greece it is known as the "War of '40" and in Italy as the "War of Greece".
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