Battle of Greece goes on until July

WI during the Greco-Italian War the Greeks do not pursue the Italians into Albania and focus on a purely defensive strategy in the mountains. By June 22 the Germans are still fighting the allies in the Balkans.

How does this affect Barbarossa and the war?
 
I believe Hitler said it himself.

If the Italians hadn't attacked Greece and needed our help, the war would have taken a different course. We could have anticipated the Russian cold by weeks and conquered Leningrad and Moscow. There would have been no Stalingrad

With Greece mainly on the defense, it would take a bigger push to take over the country, and even push back Barbarossa even more. It would also be even worse for italy, seeing as they needed German help to take the country in the first place.
 

Markus

Banned
I believe Hitler said it himself.



With Greece mainly on the defense, it would take a bigger push to take over the country, and even push back Barbarossa even more.



  • Some doubt Greece caused any delays at all. In his book about Crete A. Beevor says key Luftwaffe infrastructure wasn´t ready and thus Barbarossa would have been delayed anyway.
  • I doubt the Greeks could be a match for the Wehrmacht. Even if they have a better defensive position they and their Commonwealth Allies were seriously outgunned on the ground and to an even bigger extent in the air.
  • The only way for the Greeks to save their country is to avoid a german intervention. Pushing the Italians back across the border, digging in and declaring victory might enable them to get a peace deal that preserves the status quo.
 
Im not saying that Greece could have ever hoped to win, but if they could extend the time it took to take them over, it could only go be a plus for the allies. It takes men and resources to fight a war, and the longer both Italy and Germany have to fight Greece, the less they have to put to other areas, which in Germany's case, the attack aganist the Soviets.

Italy would not give up, or go for peace, and Germany would probably come in to save face.
 
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