This update deals with the Greco-Italian War and the Invasion of Greece, which of course I neglected quite badly. Once again this is a rough outline, so feel free to add your two cents and / or berate me for missing important events.
Greco-Italian war
October
On the 28th October, Benito Mussolini orders the seven divisions under the command of Lieutenant General Sebastiano Prasca to begin the invasion of Greece. The 23rd and 51st Infantry Divisions and the 131st Armoured Division advance into Epirus. They are immediately confronted by the VIII Division of the Hellenic Army under the command of Major General Charalambos Katsimitros. Between the 28th and 31st of October the Italians advance eastwards in the face of heavy Greek resistance.
November
On the 1st of November the 51st Infantry Division manages to capture the town of Konitsa. Meanwhile the Italian 3rd Alpine Division presses south and manages to push the Hellenic XI Division under the command of Major General Christos Zigouris south along the feet of the Pindus Mountains.
On the 4th November, the 23rd Infantry Division manages to capture the village of Vovousa. The Italians however are unable to advance beyond this point and they fail to establish a bridgehead on the eastern bank of the River Aoos. Fierce fighting takes place between the 5th and 8th of November as both sides seek to gain an edge over their opponent, and on the 9th of November Lieutenant General Prasca is forced to concede that his forces are losing the battle. He orders a withdrawal towards the Albanian border.
On the 13th December, Major General Katsimitros of the Hellenic VIII Division launches an assault against the hastily erected Italian positions around Mount Smolikas. The XIII Division under Major General Sotirios Moutoussis and the III Division under Lieutenant General Georgios Bakos are also committed to the battle, and by the early afternoon the Italians have been ejected from their positions upon Mount Smolikas. An hour later the III and VIII divisions also drive the Italian 23rd Infantry Division from Konitsa. This series of engagements on the 13th November later becomes known as the Battle of Pindus.
Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas and the General Staff are in agreement that the three divisions they currently have stationed in Epirus should go on the defensive and the Military Governor of Epirus, General Theodoros Panpagalos, begins establishing a line of defence running along the River Aoos and the Pindus Mountains.
Having being repulsed for Epirus and now fearing a Greek counterattack, Lieutenant General Prasca orders the 19th, 29th and 49th Infantry divisions to go on the offensive in Macedonia. The Italian formations here begin their attack on the 16th November, attacking the army of Western Macedonia under the command of Lieutenant General Ioannis Pitsikas.
By the 18th November the Italian forces have managed to capture Pteria, but this advance proves unexpectedly costly and also stretches the poorly organised supply lines for these three divisions. Brigadier General Ugo Adami manages to drive his 49th Infantry Division as far east as the banks of the River Aliakmonas before the Hellenic XI Division under Major General Georgios Kotsalos checks his advance. Once again the tide turns against the Italians and the Hellenic III Corps under Lieutenant General Georgios Tsolakoglou begins a counterattack on the 22nd November. The three Italian divisions are driven back and the front line stabilises around the villages of Komninades and Dipotamia.
Lieutenant General Prasca orders his forces to halt any further offensive actions against the Greeks until reinforcements can be sent from Italy. Benito Mussolini is enraged at the failure of the Regio Esercito, and he swiftly concludes that the failure of the Italian Army to subdue the Hellenic Army is down to the failures of Lieutenant General Prasca. He is removed from his command and replaced by General Ubaldo Soddu, whose first act is to request reinforcements before he recommences hostilities against the Hellenic Army. Mussolini reluctantly agrees to realise an additional ten divisions to reinforce General Soddu.
For the next month, the Italian and Greek forces commit themselves to little more than skirmishing actions, as the Greeks lack the necessary manpower and weapons to go on the offensive against the enemies. The Italians for their part are left demoralised after the humiliating withdrawals from Epirus and Macedonia, and are now struggling to rebuild a workable logistical system to supply the additional divisions being sent to the front.
By the 28th November the 133rd Armoured Division, the 10th, 16th and 101st Motorised Divisions, the 4th and 5th Apline Divisions and the 3rd, 15th, 30th and 33rd Infantry Divisions have begun the journey towards Albania to strengthen the Italian positions. The first mechanised units begin arriving on the 1st December, but it takes far longer than anticipated to get these Italian units into position and to ensure they are sufficently supplied.
In addition to the forces already in Albania, the 1st and 3rd Celere Division under the command of General Giovanni Messe are also dispatched to take part in the offensive against the Hellenic Army.
December
With the military situation in Greece showing no signs of improvement, Mussolini is forced to seek aid in wrapping up the war in Greece. He orders Edoardo Alfieri, the Italian envoy in Berlin, to request German assistance from Adolph Hitler on the 4th December.
The German Furher is incensed by the military incompetence of his ally, but concedes that the British Empire should not be allowed to open up a Balkans front against their nations. OKW are ordered to begin organising the necessary forces to ensure a swift victory against the Greeks, but Hitler is extremely displeased with his general staff when they warn him that defeating the Hellenic army might force them to delay other upcoming operations.
January
General Soddu overrides his divisional commanders and against their advice, orders an assault in both Epirus and Macedonia during the middle of Winter. The 133rd Armoured Division, the 101st Motorised Division and the 3rd, 19th, 30th and 49th Infantry Divisions launch a massive thrust aimed at capturing Kozani and cutting off the three Hellenic divisions to the north of their starting positions. By the 5th January they manage to reach Nestorio and secure a crossing over the River Aliakmonas to the south, and in the east they capture the small town of Maniakoi on the 7th January. The conditions that the Regio Esercito are conducting their campaign in are abysmal, and it is a testament to the determination of their soldiers that the advance presses this far.
The 10th and 16th Motorised Divisions lead the offensive in Epirus on the 6th January. The advance stalls the same day however as the Greek divisions defending the Sarantaporos and Voidomatis Rivers prevent the Regio Esercito from encircling Konitsa, and force the Italian infantry to come head on against the Hellenic II Corps under Lieutenant-General Dimitrios Papadopoulos. The result is that the Italians are able to capture the villages of Exochi, Kavasila and Melissopetra, but they never seriously threaten to retake the town of Konitsa.
The 4th and 5th Apline Divisions launch a second assault in Epirus on the 9th January with support from the 131st Armoured Division, and manage to press southeast to the village of Aristi by the 14th January. However their attempt to outflank the Hellenic army by passing through the Vikos Ravine ends in a spectacularly bloody failure as the lone Hellenic II Division under Lieutenant General Georgios Lavdas is able to bottle them up at the northern mouth of the pass and punish the advancing Italian divisions mercilessly.
The IV and V Corps, under the command of Major General Chritos Zoiopoulos and Lieutenant General Panagiotis Demestihas respectively, begin a counterattack in Macedonia on the 17th January and fierce fighting takes place until the 25th January. During this time Melanthi and Niki are retaken, and on the 26th January the Italian position around Nestorio becomes untenable and they are abandoned in favour of a new defensive line at Chionato.
The I Corps under Lieutenant General Giorgios Kosmas also counterattack on the 19th January and manage to recapture Maniakoi on the 22nd January, and Kalochori as well on the 26th January. The Italian 1st and 3rd Celere Divisions launch a counterattack of their own however, between the 28th and 30th January, and these highly mobile divisions under General Messe are able to retake Kalochori and hold it against several assaults by the Hellenic XII Division under Major General Napoleon Batas. Sporadic fighting continues to take place between the two armies throughout the final days of January and into early February.
A heavy blow to Greek morale comes on the 29th January, when Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas is reported as dead.
Field Marshal Aleksandros Papagos, the Commander in Chief of the Hellenic Army, uses the temporary break in hostilities to reform the Hellenic Army into new formations and to decide upon a strategy for the defence of his homeland. After consultations with the general Staff and then with Prime Minister, he decides to leave five divisions facing the Italians in Epirus and to establish a forward line of defence in Macedonia with nine divisions. The six remaining divisions take begin establishing a secondary line of defence between Lake Aliakmonas and the Olympos Mountains.
A series of small engagements take place along the length of the Greek front lines as probing Italian units try to push forwards and are repulsed by the Hellenic army. Christmas comes and passes, and the start of the New Year also heralds the start of the Italian Winter Offensive.
February
The Winter Offensive begun by General Ubaldo Soddu has been an unmitigated disaster for the Italian army, who have failed to make any major gains and have suffered around 47’000 casualties in comparison to Greek losses of 26’000 men. By the 5th of February the divisions of the Regio Esercito have become drawn into two separate quagmires that have drained them of their manpower, many of their tanks and most crucially, their supplies of ammunition and fuel.
Benito Mussolini once again replaces the commanding officer in the Greek theatre, sacking General Soddu and replacing him with the more capable General Ugo Cavallero, who arrives on the 6th of February. The situation that the new commander finds himself in is grim. The morale of his soldiers is deteriorating rapidly and his units have also suffered heavy losses that are being replaced at a trickle. Evening worse news is to come however on his fifth day in command.
He is informed on the 10th February about the surrender of the 10th Army in Libya, and that as a result the Greek front is now a secondary priority. The logistical problems for the Italians have just become more formidable, though General Cavallero will at least prove to be sufficiently competent commander in regard to his armies’ logistics.
March
General Cavallero launches a third Italian offensive on the 4th March, having remained conscious of the fact that his troops must be seen to have played a role in the defeat of Greece before the German forces are in position to participate in a Balkans campaign.
The Italian forces in Macedonia begin a series of probing attacks against the Hellenic divisions deployed around the town of Kastoria on the 4th March, and several Hellenic Divisions are drawn in to prevent an Italian breakthrough. General Cavallero then launches his real assault with the 1st and 3rd Celere divisions and the 101st Motorised Division, and these troops seize control of Kotas and Vatochori on the 6th March before crossing the River Aliakmonas and capturing Kranionas on the 9th March. Three Greek Divisions launch a counterattack against the Italian forces, but General Messe is able to repulse their attacks and retain control of his positions.
The 4th and 5th Alpine Divisions renew their offensive by crossing the River Voidomatis further upstream and launching attacks upon the new positions of the Greek II Division along the Tymfi Mountains. The fighting here is fought at first in the dense forests surrounding the mountain range and then slowly uphill. The engagements here are conducted with a level of savagery that will not be matched until the the bloodiest phases of the Siege of Leningrad. By the 11th March Mount Tsouka Rossa is taken by the Italians.
The Celere divisions then follow up with a successful attack on Mount Vitsi between the 12th and 15th March, and finally they occupy the village of Vyssinia on the 17th March. Ferocious and equally costly Greek counterattacks stabilise the front here though.
The Italian units along the southern length of the Macedonian front now launch their own assault, and they are able to make a considerable advance by the standards of the campaign so far. The 3rd and 29th Divisions penetrate the Greek defences around Pentavryso after four days of bitter fighting between the 18th and 21st of March, and other Italian divisions pour through the gap they have torn in the Hellenic lines. When the advance is finally halted on the 28th of March, the Italians hold a defensive line running from Argos Orestiko to Nostimo and from there to Damaskinia. A temporary though extremely serious shortage of ammunition amongst the Hellenic army is the primary factor in the success of the Italian offensives in Epirus and Macedonia.
On the 30th March, the last remnants of the Greek II Division are driven from Mount Gamila and the shattered remnants of the 4th and 5th Alpine divisions have established new positions along the eastern base of the Mountain. Neither Division will be combat ready for the next eight months.
The success result in a Pyrrhic victory for the Italians however, who lose nearly 35’000 men in the fighting that takes place throughout March and fail to strike a significant blow against the Hellenic army. The Greeks have taken 22’000 men as casualties, but by grudgingly withdrawing their forces when the positions there are holding have become indefensible and conserving their ammunition for the artillery, they have managed to survive as an army.
Field Marshal Aleksandros Papagos realises that in the event of a German attack, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace will be completely indefensible. He does not have the spare manpower to defend the Metaxas Line against a dedicated assault and if he did have enough divisions then they would likely become cut off and surrounded by the German advance. It was also apparent that the Kingdom of Yugoslavia could delay a German offensive, but would be unable to halt it. Therefore the Heer would also be advancing into Western Macedonia, and here he could at least fight the Germans on his terms.
He therefore orders four divisions to take up forward positions along the most likely German routes of advance: the Axios and Monastir Valleys. Another three divisions including the 20th Motorised Division will remain with him at secondary positions around Edessa. The two remaining divisions are redeployed around the Olympos Mountains, bringing the total strength of the Hellenic army there to eight divisions.
Finally General Theodoros Panpagalos, the Military Governor of Epirus, is tasked with immediately organising a withdrawal of the five divisions stationed there towards the Valtou Mountains in Central Greece, where they are to establish their new defensive line beside the Amvrakikos Gulf.
Mussolini meanwhile praises General Cavallero for having provided him with a victory, though the Italian commander is far from delighted with the results of his offensive. He realises that ultimately it will be the Heer that will overrun Greece, and not the Regio Esercito.
The Battle of Greece
April
The German 12th Army, commanded by Field Marshal Siegmund Wilhelm List, simultaneously commences the invasion of Yugoslavia and Greece on the 6th April. The Luftwaffe commit themselves fully to supporting their ground fprces, and the RAF forces in Greece are sucked into this maelstrom.
Between the 6th and 20th of April the RAF lose 137 fighters in the skies over Greece, compared to German losses of one 129 fighters and 41 bombers. It is clear within days however that, unlike Libya, it will be the Luftwaffe who gains air supremacy.
The German 2nd Panzer Division launches an attack against the Greek XI Division under Major General Kotsalos southwest of the Lake Dorian on the 8th April, and manages to drive the Division southwest to Kilkis by the following day. The XVI Division under Major General Agamemnon Metaxas moves up to support them, but both divisions are driven back to Thessaloniki by the 12th April. By this time, the German 18th and 30th Corps have overrun all of Thrace and Eastern Macedonia.
The German 40th Panzer Corps begins its drive through the Monastir Valley and launches simultaneous assaults on the Greeks positions around Vevi and the Klidi Pass on the 10th April. The Hellenic army manages to hold out until the 12th April, until German reinforcements arrive. Amindaion then falls on the 13th April and the remnants of the V and XIV Divisions surrender at Ptolemais on the following day.
General Cavallero launches supporting assaults with his Italian divisions on the 12th April, only to find that the Greek units facing him have withdrawn further south. The difficulties with supplying his forces mean that the 101st Motorised Division, the spearhead of the Italian forces, does not reach Ioannina until the 17th.
Realising that his left flank is in danger of collapsing, Field Marshal Papagos orders the I and XV infantry divisions and the 20th Motorised Division to move to cover this vulnerable gap. The three divisions take up positions along the River Sarantoporus in Macedonia, and await the advance of their enemy here. The 40th Panzer Corps presses through the city of Kozani n the 14th April, but the German tanks are halted by the Hellenic army on the banks of the River Sarantoporus. It takes four days of confused and bitterly fought engagements to pierce the Greek lines, and the battered Greek divisions withdraw to Servia, which does not fall until the 21st April. All three of the Greek divisional commanders are killed in the fighting and the remaining regiments withdraw the command of no one less than the Deputy Minister for War, General Nikolaos Papademas
Thessaloniki falls to the Heer on the 15th April, and the Greek 19th Motorised Division begins a long and bloody retreat south. The 2nd Panzer Division then links up with the German 18th and 30th Corps at the port-city before driving south and capturing Katerini on the 20th April after two days of heavy fighting. The two German Corps then advance headlong into the Greek positions around the Olympos Mountains, and here their advance is stalled once again. It takes seven days of constant battle between the 21st and 27th of April to dislodge the defenders from their positions.
General Cavallero advance units manage to take control of the city of Arta in Epirus with minimal losses by the 26th April, though by the 28th April two Greek Divisions have escaped across the Amvrakikos Gulf by crossing the
Aktio Bridge. The Greek destroy the crossing point before moving southeast to link up with the three divisions under the command of Major General Katsimitros at Mesolongi. From here they will cross the Gulf of Corinth to the Peloponnese, where they will either evacuate or reinforce the shattered divisions under the command of Field Marshal Papagos.
May
May begins as a dark month for the Greeks, with not only the loss of much of the mainland to the Greek and Italian invaders, but the news that another of their Prime Ministers is dead. Alexandros Korizis is killed during a Luftwaffe attack near Athens, and he is succeeded by Emmanouil Tsouderos, a former Minister of Finance. The New Prime Minister grudgingly concedes that nothing can be done to hold the mainland, and makes a request to the British Government to aid the remaining soldiers of the Hellenic army withdraw from Greece to Crete.
In this he is lucky, for the British recently dispatched a large merchantman fleet to Egypt to deliver vitally needed supplies to the British forces in Egypt. Clement Attlee wastes no time in ordering AMFNA to participate in the evacuation of Greece, and the first British vessel departs for the Port of Rafina on the 2nd May. By the end of the month six merchantmen have been lost en route to Greek ports due to the depredations of Italian submarines and the Luftwaffe.
The remaining sixty-eight RAF fighters are rapidly withdrawn from the Greek mainland and based on Crete, where they can provide protection for the evacuation efforts.
The Italian divisions under General Cavallero finally reach the front lines, though Field Marshal Wilhelm List does not figure them into the forces he is amassing to finally punch through the final Greek defensive line.
The German 50th infantry Corps begins probing the Greek defences around Mount Parnassos on the 3rd May, and the Hellenic army is so crippled by lack of ammunition and the heavy losses they have suffered that they are barely capable of offering any further resistance to the Heer.
Prime Minister Emmanouil Tsouderos orders the 78’000 men in the Peloponnese under Major General Katsimitros to move south to Kalamata for evacuation. He also withdraws the broken elements of another two divisions to the Port-city of Rufina for transportation to Crete. However, the 14th, 30th, 40th and 50th German Corps begin their offensive two days later on the 6th May.
The German offensive is checked until the morning of the 9th May, when the 16th Panzer Division breaks through the Greek defences between Mount Parnassos and Mount Kallidromo. Emmanouil Tsouderos decides to flee the country on the same day and is flown to Crete to begin preparations for the defence of Crete. The Hellenic army finally collapses, and despite a bloody struggle Athens falls to the Axis on the 12th May. The remnants of seven Greek divisions, numbering just under 58’000 men, surrender to the Heer. Two other divisions attempt to reach the southern coast for evacuation, but the major ports of Rafti and Rafina fall to the Germans on the 13th May and the 9th Panzer Division cuts them off from the Peloponnese. Lieutenant General Panaghiotis Spiliotopoulos and his 17’000 men surrender the following day.
The 14th and 50th Corps drive southwest and Corinth also falls on the 14th May, and the Germans press onwards towards Kalamata. The city is besieged on the 15th and capitulates on the 19th May, but only after Major General Katsimitros and over 43’000 of his men have been safely removed to Crete. Roughly another 13’000 men are removed from the ports near Athens.
With the fall of the Olympos Mountains, a general retreat is ordered. Field Marshal Papagos plans to form a final defensive line running from to Amfissa and the Itea Gulf, past Mount Parnassos and Mount Kallidromo, to Thermopyles.
The cost has been staggering for both armies during one single month of fighting. The Hellenic army has suffered 90’000 losses, either as casualties or as prisoners of war. The Axis has lost somewhere in the region of 57’000 dead and wounded.
Greco-Italian war
October
On the 28th October, Benito Mussolini orders the seven divisions under the command of Lieutenant General Sebastiano Prasca to begin the invasion of Greece. The 23rd and 51st Infantry Divisions and the 131st Armoured Division advance into Epirus. They are immediately confronted by the VIII Division of the Hellenic Army under the command of Major General Charalambos Katsimitros. Between the 28th and 31st of October the Italians advance eastwards in the face of heavy Greek resistance.
November
On the 1st of November the 51st Infantry Division manages to capture the town of Konitsa. Meanwhile the Italian 3rd Alpine Division presses south and manages to push the Hellenic XI Division under the command of Major General Christos Zigouris south along the feet of the Pindus Mountains.
On the 4th November, the 23rd Infantry Division manages to capture the village of Vovousa. The Italians however are unable to advance beyond this point and they fail to establish a bridgehead on the eastern bank of the River Aoos. Fierce fighting takes place between the 5th and 8th of November as both sides seek to gain an edge over their opponent, and on the 9th of November Lieutenant General Prasca is forced to concede that his forces are losing the battle. He orders a withdrawal towards the Albanian border.
On the 13th December, Major General Katsimitros of the Hellenic VIII Division launches an assault against the hastily erected Italian positions around Mount Smolikas. The XIII Division under Major General Sotirios Moutoussis and the III Division under Lieutenant General Georgios Bakos are also committed to the battle, and by the early afternoon the Italians have been ejected from their positions upon Mount Smolikas. An hour later the III and VIII divisions also drive the Italian 23rd Infantry Division from Konitsa. This series of engagements on the 13th November later becomes known as the Battle of Pindus.
Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas and the General Staff are in agreement that the three divisions they currently have stationed in Epirus should go on the defensive and the Military Governor of Epirus, General Theodoros Panpagalos, begins establishing a line of defence running along the River Aoos and the Pindus Mountains.
Having being repulsed for Epirus and now fearing a Greek counterattack, Lieutenant General Prasca orders the 19th, 29th and 49th Infantry divisions to go on the offensive in Macedonia. The Italian formations here begin their attack on the 16th November, attacking the army of Western Macedonia under the command of Lieutenant General Ioannis Pitsikas.
By the 18th November the Italian forces have managed to capture Pteria, but this advance proves unexpectedly costly and also stretches the poorly organised supply lines for these three divisions. Brigadier General Ugo Adami manages to drive his 49th Infantry Division as far east as the banks of the River Aliakmonas before the Hellenic XI Division under Major General Georgios Kotsalos checks his advance. Once again the tide turns against the Italians and the Hellenic III Corps under Lieutenant General Georgios Tsolakoglou begins a counterattack on the 22nd November. The three Italian divisions are driven back and the front line stabilises around the villages of Komninades and Dipotamia.
Lieutenant General Prasca orders his forces to halt any further offensive actions against the Greeks until reinforcements can be sent from Italy. Benito Mussolini is enraged at the failure of the Regio Esercito, and he swiftly concludes that the failure of the Italian Army to subdue the Hellenic Army is down to the failures of Lieutenant General Prasca. He is removed from his command and replaced by General Ubaldo Soddu, whose first act is to request reinforcements before he recommences hostilities against the Hellenic Army. Mussolini reluctantly agrees to realise an additional ten divisions to reinforce General Soddu.
For the next month, the Italian and Greek forces commit themselves to little more than skirmishing actions, as the Greeks lack the necessary manpower and weapons to go on the offensive against the enemies. The Italians for their part are left demoralised after the humiliating withdrawals from Epirus and Macedonia, and are now struggling to rebuild a workable logistical system to supply the additional divisions being sent to the front.
By the 28th November the 133rd Armoured Division, the 10th, 16th and 101st Motorised Divisions, the 4th and 5th Apline Divisions and the 3rd, 15th, 30th and 33rd Infantry Divisions have begun the journey towards Albania to strengthen the Italian positions. The first mechanised units begin arriving on the 1st December, but it takes far longer than anticipated to get these Italian units into position and to ensure they are sufficently supplied.
In addition to the forces already in Albania, the 1st and 3rd Celere Division under the command of General Giovanni Messe are also dispatched to take part in the offensive against the Hellenic Army.
December
With the military situation in Greece showing no signs of improvement, Mussolini is forced to seek aid in wrapping up the war in Greece. He orders Edoardo Alfieri, the Italian envoy in Berlin, to request German assistance from Adolph Hitler on the 4th December.
The German Furher is incensed by the military incompetence of his ally, but concedes that the British Empire should not be allowed to open up a Balkans front against their nations. OKW are ordered to begin organising the necessary forces to ensure a swift victory against the Greeks, but Hitler is extremely displeased with his general staff when they warn him that defeating the Hellenic army might force them to delay other upcoming operations.
January
General Soddu overrides his divisional commanders and against their advice, orders an assault in both Epirus and Macedonia during the middle of Winter. The 133rd Armoured Division, the 101st Motorised Division and the 3rd, 19th, 30th and 49th Infantry Divisions launch a massive thrust aimed at capturing Kozani and cutting off the three Hellenic divisions to the north of their starting positions. By the 5th January they manage to reach Nestorio and secure a crossing over the River Aliakmonas to the south, and in the east they capture the small town of Maniakoi on the 7th January. The conditions that the Regio Esercito are conducting their campaign in are abysmal, and it is a testament to the determination of their soldiers that the advance presses this far.
The 10th and 16th Motorised Divisions lead the offensive in Epirus on the 6th January. The advance stalls the same day however as the Greek divisions defending the Sarantaporos and Voidomatis Rivers prevent the Regio Esercito from encircling Konitsa, and force the Italian infantry to come head on against the Hellenic II Corps under Lieutenant-General Dimitrios Papadopoulos. The result is that the Italians are able to capture the villages of Exochi, Kavasila and Melissopetra, but they never seriously threaten to retake the town of Konitsa.
The 4th and 5th Apline Divisions launch a second assault in Epirus on the 9th January with support from the 131st Armoured Division, and manage to press southeast to the village of Aristi by the 14th January. However their attempt to outflank the Hellenic army by passing through the Vikos Ravine ends in a spectacularly bloody failure as the lone Hellenic II Division under Lieutenant General Georgios Lavdas is able to bottle them up at the northern mouth of the pass and punish the advancing Italian divisions mercilessly.
The IV and V Corps, under the command of Major General Chritos Zoiopoulos and Lieutenant General Panagiotis Demestihas respectively, begin a counterattack in Macedonia on the 17th January and fierce fighting takes place until the 25th January. During this time Melanthi and Niki are retaken, and on the 26th January the Italian position around Nestorio becomes untenable and they are abandoned in favour of a new defensive line at Chionato.
The I Corps under Lieutenant General Giorgios Kosmas also counterattack on the 19th January and manage to recapture Maniakoi on the 22nd January, and Kalochori as well on the 26th January. The Italian 1st and 3rd Celere Divisions launch a counterattack of their own however, between the 28th and 30th January, and these highly mobile divisions under General Messe are able to retake Kalochori and hold it against several assaults by the Hellenic XII Division under Major General Napoleon Batas. Sporadic fighting continues to take place between the two armies throughout the final days of January and into early February.
A heavy blow to Greek morale comes on the 29th January, when Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas is reported as dead.
Field Marshal Aleksandros Papagos, the Commander in Chief of the Hellenic Army, uses the temporary break in hostilities to reform the Hellenic Army into new formations and to decide upon a strategy for the defence of his homeland. After consultations with the general Staff and then with Prime Minister, he decides to leave five divisions facing the Italians in Epirus and to establish a forward line of defence in Macedonia with nine divisions. The six remaining divisions take begin establishing a secondary line of defence between Lake Aliakmonas and the Olympos Mountains.
A series of small engagements take place along the length of the Greek front lines as probing Italian units try to push forwards and are repulsed by the Hellenic army. Christmas comes and passes, and the start of the New Year also heralds the start of the Italian Winter Offensive.
February
The Winter Offensive begun by General Ubaldo Soddu has been an unmitigated disaster for the Italian army, who have failed to make any major gains and have suffered around 47’000 casualties in comparison to Greek losses of 26’000 men. By the 5th of February the divisions of the Regio Esercito have become drawn into two separate quagmires that have drained them of their manpower, many of their tanks and most crucially, their supplies of ammunition and fuel.
Benito Mussolini once again replaces the commanding officer in the Greek theatre, sacking General Soddu and replacing him with the more capable General Ugo Cavallero, who arrives on the 6th of February. The situation that the new commander finds himself in is grim. The morale of his soldiers is deteriorating rapidly and his units have also suffered heavy losses that are being replaced at a trickle. Evening worse news is to come however on his fifth day in command.
He is informed on the 10th February about the surrender of the 10th Army in Libya, and that as a result the Greek front is now a secondary priority. The logistical problems for the Italians have just become more formidable, though General Cavallero will at least prove to be sufficiently competent commander in regard to his armies’ logistics.
March
General Cavallero launches a third Italian offensive on the 4th March, having remained conscious of the fact that his troops must be seen to have played a role in the defeat of Greece before the German forces are in position to participate in a Balkans campaign.
The Italian forces in Macedonia begin a series of probing attacks against the Hellenic divisions deployed around the town of Kastoria on the 4th March, and several Hellenic Divisions are drawn in to prevent an Italian breakthrough. General Cavallero then launches his real assault with the 1st and 3rd Celere divisions and the 101st Motorised Division, and these troops seize control of Kotas and Vatochori on the 6th March before crossing the River Aliakmonas and capturing Kranionas on the 9th March. Three Greek Divisions launch a counterattack against the Italian forces, but General Messe is able to repulse their attacks and retain control of his positions.
The 4th and 5th Alpine Divisions renew their offensive by crossing the River Voidomatis further upstream and launching attacks upon the new positions of the Greek II Division along the Tymfi Mountains. The fighting here is fought at first in the dense forests surrounding the mountain range and then slowly uphill. The engagements here are conducted with a level of savagery that will not be matched until the the bloodiest phases of the Siege of Leningrad. By the 11th March Mount Tsouka Rossa is taken by the Italians.
The Celere divisions then follow up with a successful attack on Mount Vitsi between the 12th and 15th March, and finally they occupy the village of Vyssinia on the 17th March. Ferocious and equally costly Greek counterattacks stabilise the front here though.
The Italian units along the southern length of the Macedonian front now launch their own assault, and they are able to make a considerable advance by the standards of the campaign so far. The 3rd and 29th Divisions penetrate the Greek defences around Pentavryso after four days of bitter fighting between the 18th and 21st of March, and other Italian divisions pour through the gap they have torn in the Hellenic lines. When the advance is finally halted on the 28th of March, the Italians hold a defensive line running from Argos Orestiko to Nostimo and from there to Damaskinia. A temporary though extremely serious shortage of ammunition amongst the Hellenic army is the primary factor in the success of the Italian offensives in Epirus and Macedonia.
On the 30th March, the last remnants of the Greek II Division are driven from Mount Gamila and the shattered remnants of the 4th and 5th Alpine divisions have established new positions along the eastern base of the Mountain. Neither Division will be combat ready for the next eight months.
The success result in a Pyrrhic victory for the Italians however, who lose nearly 35’000 men in the fighting that takes place throughout March and fail to strike a significant blow against the Hellenic army. The Greeks have taken 22’000 men as casualties, but by grudgingly withdrawing their forces when the positions there are holding have become indefensible and conserving their ammunition for the artillery, they have managed to survive as an army.
Field Marshal Aleksandros Papagos realises that in the event of a German attack, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace will be completely indefensible. He does not have the spare manpower to defend the Metaxas Line against a dedicated assault and if he did have enough divisions then they would likely become cut off and surrounded by the German advance. It was also apparent that the Kingdom of Yugoslavia could delay a German offensive, but would be unable to halt it. Therefore the Heer would also be advancing into Western Macedonia, and here he could at least fight the Germans on his terms.
He therefore orders four divisions to take up forward positions along the most likely German routes of advance: the Axios and Monastir Valleys. Another three divisions including the 20th Motorised Division will remain with him at secondary positions around Edessa. The two remaining divisions are redeployed around the Olympos Mountains, bringing the total strength of the Hellenic army there to eight divisions.
Finally General Theodoros Panpagalos, the Military Governor of Epirus, is tasked with immediately organising a withdrawal of the five divisions stationed there towards the Valtou Mountains in Central Greece, where they are to establish their new defensive line beside the Amvrakikos Gulf.
Mussolini meanwhile praises General Cavallero for having provided him with a victory, though the Italian commander is far from delighted with the results of his offensive. He realises that ultimately it will be the Heer that will overrun Greece, and not the Regio Esercito.
The Battle of Greece
April
The German 12th Army, commanded by Field Marshal Siegmund Wilhelm List, simultaneously commences the invasion of Yugoslavia and Greece on the 6th April. The Luftwaffe commit themselves fully to supporting their ground fprces, and the RAF forces in Greece are sucked into this maelstrom.
Between the 6th and 20th of April the RAF lose 137 fighters in the skies over Greece, compared to German losses of one 129 fighters and 41 bombers. It is clear within days however that, unlike Libya, it will be the Luftwaffe who gains air supremacy.
The German 2nd Panzer Division launches an attack against the Greek XI Division under Major General Kotsalos southwest of the Lake Dorian on the 8th April, and manages to drive the Division southwest to Kilkis by the following day. The XVI Division under Major General Agamemnon Metaxas moves up to support them, but both divisions are driven back to Thessaloniki by the 12th April. By this time, the German 18th and 30th Corps have overrun all of Thrace and Eastern Macedonia.
The German 40th Panzer Corps begins its drive through the Monastir Valley and launches simultaneous assaults on the Greeks positions around Vevi and the Klidi Pass on the 10th April. The Hellenic army manages to hold out until the 12th April, until German reinforcements arrive. Amindaion then falls on the 13th April and the remnants of the V and XIV Divisions surrender at Ptolemais on the following day.
General Cavallero launches supporting assaults with his Italian divisions on the 12th April, only to find that the Greek units facing him have withdrawn further south. The difficulties with supplying his forces mean that the 101st Motorised Division, the spearhead of the Italian forces, does not reach Ioannina until the 17th.
Realising that his left flank is in danger of collapsing, Field Marshal Papagos orders the I and XV infantry divisions and the 20th Motorised Division to move to cover this vulnerable gap. The three divisions take up positions along the River Sarantoporus in Macedonia, and await the advance of their enemy here. The 40th Panzer Corps presses through the city of Kozani n the 14th April, but the German tanks are halted by the Hellenic army on the banks of the River Sarantoporus. It takes four days of confused and bitterly fought engagements to pierce the Greek lines, and the battered Greek divisions withdraw to Servia, which does not fall until the 21st April. All three of the Greek divisional commanders are killed in the fighting and the remaining regiments withdraw the command of no one less than the Deputy Minister for War, General Nikolaos Papademas
Thessaloniki falls to the Heer on the 15th April, and the Greek 19th Motorised Division begins a long and bloody retreat south. The 2nd Panzer Division then links up with the German 18th and 30th Corps at the port-city before driving south and capturing Katerini on the 20th April after two days of heavy fighting. The two German Corps then advance headlong into the Greek positions around the Olympos Mountains, and here their advance is stalled once again. It takes seven days of constant battle between the 21st and 27th of April to dislodge the defenders from their positions.
General Cavallero advance units manage to take control of the city of Arta in Epirus with minimal losses by the 26th April, though by the 28th April two Greek Divisions have escaped across the Amvrakikos Gulf by crossing the
Aktio Bridge. The Greek destroy the crossing point before moving southeast to link up with the three divisions under the command of Major General Katsimitros at Mesolongi. From here they will cross the Gulf of Corinth to the Peloponnese, where they will either evacuate or reinforce the shattered divisions under the command of Field Marshal Papagos.
May
May begins as a dark month for the Greeks, with not only the loss of much of the mainland to the Greek and Italian invaders, but the news that another of their Prime Ministers is dead. Alexandros Korizis is killed during a Luftwaffe attack near Athens, and he is succeeded by Emmanouil Tsouderos, a former Minister of Finance. The New Prime Minister grudgingly concedes that nothing can be done to hold the mainland, and makes a request to the British Government to aid the remaining soldiers of the Hellenic army withdraw from Greece to Crete.
In this he is lucky, for the British recently dispatched a large merchantman fleet to Egypt to deliver vitally needed supplies to the British forces in Egypt. Clement Attlee wastes no time in ordering AMFNA to participate in the evacuation of Greece, and the first British vessel departs for the Port of Rafina on the 2nd May. By the end of the month six merchantmen have been lost en route to Greek ports due to the depredations of Italian submarines and the Luftwaffe.
The remaining sixty-eight RAF fighters are rapidly withdrawn from the Greek mainland and based on Crete, where they can provide protection for the evacuation efforts.
The Italian divisions under General Cavallero finally reach the front lines, though Field Marshal Wilhelm List does not figure them into the forces he is amassing to finally punch through the final Greek defensive line.
The German 50th infantry Corps begins probing the Greek defences around Mount Parnassos on the 3rd May, and the Hellenic army is so crippled by lack of ammunition and the heavy losses they have suffered that they are barely capable of offering any further resistance to the Heer.
Prime Minister Emmanouil Tsouderos orders the 78’000 men in the Peloponnese under Major General Katsimitros to move south to Kalamata for evacuation. He also withdraws the broken elements of another two divisions to the Port-city of Rufina for transportation to Crete. However, the 14th, 30th, 40th and 50th German Corps begin their offensive two days later on the 6th May.
The German offensive is checked until the morning of the 9th May, when the 16th Panzer Division breaks through the Greek defences between Mount Parnassos and Mount Kallidromo. Emmanouil Tsouderos decides to flee the country on the same day and is flown to Crete to begin preparations for the defence of Crete. The Hellenic army finally collapses, and despite a bloody struggle Athens falls to the Axis on the 12th May. The remnants of seven Greek divisions, numbering just under 58’000 men, surrender to the Heer. Two other divisions attempt to reach the southern coast for evacuation, but the major ports of Rafti and Rafina fall to the Germans on the 13th May and the 9th Panzer Division cuts them off from the Peloponnese. Lieutenant General Panaghiotis Spiliotopoulos and his 17’000 men surrender the following day.
The 14th and 50th Corps drive southwest and Corinth also falls on the 14th May, and the Germans press onwards towards Kalamata. The city is besieged on the 15th and capitulates on the 19th May, but only after Major General Katsimitros and over 43’000 of his men have been safely removed to Crete. Roughly another 13’000 men are removed from the ports near Athens.
With the fall of the Olympos Mountains, a general retreat is ordered. Field Marshal Papagos plans to form a final defensive line running from to Amfissa and the Itea Gulf, past Mount Parnassos and Mount Kallidromo, to Thermopyles.
The cost has been staggering for both armies during one single month of fighting. The Hellenic army has suffered 90’000 losses, either as casualties or as prisoners of war. The Axis has lost somewhere in the region of 57’000 dead and wounded.
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