Author Description

How did Greece push back the Italian invasion and create unexpected problems for the Wehrmacht's terrifying military machine? Why did Mussolini's Fascist leadership fail to anticipate the difficulty of the war against Greece? How did the British and the Germans try to interfere and influence the Greco-Italian conflict to their advantage? Why Hitler opposed Mussolini's plans to invade Greece, and what made the Germans enter the war? What do the diaries of Ioannis Metaxas, Galeazzo Ciano, and Joseph Goebbels tell us about this dramatic, not-so-well-known episode of WWII? The glorious and desperate resistance of the Greek Army against the Axis powers, from the Italian invasion on October 28, 1940, till the fall of Crete to the Germans on June 1, 1941. The causes of the war, the strategic plans, and the battles that challenged the Axis invincibility on land for the first time. A comprehensive and innovative study written by a military historian who's also an expert in international relations and strategic theory. "Facing the Axis Powers: How Greece tried to counter Mussolini and Hitler in WWII" is the English edition of Sotirios F. Drokalos's thesis for the MA in Contemporary Military History of the Niccolò Cusano University of Rome (AY 2019-2020). The original Italian title of the thesis: "Di fronte a due imperi: Come la Grecia cercò di contrastare l'offensiva italiana e tedesca (1940-41)." The thesis was awarded the maximum mark (110/110). It was translated from Italian to English by Sotirios F. Drokalos himself. CONTENTS Introduction Outbreak of war Preparations and plans The Italian offensive The Greek counteroffensive The Italian spring offensive The German invasion Conclusion Bibliography Index of names