Italo-French War 1940. Italo-Greek War: Winners and Defeated

ITALIAN-TURKISH WAR (1911-1912) The war of Italy against Turkey with the aim of seizing Turkish possessions in Libya - Tripolitania and Cyrenaica. In this war, Italy was the aggressor, counting on the fact that Ottoman Isaev Alexei Valerievich, who was in a state of deep financial and general crisis

3.3. 1940–1941 This period is primarily characterized by fundamental changes in the ABTV organization. In the summer of 1940, mechanized corps of the new organization were formed, consisting of two tank divisions, one motorized division, a motorcycle regiment, and others.

War of Germany (1940–1941)

German War (1940-1941) In the early years of World War II, Hitler's Germany was lucky. Having conquered Poland, on April 9, 1940, Hitler set about conquering Scandinavia and forced Denmark to surrender in a few hours. Norway surrendered on June 10. In 1940, the war

Armistice 1940-1941

Armistice 1940-1941 Many foreign aircraft purchased during the Winter War arrived in Finland after the end of hostilities. These included a dozen British multi-purpose Westland "Lasender" aircraft, Hawker "Hurricane" fighters and 44 American

Aden 1940-1941

Aden 1940-1941 After Italy entered the war, the 94th squadron, based in Aden (Yemen), began active hostilities. The fighting in the Aden region is rarely described in the historical literature. In this area, the Italians had Fiat CR.32 fighters.

The attack in 1935 on completely militarily backward Abyssinia resulted in an eight-month bitter war in which the Italians, with the help of tanks, artillery, aircraft and chemical weapons, barely managed to defeat an army that was still armed with muzzle-loading bronze cannons, shields and spears. In the summer of 1940, the Italians, who tried to snatch their piece from France, which had already been actually defeated by the Wehrmacht, suffered a humiliating and crushing defeat from the already morally broken French.

However, these circumstances did not seem to bother Mussolini at all. Already in the summer of 1940, as part of the Duce's ambitious plan to turn the Mediterranean into an inland sea of ​​Italy, he outlined a new “victim” for himself - Greece, the springboard for attacking which was to be Albania, occupied in the spring of 1939. The Italians began preparations for the attack with a series of provocations, including the sinking of the Greek cruiser Elli by an "unknown submarine". In Athens, this caused a natural response - the Greek army was partially mobilized and put on alert.

To attack Greece in Albania, two Italian army corps were concentrated - the 25th and 26th - with a total of 87 thousand people, 163 tanks and 686 guns. The main blow was to be delivered by the 25th Corps, which included three infantry, one tank divisions and a mobile task force. The main blow was delivered in the direction of Yanina, Metsovon. Another Italian corps, consisting of four divisions, was deployed to conduct active defense on the left wing of the Italo-Greek front. For the landing on the island of Corfu and its occupation, an infantry division stationed in Italy was allocated. The operation was to be supported by the main forces of the Italian fleet.

The Greek army in peacetime had a cover force on the border with Albania, consisting of two infantry divisions, two infantry brigades, 13 separate infantry battalions and 6 mountain batteries. Their total number was 27 thousand people, supported by 20 tanks and 220 guns. However, the mobilization initiated due to Italian provocations led to the fact that by the beginning of the Italian aggression the number of the Greek armed forces had already grown to 120 thousand people, and in total the General Staff of the Greek Army planned to deploy 15 infantry and one cavalry division, 4 infantry brigades and the forces of the reserve of the Main command. True, part of these forces was planned to be deployed on the border with Bulgaria.
Thus, Italy was preparing to attack Greece with forces inferior in numbers to the already deployed Greek army, which, given previous experience, was at least adventurous. Obviously, the Italian command made the main bet on the technical superiority of its armed forces. And this bet, it should be noted, was theoretically fully justified.

The Italian invasion army, in addition to the fleet, artillery and tanks, was ready to support a very impressive air force grouping. First of all, it was the Air Force grouping directly in Albania, commanded by General F. Rantsa. The main strike force consisted of three bomber groups: the 39th (51st and 69th squadrons) and 40th (202nd and 203rd squadrons) of the 38th bomber regiment, as well as the 105th separate bomber group ( 254 and 255 squadrons). True, the 38th regiment had only 24 obsolete SM.81 bombers, but the 105th group was fully equipped with more modern SM.79s, of which there were 31 units. In addition, the Albanian air command included the 72nd separate reconnaissance group of the 25th, 42nd and 120th squadrons), which was armed with 25 reconnaissance aircraft and Ro.37bis light bombers. The bulk of the aircraft were fighters of the 160th separate fighter group. The group consisted of three squadrons: the 394th armed with 14 obsolete CR.32 biplane fighters, the 393rd with 46 slightly newer CR.42 biplane fighters and the 395th armed with 47 G.50bis monoplanes. Most of the Italian aircraft in Albania were based at the airfields in Gjirokast and Korca, as well as in Tirana.

Fighter Fiat CR.32 from the 163rd separate squadron.

In general, only this grouping in its capabilities surpassed the Greek Air Force combined, both quantitatively and in many respects qualitatively. However, that was not all. Bombers of the 4th territorial zone under the command of General A. Bonola were preparing to support the strike group of ground forces directly from Italy. It included:
- 35th bomber regiment on seaplanes Z.506 as part of the 86th and 95th groups;
- 37th bomber regiment on SM.81 and BR.20 aircraft as part of the 55th and 116th groups;
- 47th bomber regiment on the latest Z.1007bis bombers as part of the 106th and 107th groups;
- 50th separate bomber group on Z.1007bis;
- 96th separate group of dive bombers on German Ju87B / R.
The fighters were represented by the 2nd separate fighter group of three squadrons (150th, 151st and 152nd) on CR.32 and G.50bis aircraft
In total, the 4th territorial group consisted of 40 Z.1007bis, 19 BR.20, 18 SM.81, 20 Ju87, 23 Z.506, 33 G.50bis and 9 CR.32.

Finally, do not discount the so-called. Aviation of the Aegean under the command of General U. Longo. It consisted of three separate fighter squadrons - the 161st on seaplanes Ro.43 / 44 (these float reconnaissance biplanes were also used as fighters), the 162nd on the CR.42 and the 163rd on the CR.32, and bombers: 39th bomber regiment as part of the 56th (SM.81) and 92nd (SM.79) groups, as well as the 34th separate bomber group on SM.79. Reconnaissance aircraft included two independent squadrons of Z.501 seaplanes (147th and 185th), and the Sezione Soccorso group on Z.506. In total, the aviation of the Aegean Sea consisted of 82 combat aircraft.

The Air Force of Greece, which did not have its own aircraft industry, was naturally equipped much more modestly. They were commanded by 57-year-old General Alexander Parados, under whose command there were a little more than one and a half hundred combat and training vehicles. The country's fighter aviation was concentrated in the 1st Fighter Regiment (Mire Dioxes) of Lieutenant Colonel E. Kelades, which was armed with both Polish P.24F and six P.24G fighters, evenly distributed over three squadrons - 21st, 22nd and 23 th. By October 28, out of 36 R.24s, 24 were operational. The regiment's fighters were dispersed around the airfields of Kalambaka, Yanina, Larissa and Thessaloniki and could cover the grouping in the area of ​​the Greek-Albanian border. P.24 was already far from the most advanced aircraft for the early 1940s, but it could well fight on equal terms with one of the main Italian CR.42 fighters for this theater at that time, it was noticeably superior to the CR.32, but lost to the G in most characteristics .50bis. Another squadron of fighters, the 24th, was included in the air defense of the capital and was armed with nine modern French MB.151 fighters.

The 3rd regiment of interaction with the army (Mire Stratiotkis Synergassias) was very bad with materiel. Three of his four squadrons flew the very ancient French Breguet XIX (1st and 2nd squadrons) and Potez 25 (4th squadrons), of which there were 18 and 17 units, respectively. Relatively modern materiel was available only to the 3rd Squadron, armed with German close scouts and Hs.126 spotters in the amount of 15 units.

But the Greek bomber aviation - the 2nd Bomber Aviation Regiment (Mire Vomuardistou) - was armed with relatively modern materiel. No. 31 Squadron flew French twin-engine Potez 633s (11 in service, 8 serviceable), No. 32 flew British twin-engine Blenheim IVs (12 in service, 11 serviceable), and No. 33 flew British single-engine Battles. "(12 in service, 10 in good order).

Finally, the 4th Naval Aviation Regiment (Mire Naflikis Synergassias) had three more squadrons: the 11th with nine British obsolete Fairy IIIF float reconnaissance aircraft, the 12th with a dozen German Do 22G flying boats and the 13th with nine British twin-engine scouts "Anson".

In addition, in the training units, along with 42 Avro 621 and 626 training biplanes, there were six B-534 fighters and two Gladiators, as well as six ancient Horsley Mk.II torpedo bombers.

Thus, the Greek Air Force could counter the aggressor with 45 fighters, 35 bombers and four dozen reconnaissance and light bombers, as well as thirty naval aircraft. In other words, in terms of numbers, the Greek Air Force was inferior even to the aviation group that the Italians created only in Albania. The Italian Air Force in the area of ​​future hostilities had a noticeable quantitative and some qualitative superiority over the Greeks.

On the first day of hostilities, October 28, the weather did not favor aviation activity, nevertheless, 8 SM.81s from the 38th regiment made the first raid on the communications of the Greek army in the Kalambaka area. Following them, the territory of Greece was attacked by 13 Z.1007 from the 47th regiment, BR.20 SM.81 from the 47th regiment and SM.79 from the 105th group. Greek fighters did not oppose these raids, but anti-aircraft artillery was able to damage one SM.81, which was able to cross the Adriatic and was forced to land near the Italian town of Otranto. The next day there were practically no flights due to weather conditions, and on October 30 the first air battle of this war took place.

A pair of Greek Henschel-126s were conducting reconnaissance in the area of ​​​​the front line, when they were suddenly attacked by a CR.32 Fiat patrol from the 394th squadron. Leading the Italian link, Lieutenant M. Frascador opened fire too early and missed, and the Greeks hurried to hide in the nearest cloud. However, this time fate did not favor the Greek pilots, and after some time on the floor, the couple caught the eye of five CR.42s, led by the commander of the 160th group, Lieutenant Colonel Zanni. As a result of the ensuing battle, the Henschel pilot E. Yannaris was shot down by the Italians. The plane crashed near the village of Vassiliada, and the crew died. This was the first official loss of the Greek Air Force in World War II. The second "Henschel" also did not return to its airfield and its fate is still unknown. The return fire of the shooters damaged one Italian fighter.

In general, bad weather continued to hinder the high activity of the Air Force. So 10 SM.81 of the 38th regiment could not find the target due to heavy cloud cover and returned with bombs, and the 160th group, which did not have time to celebrate its morning success, suffered the first losses. In the afternoon, fighters of the 394th and 395th squadrons flew out to strike at the airfields of Florina and Kastoria, but due to heavy cloud cover they not only failed to complete the task, but also lost two CR.32s. At about 5:30 p.m., the pilot of one of them, Lieutenant M. Louis, came to the Korca base on foot. The second missing pilot, Lieutenant D. Carlo, was eventually captured.
Only on November 1 did the weather finally allow the Italian Air Force to noticeably increase its activity. Again, the crews of the 3rd Regiment fell victim to Italian fighters, this time a pair of Breguet of the 1st Squadron, which inadvertently caught the eye of a trio of CR.32s of the 394th Squadron. Both Greek scouts were quickly shot down, fortunately this time their crews survived.

At 0835, one of the largest Greek cities and ports of Thessaloniki was raided. He was attacked by 10 SM.79s of the 105th group with an escort of five Fiat CR.42s of the 393rd squadron. The bombers were led by none other than Lieutenant Colonel G. Ciano, Mussolini's son-in-law and Italian Foreign Minister. The Greeks raised seven R.24s of the 22nd squadron to intercept, but the Italians were able to tie up the interceptors in battle. As a result, the Fiat pilots reported the destruction of one P.24 and another “probably”, and the bomber gunners added to them one more “reliably” shot down and two “probably”. One Fiat was damaged in a dogfight. In Thessaloniki, an Italian raid killed 35 people.
An equally representative group attacked the Larissa airfield, where the 23rd and 32nd squadrons of the Greek Air Force were based. Ten "Kants" Z.1007 was led by the commander of the 260th squadron of the 106th group of the 47th regiment, Bruno Mussolini, the eldest son of the Italian dictator, and another of the "Kants" was piloted by his other son Vittorio. North of Ioannina, the Italian bombers were intercepted by several P.24s of the 21st Squadron, but were able to escape, taking advantage of their superior speed. However, the Greek pilots claimed the destruction of one "Kant", although in reality the damaged bomber was able to fly to its base.

Heavy fighter Bristol Blenheim Mk.IF 30 Squadron in Greece.

In response to Italian attacks on Greece on the evening of November 1, the Blenheims of the 32nd Squadron attacked the Korca airfield. On the way back, one bomber fell behind and lost its bearings in the dark. The crew made an emergency landing near Larissa, where they were immediately “captured” by local peasants, who mistook the pilots for Greek-speaking Italians. As a result, the crew commander, Lieutenant Maravelis, had to perform Greek folk dances in front of the excited peasants in order to prove that he was their compatriot.

We do not know the results of the raid on Korca, but on the same day the 150th separate fighter group on CR.42 (363rd, 364th and 365th squadrons) was transferred to Albania from Turin, the fighters were stationed at Valona airfields, Tirana and Gjirokastra. And the next day also the 24th separate fighter group on G.50bis (354th, 355th and 361st squadrons). A little later, the 395th squadron was expelled from the 105th group, and the 361st from the 24th group, of which the 154th separate fighter group was formed.
Meanwhile, the vigorously launched Italian offensive also abruptly stopped. The Greek group operating on the border with Albania received six divisions for reinforcement, the Italians were firmly bogged down in the Greek defense, and on November 1, the commander-in-chief of the Greek army, A. Papagos, gave the order to launch a counterattack on the northern flank of the defense. For the Italians, another shameful page of their military history began.

But while the Italian Air Force continued to attack on November 2 at an ever-increasing pace. In the morning, SM.81s of the 37th regiment bombed the island of Corfu, followed by 6 Ju87s for the same purpose. By the way, this was the first sortie of the Italian Stukas. Greek airfields were again subjected to raids by Italian bombers. So five Ju87s struck at Yanina, followed by another 10 Z.1007s of the 47th regiment. Nine more "Kants" worked on Larissa. Greek fighters simply did not have time to respond to all threats, especially since their combat effectiveness had noticeably decreased over the previous days. So, to repel a raid on Larissa, only one R.24 took off into the air, which was shot down and burned down along with its pilot.

Already in the evening, ten "Kants" from the 50th separate air group tried again to strike at Thessaloniki, but this time they were able to stop the fighters of the 22nd squadron. Fighters took revenge for previous failures. Three Z.1007s were seriously damaged, one of them landed in Greece and the crew was captured, the other two managed to reach Brindisi. Another "Kant" seems to have safely survived all the attacks of Lieutenant Marinos Mitraleksis, who stuck behind him R.24. The Greek eventually ran out of ammunition, but he decided not to give up and hit the tail of the bomber with a fighter propeller. The out-of-control bomber crashed northeast of Thessaloniki, near the town of Langados. Mitralex also had to land a damaged fighter close to his victim, with the Greek lieutenant capturing the Italian crew, with the exception of his pilot, second lieutenant B. Rasqualotto, who did not survive the hard encounter with the ground. For his feat, Mitralexis received a number of awards, including the highest military order in Greece. After the surrender of the latter, under the onslaught of the Germans, he fled to North Africa. The national hero of Greece died in 1948 during a routine tinting flight.

But back to the evening of November 2, 1940. Shocked by the fierce onslaught of the enemy, the pilots of the Italian bombers did not tempt fate and, having got rid of the bombs, turned back. For their success, the Greeks had to pay with one fighter who landed on a forced ram after a ram, another was also forced to land, having used up all the fuel in battle, and one was damaged in an air battle. The next day, the Italians tried to take revenge by sending another nine Z.1007 from the 47th regiment to Thessaloniki, this time under the cover of G.50bis of the 24th group. During the air battle, Greek fighters, together with anti-aircraft artillery, managed to shoot down one Kant and one G.50, but they themselves lost one of their precious fighters. Thus, in two days, the 22nd squadron, despite the successes achieved, lost, albeit not completely irrevocably, a third of its aircraft. The strength of the Greek fighters was dwindling, while the Italian Air Force only increased its pace.

The Greek counter-offensive that had begun, however, forced the Italian command to transfer the efforts of its Air Force from communications, cities and airfields to troops at the front. So on November 4, 4 Ju87s and one experienced Italian twin-engine dive bomber SM.86 worked on the positions of the Greeks. Bombers from Albania worked for the troops at the front, where on November 5 the 104th separate bomber group was additionally transferred to SM.79. The constant presence of Italian aviation over the front made the work of Greek air reconnaissance very problematic. So on November 4, the Breguet group was subjected to another beating. Three of these vehicles had the misfortune to run into a 365 Squadron CR.42 patrol, as a result of which one of them was shot down and burned down along with the crew, another burned out after a forced landing, and only one managed to escape from his pursuers.

However, the Italians also remembered other goals. So, "Kants" from the 50th separate group attacked the port of Volos. The fighters from 21 and 23 squadrons, raised to intercept, announced the destruction of three bombers, two of which were on the account of D. Castaros. The Greeks even indicated the places where the Italian vehicles fell, but the Italians deny their losses in this sortie, with the exception of the Z.1007 damaged by anti-aircraft fire.

Despite the efforts of the Italian Air Force, the Greeks on the ground continued to successfully push the enemy. On November 1, the 3rd Army Corps of the Greek Army, which went on the offensive in stubborn battles, was able to break through the defenses of the Italian 26th Corps and forced them to retreat to Korca, entering the territory of Albania. To the south, on November 3, the Greeks launched a counterattack on the left wing of the Italian 25th Corps, which had broken through to Greek soil, as a result of which the Italian Giulia division operating here was surrounded and defeated, losing about 5,000 people. During the fighting on November 3-4, the Greeks liberated two villages previously captured by the Italians, and the surviving Italian units retreated back abroad, after which there was a temporary lull in this area. The Italian offensive continued only on the coastal flank, where the strongest grouping was operating, consisting of two infantry and a tank division. But here, too, the Italian offensive finally fizzled out by November 8, after which the order was given to go on the defensive on the lines reached, waiting for reinforcements.

Greek poster from 1940

The Italian command, realizing that it was losing the initiative, was in a hurry to strengthen its grouping in Albania, deploying the Albania Army Group there as part of the 9th and 11th armies. The Air Force grouping in Italy, operating against Greece, also received reinforcements. On November 3, the 41st separate bomber group (204th and 205th squadrons) with two dozen Z.1007s was added to the forces that were previously here, and on November 11, the 372nd separate fighter squadron, equipped with a dozen of the latest Italian MC.200 fighters.

After fierce air battles in the first days of November, the weather gave the Greek pilots a break. However, the overwhelming numerical superiority of the air enemy did not promise any favorable prospects for the Greeks. Despite the courage and courage of the personnel, the Greek Air Force was essentially losing the war in the air. Unfortunately for them, the Italian Air Force, in terms of training and combat skills, favorably differed from the Italian army itself and had already managed to sensitively pat the few Greek aircraft. However, the Italian aviators also had nothing to brag about. They could not defeat the Greek Air Force, nor could they disrupt the mobilization and transfer of Greek units, although the weather, which interfered with the normal activities of the Air Force, was largely to blame. But the fact remained: the significant superiority of the Italians in aviation did not bring them any significant benefits so far. And the Greeks, meanwhile, arrived in time for help.

As early as April 13, 1939, after the occupation of Albania by Italy, Great Britain gave guarantees for the independence of Romania and Greece. Naturally, as soon as Italy attacked Greece, the government of the latter immediately turned to Great Britain for help. Already on November 1, British troops landed on the Greek island of Crete, which allowed them to control the entire eastern Mediterranean. Directly on the continent, the British decided to limit themselves to help in the form of aviation units. Since the British already in October, on the basis of intelligence, believed that an Italian invasion of Greece was inevitable, on October 22, the British Air Force in the Middle East received orders to prepare squadrons for a possible transfer to Greece. Therefore, already on November 3, the first eight Blenheims of the 30th squadron of the Royal Air Force, as well as 4 obsolete Bombay bombers of the 216th squadron, which were used as transport vehicles, flew to Greece. Interestingly, the 30th squadron was going to be used not only as a bomber squadron, but also as a squadron of heavy fighters, for which one of its flights was equipped with Blenheim I bombers, and the other with Blenheim IF heavy fighters, the main difference of which was a four-machine gun a container installed under the fuselage in place of the bomb bay. It was in this role that the English pilots set off on their first mission on November 4 - patrolling the coast. The eyes of the British caught the flying boat Z.501, which they tried to shoot down, but without much success. Blenheim IF crews also patrolled Athens from time to time.

The build-up of the British grouping continued at an accelerated pace. On November 5, five more Blenheims of the 84th squadron arrived in Greece, the next day - six Wellington bombers of the 70th squadron. The British were stationed at the Eleusis airfield near the Greek capital, Air Vice-Marshal D. D'Albiac was appointed to command the British air force in Greece. Already on November 6, 30 Squadron undertook its first action over Albania: three Blenheims carried out a reconnaissance flight over southern Albania. In the Saranda area, the crews found two ships, on which they dropped bombs. Later, British Blenheim crews paid a "courtesy visit" to the Valona airfield, resulting in three bomb-damaged SM.81s from the 38th Regiment. Raised to intercept the CR.32 of the 394th squadron, they could only admire the tails of the fleeing British, although Captain N. Magaldi managed to put a burst of machine guns into one of the bombers. The shelled "Blenheim" safely returned to its base, but after landing, the already dead gunner Sergeant E. Childs was taken out of the plane.

Encouraged by the first success, the British decided to throw "heavy artillery" on the Italian airfields in the person of the Wellingtons. On November 7, all six vehicles of the 70th squadron went on a raid on Valona, ​​capable of causing much more trouble than the relatively light Blenheim: the Wellington's bomb load was almost four times higher than that of the Blenheim. But the Italians learned a lesson from previous events and, on the way to the British target, they met the CR.42 of the 150th group. As a result, one of the Wellingtons exploded in the air, another was shot down and burned down, two bombers were seriously damaged, but were able to get home.


Bomber Vikkers Wellington 70 Squadron, North Africa.

Well, the Greeks, meanwhile, continued to accumulate strength for a decisive offensive. The landing of the British in Crete and the calm situation on the Greek-Bulgarian border allowed the Greek command to transfer significant forces to the front, achieving a very significant superiority over the Italians. Although the latter managed to deploy the 11th and 9th armies on the basis of the 25th and 26th corps in Albania, with a total of eight infantry, one tank and one cavalry brigades, as well as a number of separate regiments and battalions, the Italian command there were serious supply problems. The capacities of the two main Albanian ports of Valona and Durres were not enough for full-fledged supply, but even if the cargo reached Albania, it was no less a problem to deliver it from the port to its destination due to the lack of literally everything, from trucks to pack mules. The transport aviation of Italy strained all its forces to transfer people, in fact disrupting the supply of Italian troops in Africa, but it could not carry heavy loads. The Greeks, by mid-November, concentrated three army corps against the Italians: the 1st, consisting of two infantry and cavalry divisions, as well as a separate detachment in the coastal sector, the 2nd, consisting of one infantry division, as well as infantry and cavalry brigades in the center (t .n. Pindus sector) and the 3rd Corps, consisting of four infantry divisions, one of which was in the second line. In reserve, the Greeks had three more infantry divisions and one brigade. By November 12, the Greeks put up 100 of their own for the 50 settlement battalions that the Italians had. And on November 14, the general offensive of the Greek army broke out.

The history of the Second World War is full of amazing paradoxes. Unpredictable and logically inexplicable events do not allow us to call this war the struggle of Nazism against the alliance of democrats and communists. Finland, for example, was a stronghold of democracy, but then came out on the side of fascism. Greece, on the contrary, ruled by the fascist regime, inflicted a crushing defeat on Mussolini's army. The Italo-Greek war lasted less than six months, Greece won. However, she did not manage to enjoy the victory.

Reasons for the start of the Italo-Greek War 1940-1941

The prime minister of fascist Italy set out to draw Yugoslavia and Greece into the war in order to launch a full-scale attack on the Balkans and subjugate this territory to himself. The German government warned the minister that it was unwise to create new enemies. However, Mussolini did not heed the advice, naively believing that Greece would become easy prey. The prime minister distrusted the senior officers, overruled all objections, and single-handedly made the decision to invade.

On August 15, 1940, the Greek cruiser Elli was sunk by an "unknown" submarine, but all evidence indicated that this act was an Italian provocation. As a result, the Greeks urgently announced military mobilization. Italy issued an ultimatum to Greece to stop such hostile actions, but the ultimatum was rejected. On October 28, 1940, Italy invaded Greece.

Course of events

The prime minister did not coordinate the offensive with the generals, and the military operation was on the verge of failure. A few days before the invasion, the seasonal rains began in Greece. A small army of invaders ended up in enemy territory without winter clothes, and the air temperature dropped below zero. However, Mussolini did not consider this a problem, since he did not expect resistance: millions of lire from the Italian treasury were paid to the Greek generals as bribes. In exchange, the commanders of the Greek army promised not to engage in battle, but at the first attack they abandoned their promises. The Italo-Greek War proved to be a more difficult campaign than the Italian minister had hoped for.

There were no major ports in Greece that would allow the Italian army to land. Despite the numerical superiority and superiority of the Italian air fleet, the Greeks managed to put up decent resistance, threw back the occupying army to the Albanian border, and in January 1941 occupied a strategically important point - the Keltsyuru gorge. In March, Mussolini's forces received reinforcements and made a new attack, but were driven back even further north. On April 6, the army of the Third Reich came to the aid of Italy, the total number of fascist troops significantly exceeded the forces of the Greeks. On April 30, Hitler's troops reached Athens, after which the occupation of Greece began. The Italo-Greek war that began in 1940 was over.

Forces of the parties and losses

The Greek army consisted of almost 200 thousand soldiers and 57 combat aircraft. These forces had to resist more than half a million - 565 thousand soldiers, 163 tanks, 463 aircraft. After the end of the Italo-Greek war, the losses of the parties were far from equivalent. Italy lost over 39,000 killed, 50,000 wounded, 12,000 frostbitten, and another 50,000 captured. The losses of the Greeks amounted to 13 thousand soldiers killed, 42.5 thousand wounded, 3 thousand missing and 25 thousand prisoners of war.

Who won the Italo-Greek war is not entirely obvious: Greece prevailed in the fighting and managed to save most of its small army, but the intervention of Nazi Germany did not allow for a final victory.

Impact on neighboring countries

In 1940, Yugoslavia remained neutral, not supporting any of the warring parties. However, the state was an ally of Greece, and the border town of Bitola was bombed by Italian aircraft. Fearing that the Yugoslavs would take the side of the enemy in the Italo-Greek war, Mussolini decided to launch this preemptive strike.

The Italo-Greek military campaign was ill-conceived, poorly planned and doomed to failure. The weather favored the Greeks, and they did the almost impossible, pushing back the superior forces of the enemy. October 28 is one of the most revered holidays in modern Greece, when people pay tribute to the brave liberators.

1939. 04.07-10 Italy occupied Albania

1940.10.14 “There is a political necessity to occupy Greece” B. Mussolini.

10/1940/15 At a meeting of the Italian high command, a plan of operation against Greece was discussed.

Mussolini: "It is necessary to occupy the Ionian Islands, in particular the island of Corfu at the entrance to the Adriatic Sea and then capture Thessaloniki in order to strengthen Italy's position in the Mediterranean and maintain Italian influence in Greece."

The day of the offensive was set for 10/26/1940 (then postponed due to weather to 10/28)

10/28/1940 At half past five in the morning, Italian units under the command of General Visconti Prask crossed the Greek border. Among the forces of the battle were 2 (25th and 26th) army corps, which included 8 divisions (6 infantry, 1 tank and 1 mountain rifle), a separate task force (“Littorio”) (3 regiments) - a total of 87 (out of 157 thousand in Albania) thousand people, 163 tanks (according to other sources 250), 686 guns, 380 (400) aircraft.

1940.11.01 Commander-in-Chief of the Greek Army A. Papagos ordered a counterattack on the open left flank of the enemy (26th AK). In two-day battles, the Italians in the Korca region were driven back to Albanian territory. 4 English squadrons arrived in Crete. TASS denied rumors about the supply of Soviet military aircraft to Greece.

1940.11.02 The pace of the advance of the main, right-flank grouping of Italians began to decrease.

11/03/1940 The Greeks launched successful counterattacks in the area of ​​the Pindus mountain range, in the center of the front. The Alpine division “Julia” found itself in a particularly difficult situation, which broke far ahead, trying to overcome the foothills of Pinda. Having suffered heavy losses, the division was forced to withdraw to its original positions.

1940.11.07/08 On November 7, Italian troops went on the defensive (according to another source, Mussolini gave the order to go on the defensive on November 8). On the 10th day of the war, the advance of the Italians was stopped.

1940.11.12/14 The Greeks on November 14 (12 in another source) launched an offensive with the forces of 12 infantry, 2 cavalry divisions and 3 brigades.

On November 1940, 1940, Hitler signed Directive No. 18, which provided for "... if necessary, by an offensive from the territory of Bulgaria, to seize continental Greece north of the Aegean Sea."

11/21/1940 Italians were expelled from Greek territory. The Greek army entered Albania, where it was supported by local partisans.

11/25/1940 Negotiations in Sofia on the conclusion of an agreement on mutual assistance between the secretary of the NKID A. A. Sobolev, the Prime Minister of Bulgaria B. Filov and Tsar Boris III, “which will help Bulgaria in the implementation of its national aspirations not only in Western, but also in Eastern Thrace ". At the same time, the USSR offered Greece arms supplies.

12/04/1940 Italian troops, united in the Albania Army Group (9th and 11th armies), were preparing to launch a counterattack, but just before the start of the planned offensive, the Greeks resumed the offensive. The front was broken through and Mussolini fired P. Bodalio (Chief of the General Staff).

On 12/1940, Hitler approved Directive No. 20, which provided for the capture of Greece (Plan Marita).

1940.12. end The new Chief of the General Staff, Hugo Cavaliero, stopped the Greek offensive. Germany offered Greece to prevent the expansion of the British presence, but attempts by Athens to achieve German mediation in relation to Italy failed.

1941.01. the beginning The Italians launched a counterattack with the forces of one AK, which was repulsed by the Greeks, the elite division “Tuscan Wolves” suffered a particularly strong defeat.

01/1941/11 Hitler signed Directive No. 22, which provided for assisting Italy with the transfer of German troops to Libya and Albania.

1941.01.14-16 During the Anglo-Greek negotiations, the Greeks demanded the landing of 8-9 British divisions.

On January 1, 1941, the Greek leadership, not wanting to irritate Germany, refused the British proposal to use 2-3 divisions.

01/1941/19 Negotiations were held in Salzburg on the provision of military assistance to Italy by the Reich. In addition to Rommel's corps, which was sent to Libya, an agreement was reached on the transfer to Albania of one Wehrmacht mountain division.

01/21/1941 The dispatch of German troops to Albania was postponed indefinitely due to the acceleration of the transfer of troops to Libya.

1941.02.08 The question of the landing of British troops was again put before Greece, although the position of Greece did not change.

02/1941/10 The British leadership decided to suspend the offensive in Libya and begin preparing troops for the transfer to the Balkans.

1941.02.16-23 The offensive of the Greek troops in order to eliminate the ledge occupied by the Italian troops southeast of Kelchyure with sweeping attacks from the north and west and then, developing success along the highway, break through to Vlora (Vlona). The fiercest fighting took place between 16 and 23 February. The Greeks managed to storm the commanding heights at Tepelena, but they were not strong enough to complete the breakthrough. The Italians already had 21 divisions in Albania and outnumbered their enemy.

1941.02.21 It was decided to land British troops in Greece.

1941.02.22-23 Greek consent to the landing of British troops during negotiations.

1941.03.04 The transfer of British troops to Greece began. British soldiers began to disembark at Piraeus. Mussolini arrived in Albania.

1941.03.09 Having concentrated 26 divisions against 15 Greek ones, the Italian command launched an attack on the central sector of the front.

1941.03.14 Greek counterstrike.

1941.03.16 Withdrawal of the Italians to their former positions. The offensive cost Italy 12,000 men.

1941.03.28-29 Battle at Cape Matapan between the Italian (1 battleship, 8 cruisers and 13 destroyers) fleet, which tried to prevent the supply of British troops in Greece, and ensured this supply by the English fleet (3 battleships, 4 cruisers, 1 aircraft carrier and 13 destroyers) . British victory: 3 cruisers, 2 destroyers sunk and an Italian battleship damaged.

1941.03.31 End of the transfer of the English Expeditionary Force to Greece. In total, over 60 thousand people (1 tank brigade, 1 Australian and 1 New Zealand divisions), under the cover of 9 squadrons.

1941.04.06 Beginning of the Wehrmacht's Balkan campaign.

1941.04.11-24 Offensive of Italian troops in Albania and Greece.

1941.04.21 German-Greek surrender protocol. Italian troops did not reach the Albanian-Greek border. Mussolini ordered to advance until the Greeks sue for peace.

04/24/1941 The Greeks in Thessaloniki signed a protocol of surrender to Germany and Italy. The war cost Italy 38,000 dead, 50,000 wounded and 12,000 frostbitten. The losses of Greece in the war with Italy and Germany (October 1940-April 1941) amounted to 20 thousand soldiers and officers killed and 225 thousand prisoners.

"History of Wars"