THE GRECO-ITALIAN WAR 79
I o n i a n S e a C
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fuJan 29–Feb 17, 1941
TrebeshinaMoravaMts.Pin
dus(^) Mts.
Mt. Tomorr
Mt. Trebeshina
Y U G O S L A V I A
Argyrokastro
Delvino
Corovode
Pogradec
Tepelene
Librazhd
Santi Quaranta
Gramsh
Elbasan
Nov 22, 1940
Permeti
Kalpaki
Corfu
Igoumenitsa
Janina
Metsovo
Vovousa
Konitsa
Klisura
Himara
Kastoria
Samarina
Erseka
Koritsa
Bitola
Valona
G
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Kalamas ITALY’S IMPERIAL AMBITIONS
After its unification in the mid-19th century,
Italy built a small empire that included the
Dodecanese Islands and territories in East
and North Africa. From the 1920s, Mussolini—
whose Fascist Party was named after the
bundle of wooden rods (or fasces) that
was a symbol of Roman authority—sought
to reclaim the glory of Ancient Rome. He
gradually strengthened Italy’s power in
Libya, and conquered Ethiopia in 1935.
Four years later, Albania was incorporated
into Italy, and the invasion of Greece in
1940 was the next logical step in his plan
to dominate the Mediterranean.
THE GRECO-
ITALIAN WAR
At war with the Allies since June 10, 1940, Italy had begun to fulfill
its imperial ambitions with invasions of France, British Somaliland,
and Egypt. In October 1940, it launched the invasion of Greece—
a disastrous offensive that achieved nothing other than to test the
relationship between Italy and Germany.
In October 1940, the Balkans were
broadly pro-German, and Greece’s own
right-wing dictator—General Metaxas—
had confirmed Greece’s neutrality. This
suited Hitler, because it allowed him
to pursue his plans for the invasion of
the Soviet Union without distraction.
However, Mussolini had designs on
Greece and was impatient for conquests
to match those of his German allies.
Mussolini accused the Greeks of
aiding the British in the Mediterranean,
and on October 28 issued an ultimatum
demanding free passage for his troops
to occupy strategic points in Greek
territory. When Metaxas rejected the
ultimatum, Italy invaded from Albania.
The Italian forces crossed the border at
three points, but were soon caught in
bitter fighting with a fiercely patriotic
and tenacious Greek army in the
unforgiving terrain of the mountains
along the Albanian–Greek border.
By early November, a Greek counter-
offensive had pushed the Italians back
into Albania, and the Greek army was
soon advancing through the country.
The counteroffensive halted by early
January 1941, leaving the Italians to
attempt one last offensive in March.
It achieved little, but it did highlight
the vulnerability of the Greek army,
influencing Hitler’s later decision to
send his own armies into the region.
“We do not argue with those who disagree with us,
we destroy them.”
BENITO MUSSOLINI, 1936
Italian invasion of
Greece Oct 28–
Nov 5, 1940
Limit of Italian
penetration
Nov 4–5, 1940
Beginning of Greek
counteroffensive
Nov 4–18, 1940
THE ITALIAN OFFENSIVE
OCTOBER 28–NOVEMBER 18, 1940
On October 28, Italy invaded Greece from
Albania on three fronts. A coastal group
moved toward Igoumenitsa, taking the city on
November 6. A central group was held at Kalpaki
and forced to withdraw to defensive positions.
The northernmost group reached Vovousa but
was soon overwhelmed as the Greeks began
driving the invading forces back.
1
Greek counteroffensive
Nov 14, 1940–
Jan 11, 1941
Greek frontline,
Jan 1, 1941
THE GREEK COUNTEROFFENSIVE
NOVEMBER 14, 1940–MARCH 9, 1941
By November 23, Greek forces had driven the
Italian invaders out of their territory. The Greeks
pushed into Albania to capture Koritsa, from
where they could advance into the Albanian
interior. Encouraged by their success, the
Greeks decided to move on to the strategically
important port of Valona. Their counteroffensive
culminated in the capture of the Klisura Pass on
January 11, 1941, where it stalled.
2
British air cover from Nov 3, 1940
BRITISH INVOLVEMENT
OCTOBER 22, 1940–MARCH 2, 1941
Britain had a long history of supporting Greece.
Hearing that the Italian invasion was imminent,
it sent several RAF squadrons to Greece in
October 1940. The RAF provided invaluable
air cover for the Greek counteroffensive and
caused significant losses to the Italian air force, the
Regia Aeronautica. Hitler was enraged by Italy’s
invasion of Greece because it had given the British
the opportunity to create bases in the country.
3
Italian Spring Offensive Mar 9–16, 1941
THE ITALIAN SPRING OFFENSIVE
MARCH 9–16, 1941
In March, the Italians made a final attempt to defeat
the Greek forces alone. Directed by Mussolini from
the Albanian capital Tirana, Operation Spring began
with the bombardment of the Greek positions
around Klisura, and continued with infantry assaults
on the area. The Greeks resisted fiercely, and by
March 14, it was clear that their morale would not
be broken. The offensive failed, but as the front
stabilized in the coming weeks, the Greeks were
running chronically short of arms and equipment.
4
Italian imperial propaganda shows Mussolini
and Vittorio Emanuele III superimposed
on a graphic of Italy’s planned African empire.
US_078-079_Greco-Italian_War.indd 79 24/05/19 1:16 PM