80 GERMANY TRIUMPHANT 1939–1941
Ionian
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lDanubeMuresulCreteParosKhiosLemnosThasosSamothraceTinosEuboeaPeloponneseCerigoSicilyMaltaSardiniaMount
OlympusBULGARIA
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ITALY
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German
2nd ArmyGerman
12th ArmyBritish
W ForceHungarian
3rd ArmyGerman XLI
Panzer CorpsGerman XIV
Panzer CorpsGerman XL
Motorized CorpsItalian
2nd ArmyItalian
9th ArmyItalian
11th ArmyGerman
FliegerkorpsGreek
1st ArmyGreek
2nd ArmyTurnu-SeverinAlexandroupoliVibo ValentiaStara ZagoraSalonikaTirgu Mures
BekescsabaKragujevac AlexandriaBanja
LukaDubrovnikErmoupoliKlagenfurtKrainitziUrbaVeszpremPodgoricaNiksicTimisoaraPolygyrosKalamataMonemvasiaNovi SadPeshkopiAdrianopleBelgradeLjubljanaChalcisKarlovacSuboticaSarajevoPalermoScutariRazgradMariborSyracuseMessinaPotenza Taranto KaterinaAnconaMarsalaCataniaSalernoPescaraCagliariVallettaAgrinioPristinaBrindisiZagrebCorfuJaninaPlovdivMostarDurazzoAthensThebesThermopylaeSibenikRagusaNaplesTriesteLarissaSkopjePlevenNafplioKavalaKrumovo
BelitzaOsijekFoggia TiranaPirgosZaraPitestiFiume DetaKoritsaMaleme CaneaLecceMonastirVelesFlorinaVolosValonaSeresTuzlaPatrasCorinthMegaraAradGrazSofiaPecs SibiuUziceValjevoPecNisPiraeusWhile Italy was fighting its ineffectual war with Greece (see pp.78–
79), Hitler had been persuading and pressurizing the states in the
Balkan region to join the defensive alliance known as the Tripartite
Pact. By March 1, 1941, all the states except Yugoslavia and Greece
had joined. German troops had begun to arrive in Romania and
Hungary in November 1940, and—as the Italians prepared their
counteroffensive against Greece in Albania—the German 12th
Army moved into Bulgaria on March 2, 1941.
Alarmed by the arrival of German forces on Greece’s borders, the
British responded by sending an expeditionary force (W Force, named
after its commander, Lieutenant-General Henry Maitland Wilson)
from Egypt to Greece. On March 25, Yugoslavia yielded to pressure to
join the Tripartite Pact, but a coup on March 27 gave power to a group
of anti-Pact air force officers. When they signed a nonaggression pact
with the Soviet Union and began talks with Britain about a Balkan
coalition, Hitler immediately began planning the simultaneous
invasion of Yugoslavia and Greece. The Yugoslav people were forced
to defend a 1,000-mile (1,600-km) frontier with ill-equipped divisions
numbering barely half the 50 fielded by Germany. Most of the Greek
forces were in Albania, leaving only the Greek 2nd Army and W Force
to defend the eastern route into Greece. On April 6, the Germans
unleashed their blitzkrieg. By April 28, Yugoslavia had surrendered,
and the Allies been driven out of Greece.GERMANY
PUSHES SOUTH
Italy’s unsuccessful invasion of Greece forced Hitler
to postpone his planned invasion of the USSR and
concentrate on securing the Balkans. With the support
of its regional allies, Germany invaded Yugoslavia and
Greece in April 1941, taking both in under a month.
Major Luftwaffe bombing targetsAxis advances Apr 6–9Metaxas LineAxis gains by Apr 9AXIS FORCES INVADE YUGOSLAVIA
AND GREECE APRIL 6–9, 1941
The Axis campaign began on April 6 with air
attacks on Belgrade and Piraeus, the port of
Athens. These all but destroyed the Yugoslav air
force and damaged the major British supply line
into Greece. Ground forces then flooded across
Yugoslavia’s borders. Once Nis and Skopje had
fallen, German troops crossed the Yugoslav
border into Greece, capturing Salonika and
trapping the Greeks defending the fortified
Metaxas Line. When Monastir was captured
on April 9, Yugoslavia was cut off from Greece.1
Axis advances Apr 10–17FALL OF YUGOSLAVIA
APRIL 10–17, 1941
The Axis forces squeezed Yugoslavia from all
sides. The city of Zagreb fell on April 10 and
the Yugoslav state of Croatia declared its
independence—and its support for Italy. The
Italians secured the coast of Yugoslavia, their
forces moving in from Italy and Albania to meet
at Dubrovnik. Meanwhile the Germans occupied
Belgrade on April 13 before sweeping on to
capture Yugoslavia’s last major city, Sarajevo,
along with its Army’s Supreme Command.
Yugoslavia surrendered on April 17.2
THE EXPANSION OF THE
TRIPARTITE PACT
On September 27, 1940, Germany, Italy
(including Albania), and Japan had signed a
defense alliance known as the Tripartite Pact.
Unwilling to become embroiled in a war in the
notoriously complex Balkan region, Hitler
sought the support of the Balkan countries
through diplomacy, and by the end of
November 1940, Hungary, Romania, and
Slovakia had all joined the Pact. Bulgaria joined
on March 1, 1941. Threatened by the German,
Hungarian, and Italian troops building up along
its borders, Yugoslavia joined the pact on March- But on March 27, Yugoslavia revoked,
forcing Germany to expand its invasion plans.
KEY
Initial signatoriesJoined Nov 20, 1940Joined Nov 23, 1940Joined Nov 24, 1940Joined Mar 1, 1941Joined Mar 25, 1941Jul 24, 1923 Turkey
cedes Rhodes and
Dodecanese Islands
to Italy in treaty
of Lausanne.Black
SeaMediterranean
Sea SicilyMalta Dodecanese Is.SardiniaCorsicaTURKEYBULGARIAROMANIAUSSRSLOVAKIAPROTECTORATE OF
BOHEMIA AND MORAVIAHUNGARYGREATER
GERMANYGREECEALBANIAYUGOSLAVIATUNISIAITALYEAST
PRUSSIARomeBucharestSofiaBerlinVienna BudapestDanzigWarsawBelgradeUS_080-081_Germany_pushes_South.indd 80 22/03/19 2:39 PM