West European Studies

The so-called Greco-Italian War was a conflict between fascist Italy and Greece which lasted from October 1940 to April 1941. The defeat of the Italian army forced Mussolini to ask for Hitlers assistance. In April 1941, Nazi Germany simultaneously invaded Greece and Yugoslavia to prevent British forces from occupying those countries.

Background
By mid-1940, Mussolini became more and more jealous of Hitlers military conquests in Europe. To boost Italian morale, Italy occupied Albania in 1939 and several British strongholds in North Africa. At the same time, Mussolini wanted to reclaim Italian interests in the Balkans. Earlier, Romania and Bulgaria accepted German protection. On the 28th of October 1940, Ioannis Metaxas rejected an Italian ultimatum demanding the military occupation of Greece. As a result, Italian forces invaded Greece from Albania. The Greek army launched a counter offensive and forced the Italians to retreat. After a month, the Greeks occupied a large portion of Albania. Defeated, Mussolini went to Berlin to ask military assistance from Hitler. In April 1941, German forces attack Greece in two directions. After a week of fighting, the Metaxas Line crumbled under heavy German gunfire. The Greek army of Epirus surrendered to the Germans. This marked the end of the Greco-Italian War.

Historical Causes
In the 1910s, relations between Greece and Italy had not been good. Both countries sought to control Albania. Historically, Albania was an Italian protectorate. However, both Albania and Greece claimed Northern Epirus, a region inhabited by a large Greek population. At the same time, Italy occupied the Dodecanese islands, inhabited predominantly by Greeks. Italy promised to return the islands to Greece in the 1919 Venizelos-Tittoni Agreements but later claimed that the islands traditionally belonged to Italy.

After the First World War, Greece occupied Turkish territories in Asia Minor. Italy helped the Turkish nationalists under Mustafa Kemal Attaturk in the war against Greece. Mussolini utilized the murder of an Italian general at the Albanian border to occupy Corfu, one of the major Ionian Islands.

However, from 1929 to 1939 relations between Italy and Greece had normalized. In 1930, Greece and Turkey signed the Friendship Treaty. In 1934, Bulgaria and Greece signed the Balkan Pact, a military and economic agreement. The threat from Greeces traditional enemies  Turkey and Bulgaria  was removed. Yugoslavia was too busy to demand territorial concessions from Greece. The same case can be said of Albania. Only Italy had the intention of harassing Greece both militarily and politically.

Metaxas, the Greek dictator, knew Italys military plans for the Balkans. He laid plans for the restructuring of the countrys armed forces and for the construction of a defensive line along the Greek-Bulgarian borders. After years of reorganization, the army was modernized. About 90 of regular units were technologically upgraded and well-equipped. The Greek government purchased new armaments for the creation of additional three armies. By 1939, the army was stockpiling food and ammunitions in case Greece was pulled into the war.

Italian Ambitions
On the 7th of April 1939, the Italian army occupied the state of Albania, gaining a land border with Greece. As a result, Britain and France guaranteed the territorial integrity of Greece. Metaxas tried to keep Greece out of the war by making small concessions to Germany. But as it turned out, Italian ambitions in the Balkans spoiled Greek efforts to maintain neutrality.

The Italian governor of Albania, Francesco Jacomoni sought the support of Albanians over the issue of Albanian minorities in Greek Epirus. The Albanians were of course indifferent over the issue. Jacomoni, however, repeatedly sent reports to Rome that the Albanians would fully support Italy in case war breaks out between Italy and Greece.

After the defeat of the Italian army in France, Mussolini turned his eyes on Greece. Mussolini informed his generals to create a strategic military plan for the conquest of Greece. Mussolinis decision was not entirely unfounded. From August to September 1940, British patrols over Greek islands intensified. These patrols were sometimes composed of heavy cruisers and battleships. According to German intelligence reports, Britain was planning to occupy Greece in order to force the Italians out of the war. The report was accurate, as Prime Minister Winston Churchill informed the British commanders of his intention to create a foothold in the Balkans. After the Greek rejection of the Italian ultimatum, Italy attacked Greece from Albania.

The Forces
Mussolini ordered the mobilization of about 600 000 men for the Greek campaign. The Italian war plan was divided into three stages. The first stage involved the occupation of Epirus and the Ionian Islands. The second stage involved a thrust into Western Macedonia and towards Thessalonika. The aim was to capture northern Greece. The third and last stage involved subsidiary attacks against the remainder of the country.

The Italian High Command hoped that by cutting Greek forces in Central Greece, victory could be achieved in less than two weeks. This optimism was not without basis. The Italian army in Albania was 200 000 strong, with 400 000 in reserve. However, numbers alone cannot win battles. The Italian army was short in mechanized and artillery units. Air support was barely inadequate to provide cover for army units. Indeed, Mussolini relied heavily on the numerical superiority of the Italian army over the Greek army in achieving a military victory.

The Greek army was small but formidable. Defending Epirus was the 8th Infantry Division under the command of Major General Katsimitros. In Western Macedonia, the Corps Army Section and the Pindus Detachment (under the command of Lt. General Pitsikas) were deployed to harass advancing Italian forces. Greek forces amounted to about 35 000 men strong, reinforced by formations in Southern Greece and Macedonia. The Greek army also had more medium artillery and machine guns than the Italian army. The Hellenic Royal Air Force was small but reinforced by the British Royal Air Force.

The Battle
The 200 000 strong Italian army launched preemptive attacks from Albania. The invasion force included Albanians attached to the Italian army. On October 28 1940, Italian forces pushed the Greek screening forces. The main Italian force struck towards Elaia and secured a bridgehead over the Kalamas River. On October 31, the Italian high Command informed Mussolini that Italian forces had reached Kalamas in five points. On November 1, the Italians captured Konitsa and reached the Greek defensive line. The Italians launched a desperate attack on the Greek defensive line to no avail.

The Italian High Command knew that the offensive had failed. Now, the Greeks began to increase their reserves. The TDSM and the main Greek force were continuously reinforced with units from northern Greece. On the 14th of November 1940, the Greek army launched a ferocious counteroffensive in Korce. The Italians were pushed to Albania. In Western Macedonia, the Greek army launched another offensive (aided by British army and air force units), destroying a number of Italian battalions.

German Intervention and Outcome
Hitler was enraged over Italys inability to wage even a defensive war. He ordered his generals to formulate a military plan (codenamed Operation Marita). In April 1941, German forces smashed through the Metaxas line and cut off the main Greek force in Albania. At the same time, Yugoslavia suffered from continuous German air attacks. Mussolini also launched his mini-offensive two days prior to the German attacks, but met with little success. On the 20th of April 1941, Greek forces surrendered to the Germans, to avoid the impression that Italy defeated Greece. This spelled the end of the Greco-Italian War.