German invasion of Greece
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Was the invasion of Greece Germany during World War II. The Invasion followed the unsuccesful invasion of Greece by Italian forces.
Chronology
Interactive Chronologies with maps are available in the section Changes Navigation
April 1941: German conquest of Thermopyles (pass).
April 1941: By April 9th the German forces reached Thessaloniki.
April 1941: The spearheads of the German 9th Panzer Division reached Kozani.
April 1941: The Germans captured the town of Strumica.
April 1941: The German 73rd Infantry Division captured Prilep.
April 1941: By the evening of 8 April the German 164th Infantry Division captured Xanthi
April 1941: The German 72d Infantry Division reached the area northeast of Seres.
April 1941: On 14 April a pitched battle between several Greek units and the LSSAH brigade—which had by then reached Grevena—erupted. The Greek 13th and Cavalry Divisions lacked the equipment necessary to fight against an armoured unit, and on 15 April were finally encircled and overwhelmed.
April 1941: German conquest of Panteleimonas.
April 1941: The Italian armoured division along with the 18th Infantry Division Messina advanced upon the Yugoslav fleet base of Kotor in Montenegro, also occupying Cettinje and Podgorica.
April 1941: The port of Volos fell to the Germans on 21 April.
April 1941: The Germans advanced further and captured Ioannina.
April 1941: On 23 April the Greek commander signed a surrender agreement whit the Italians. The Italians thus re-acquired the Greek-occupied regions of Albania.
April 1941: German conquest of Kalamata.
April 1941: The German 5th Panzer Division reached the south coast of Greece on 29 April.
April 1941: German SS troops seized Vevi on 11 April.
April 1941: German conquest of Veles.
April 1941: On 19 April the German first XVIII Mountain Corps troops entered Larisa and took possession of the airfield.
April 1941: German conquest of Skopje.
April 1941: The German 72d Infantry Division got through the Metaxas Line by the evening of 9 April,
April 1941: On 27 April the SS forces seized the Corinth Canal and Patras.
April 1941: Korça that fell unopposed to the Italian 9th Army.
April 1941: By 30 April the hostilities ceased. Greece was fully occupied by German forces.
April 1941: On the morning of 27 April the Germans entered Athens, the Greek capital.
Was a major Axis airborne and amphibious operation during World War II to capture the island of Crete.
May 1941: On May 27, Chania fell to German forces.
May 1941: On May 28, the port in Souda Bay passed into German hands.
May 1941: The next day, through communication failures, Allied tactical hesitation and German offensive operations, the Maleme Airfield in western Crete fell.
June 1941: Allied evacuation from Crete May 28th to June 1st. Crete was occupied by German forces.
May 1941: On May 29th, Rethymno capitulated to the Germans.
Selected Sources
Blau, G.E.(1953): PART FOUR THE SEIZURE OF CRETE (Operation MERKUR). U.S. Army Center of Military History. Retrieved on 5 April 2024 on https://history.army.mil/books/wwii/balkan/20_260_4.htm
Blau, G.E.(1953): PART THREE THE GERMAN CAMPAIGN IN GREECE (Operation MARITA). U.S. Army Center of Military History. Retrieved on 5 April 2024 on https://history.army.mil/books/wwii/balkan/20_260_3.htm
Campaign In The Balkans, Invasion Of Yugoslavia And Greece, April 1941. United States Military Academy West Point. Retrieved on March, 26th, 2024 on https://s3.amazonaws.com/usma-media/inline-images/academics/academic_departments/history/WWII%20Europe%20Med/WWIIEurope17.jpg
Carr, John (2013). The Defence and Fall of Greece 1940–41. Pen and Sword Military. p. 211.
McClymont, W. G. (1959): To Greece, Historical Publications Branch, p. 159
Playfair, I. S. O; Flynn, F. C.; Moloney, C. J. C. & Toomer, S. E. (2004) [1956]. Butler, J. R. M. (ed.). The Mediterranean and Middle East: The Germans Come to the Help of Their Ally (1941). History of the Second World War: United Kingdom Military Series. Vol. II (Naval & Military Press ed.). London. pp.83-87
