Quote:
Originally Posted by HFC_Dolphin
Well, Greeks were there too, defeating Italians and forcing Germans to delay operation Barbarossa in order to conquer Greece.
Well fought war  |
It should more correct to say "stopping the Italian's attack", not actually defeating the Italian Army.
Tactical defensive victory, yes. Decisive victory, not.
More of a stalemate in that campaign: roughly the same losses in both Armies too.
Apart from the aggressive counter-attack (with superior numbers) of the Greek Army between November-January, from February on , the war on that front resembled a static trench-warfare.
At first the Greek Army was able to stop the Italian attack into northern Epirus.
Then, the Italian Army was able to stop the Greek from advancing further and succesfully neglected the possibility to let the Greeks conquer either Valona or Tepeleni, their main objectives in that campaign.
The Italian rather big counter-attack on the 9th March of 1941 was quite a disaster, and the the front-line remained actually the same before the German intervantion.
I've been studying this campaign for years: it's probably the most idiotic and criminal act of either Mussolini and his little nephew Ciano.
A criminal war, without reason, without preparation, that cost a lot of good Greek and Italian young lives for... nothing really.
It's my (and others too) convinction, that this campaign was the main reason the Italian people stopped being supportive of either the Government, Mussolini itself, and the war in general.
The Italian generals were in general incompetents; the humble italian soldiers were actually the ones that saved their butt (and prestige) in stopping the Greeks from kicking us out in the adriatic sea...
Well, it's another thread so...
Cheers