The epic battles of the Eastern and Western
Fronts, as well as the War in the Pacific, often are central to the depictions of World
War II. But the conflict was truly global, and each
of its smaller parts were crucial and decisive. The invasion of Greece by Italy and then Germany
is among such lesser talked about parts of the war. Welcome to our series on the Battle of Greece
and this first video on the Greco-Italian War. If you are interested in the history of this
era, don’t forget to check out our second channel – The Cold War – the link is in
the top right corner. Otherwise, if you got a moment, can you narrate
this bit, please? Shoutout to Call of War for sponsoring this
video! Call of War is a FREE online PVP Strategy
game played by millions of users worldwide where you can rewrite the history of World
War 2. You choose your country, join the war, fight
other players in epic real-time battles, and conquer the world in challenging matches that
take weeks to win! The game starts in historically accurate World
War 2 environment but it’s up to you to rewrite history as you want it! To win you have to use your strategic acumen,
strengths and weaknesses of a wide variety World War 2 units such as tanks, planes and
ships. Choose your own strategy to dominate: tank
rush your opponents, establish air superiority or bombard coastal cities! There is a research tree that allows the player
to use atomic bombs and other weapons from World War 2. Build and empire by Win by waging war to your
neighbours and getting into strategic alliances with other players. Call of War is fully Cross-Platform: you can
play with the same account on PC or Mobile. Click on our link below to get 13,000 golds
and 1 month of High Command Subscription for free, only available for 30 Days! The wake of the 20th century saw Italian nationalists
pressing for the expansion of their empire. The recently unified Kingdom of Italy was
striving to form a powerful colonial empire, with Italian Somaliland and Eritrea among
the first colonies to be established overseas. During the Italo-Ottoman war of 1911, Italy
occupied the largely-Greek Dodecanese islands and annexed the province of Libya in North
Africa. For their participation in World War I, they
were promised the provinces of Trento, South Tyrol and Dalmatia, the Austrian Littoral,
parts of western Carniola, and the German colonies in Africa. At the end of the war, they didn’t receive
all of the land that was promised, causing the Italian government to be humiliated. This “mutilated victory”, as it was called
by Italian nationalists, led to the rise of Fascism in the kingdom, with their leader,
Benito Mussolini, becoming Prime Minister in 1922. Mussolini desired to forge a new Roman Empire
in Africa and the Balkans, and wanted to achieve supremacy over the Mediterranean, where their
sphere of influence was based. At the same time, a defeat against burgeoning
Turkey in 1922 had thrown Greece into a chaotic state in which the monarchy was overthrown
and several revolutions and counter revolutions ensued. In 1935, the Royalists, with the help of the
British, restored King George II to the Greek throne, but the country was still in a period
of crisis. The King, instead of attempting to solve the
crisis through parliamentary means, called on Ioannis Metaxas, a former army general
with pro-Fascist ideas, to form a new cabinet. On August 4th 1936, the new Metaxas regime
abolished the constitution and the political parties, and set up a dictatorship. Metaxas, now the Prime Minister in this Fascist
government, sought to establish order back to his country, although this didn’t bend
the democratic spirit of the Greek people. As the outbreak of war was looming over Europe,
Metaxas followed a policy of neutrality and close relationships with the other Mediterranean
powers. Italian-Greek relations had never been particularly
good, but relations worsened after the Italian invasion of Albania, which gave them a foothold
in the Balkans. The presence of Mussolini’s troops at the
Greco-Albanian border threw the Greeks into the arms of the British, to whom they were
also economically dependent. This resulted in the acceptance of a British
guarantee of independence on April 13th. The start of World War 2, however, reversed
Italian plans for a Greek invasion, as in 1940 they were fighting the British in North
Africa, as well as in the Mediterranean, and couldn't open another front. But Count Galeazzo Ciano, Foreign Minister
and Mussolini’s son-in-law, had other plans. He exercised much control over Albanian governor
Francesco Jomini and military commander Sebastiano Visconti Prasca, and saw Albania as his own
personal domain. Ciano believed that he could increase his
popularity in Albania by adding territories with Albanian minorities in Greece and Yugoslavia,
coinciding with Mussolini’s expansionist desires. Mussolini was finally convinced by the assassination
of the Albanian leader in Northern Greece, Daout Hoxha, and an invasion was planned for
the end of September. Visconti Prasca started moving Italian units
to the Greek frontier, while Albanian guerillas were armed and trained to disrupt the Greek
rear, but the Germans delayed the start of the operation because they wanted to maintain
the status quo in the Balkans. In response, the Italians tried to force Greece
into a reaction that would give them a convenient pretext to invade. Provocations reached their peak in August
when the submarine Delfino torpedoed and sank the HRN destroyer Elli. The Greek authorities feigned ignorance on
the identity of the attackers, but prepared for war. When on the 12th of October 1940 German troops
entered Romania, Mussolini decided to act immediately, proclaiming October 26th as the
day of the invasion. Although Il Duce was furious because Romania
was in the Italian sphere of influence, the German interest in the Balkans prevented Turkey
from coming to Greece’s aid, and this allowed the dictator to declare war on them. On October 22nd, Ciano drew up an ultimatum
to be presented to Metaxas, intended to leave Greece no way out: either occupation or war. Metaxas, answered with his famous “Oxhi!”
or “no”. Six days later some 140,000 men, under torrential
rain, invaded Greece along a 90-mile front. They believed the invasion would be fast and
would face around 36,000 Greeks, enjoying a three to one advantage against the defenders. To the surprise of the Italians, the political
divisions in Greece were temporarily silenced in a mood of national unity as the Greeks
swiftly mobilized reservists to the frontlines. At that point the Greek Army fielded one fully
mobilized infantry division in Epirus, the 8th Division, commanded by General Charalambos
Katsimitros, while the 9th Division was placed at the Yugoslav border. They had no tanks and were low on machine-guns
and artillery. Supported by other formations, these divisions
would have to hold the Italian advance until reinforcements arrived. Only the forces on the border with Bulgaria
were not moved, as the Greeks feared the Bulgarians would invade and assist the Italians in their
offensive. The British, honoring their guarantee, reinforced
Crete, as it was very important for them strategically, and sent aircraft, supplies, and money to
help the Greek cause. Pressed by the Italians in Africa, they weren’t
able to send land forces. The frontier was divided by the invaders into
three sectors. The Epirus front, under General Carlo Rossi,
ran from the sea to Ioannina and saw the 25th “Ciamuria” Army Corps, composed by the
23rd “Ferrara” Division of Mountain Infantry, the 51st “Siena” Division, the “Centauro”
Armored Division, the 6th, 7th and 19th Regiments of Cavalry, and the 3rd Regiment of Grenadiers,
backed by heavy artillery and Blackshirt militias. The Pindus front in the center had General
Mario Girotti’s 3rd “Julia” Division of elite Alpini mountain troops, backed by
a machine-gun battalion and mountain artillery. The Eastern Sector ran to the Yugoslavian
frontier and encompassed the area bordered by Korçë, the Italian center in Albania,
and Florina, the gateway to Lake Prespa in Greece. Here, in less mountainous terrain, was the
26th “Corizza” Army Corps under General Gabriele Nasci, comprised of the 19th “Venezia”,
29th “Piedmonte” and 49th “Parma” Divisions, three battalions of Albanian troops,
the 101st Machine-Gun Battalion, heavy artillery, and a regiment of tanks. The initial Italian advance of Visconti Prasca
was in such strength that it sent the Greek forces on the frontier reeling back. There, the Greeks had organized the 17-mile
Elaia-Kalpaki-Kalamas Line in defense of Ioannina, the capital of Epirus. The center of the line was heavily defended
and the left was held with light forces. As the Pindus Mountains gave them shelter,
on the right was only a small Evzones detachment, Greece’s famous kilted mountain troops,
under Colonel Konstantinos Davakis. At the coast, there was a small two-battalion
detachment led by Major Nikolaos Lioumbas. The Greek Commander-in-Chief Alexandros Papagos,
a hero of the Balkan Wars, was placed in command of the defense of the country, and he gave
General Katsimitros complete freedom of action, with the mission to hold off the Italian advance
until sufficient forces had been raised for a counteroffensive. Katsimitros had a difficult decision: to hold
on to the Elaia-Kalamas Line, or to retreat towards the second line of defense at the
gate of Southern Greece, from Preveza through the river Aliakmonas almost to Salonika. In the end, the Greek General decided to protect
Ioannina and Epirus, and to take advantage of the easily defendable mountainous terrain
there. Visconti Prasca, on the other hand, planned
to have Rossi’s infantry attack the center of the defensive line, while the “Centauro”
Armored Division advanced through the narrow valley of the Kalamas river, attempting an
encircling maneuver against their left wing. This attack would be helped by two similar
maneuvers aiming to encircle Greek forces on the defense line, one in the Pindus Mountains
towards Metsovo, and the other towards Paramythia south of the Kalamas river. Visconti Prasca decided not to make any advance
into Western Macedonia before the Epirus area could be secured. Despite the bad weather, it was planned that
in a few weeks Epirus would be, in Mussolini’s words, liquidated. On the first day of the offensive, Rossi sent
the “Siena” division, with some Albanian contingents, to advance south along the coast
towards Paramythia, under the command of General Francisco Rivolta, while the “Ferrara”
and “Centauro” divisions advanced into the Elaia-Kalamas sector as far as Kalpaki. They advanced 30 miles after two days, although
the Armored Division was hindered by the mountainous mud and was rendered useless for fighting
in these conditions. None of these units at first encountered any
resistance, as Papagos approved an initial strategic withdrawal behind the Kalamas river. On November 2nd, the weather improved and
the Italians decided to attack the main defensive line. The Battle of Elaia-Kalamas started with the
“Ferrara” division assaulting the bulk of Katsimitros’ line several times. The harshness of the terrain, and the 8th’s
high morale and fortifications, repelled attack after attack despite the Italians’ air support. On November 5th, Rivolta enjoyed much more
success with the crossing of the Kalamas River, slowly advancing southwards and capturing
the port of Igoumenitsa the following day. In response, the Lioumbas detachment had to
retreat further south to protect the gateway to Southern Greece. The deepest Italian advance came one day later
when the coastal forces occupied the village of Margariti. By November 8th however, the Italian offensive
in Epirus had stopped. At the Pindus Mountains another struggle was
occurring at the same time. The “Julia” division decisively defeated
Davakis’ small detachment by October 29th, and four days later got within 12 miles of
the vital Metsovo Pass, capturing the city of Konitsa and the villages of Samarina and
Vovousa. But the Alpini were slowed down by the foul
weather conditions and were forced to stop, calling for reinforcements that never came. Papagos realized the precarious situation
on this front and sent reinforcements, including the 1st Division. On November 4th, General Vasileios Vrachnos
commanded this counteroffensive into the Battle of Pindus. He first occupied Mount Tambouri north of
Samarina, and sent his cavalry in an encircling maneuver behind the town. Surrounded, the “Julia” sustained heavy
casualties, but eventually managed to break out of encirclement and started to retreat,
calling for reinforcements. Later that day, Vrachnos had managed to reoccupy
Samarina and Vovousa, pressing his attack on the depleted “Julia” and completely
defeating the Alpini division. The 47th “Bari” Division, which was earmarked
to participate in an invasion of Corfu that had to be dropped because of the failure at
Epirus, hurried to the Pindus front, but it was already too late. As the Italians retreated, the Greeks had
problems of their own. The supplies for the Greek army in Pindus
were poor or nonexistent, and there weren't even roads by which the army could be supplied. Due to this situation, the civilian population
heroically volunteered to climb the mountains loaded with ammunition and supplies for the
Greek forces, fighting side by side with the army. The supply situation for the Italians was
also abysmal, as the limited capacity of the two main ports, Valona and Durazzo, created
a bottleneck for supplies and reinforcements. By November 8th, the retreating Italian forces
started a line of defense at Konitsa. In the following five days, the Greeks launched
a steady offensive and managed to advance into the Albanian-Greek frontier line. A new Greek attack against Konitsa started
on November 13th. The Italians made a stubborn defense, but
three days later they evacuated the city after burning it to the ground. Furthermore, Visconti Prasca blamed the defeat
on the poor quality of the Albanian soldiers, based on the fact that an Albanian regiment
had been decimated in Epirus. This enraged the Albanian Commander, Prenk
Pervizi, who protested that the Albanian soldiers were not to be used as cannon fodder. Mussolini was dissatisfied and decided to
replace Prasca with General Ubaldo Soddu as the supreme commander in Albania. This man started organizing a new defensive
line on the entire front, and then commanded Rivolta to stop the coastal advance and await
for the coming of new reinforcements from Italy. The Greeks had won a great victory on the
Epirus and Pindus fronts, sending the Italians back to their initial positions at the Albanian
frontier. Facing more than 5000 casualties, the Italians’
morale was severely weakened. With flocks of reinforcements coming from
all over Greece, Papagos started planning a major offensive operation to take the key
city of Korçë. He appointed General Ioannis Pitsikas to lead
it, and divided his forces into three Army Corps: the 1st Corps on the coast of Epirus,
the 2nd Corps in the Pindus sector, and the 3rd Corps in Western Macedonia with the 9th,
10th and 15th Infantry Divisions, backed with artillery in adequate numbers, and with the
11th and 13th being transported to reinforce the Corps. Furthermore, Papagos placed the 3rd, 4th and
5th Infantry Divisions in reserve. Soddu, on the other hand, reinforced his line
of defense and reorganized his forces into two field armies: the 11th Army at the Epirus
front with the forces of the former 25th Corps, and the remnants of the “Julia’s” Alpini
troops, and General Mario Vercellino’s 9th Army in the Korçë sector, formed out of
the former 26th Corps, with a reserve composed of the 2nd “Tridentina” Alpine Division,
50 tanks from the “Centauro” Division and the 53rd “Arezzo” division. The “Bari” division was placed at the
strategic border post of Erseke, between the northern and southern defensive lines. The balance of power had drastically changed
as the Greeks were now twice the number of the Italian forces. Soddu planned to gain time with this defensive
disposition until the arrival of new reinforcements from Italy, with which he could launch a second
offensive operation. The arrival of all reinforcements was arranged
to be completed by December, but the Greek offensive caught them by surprise before that. Mount Morovas, with the northern Mount Ivan,
belongs to the great Pindus mountain range and forms a barrier covering the city and
the plateau of Korçë. There were only two ways to the Albanian center. One went north through the valley located
between Morovas and Ivan; and the other ran northwest through the Valley of the Dardhe. Both these two valleys could be accessed from
the Greek city of Florina, but the whole area had been fortified by the 9th Army with semi-permanent
fortifications. For this reason, Pitsikas divided the Korçë
front into two: in the north, the 15th, 9th and the recently arrived 13th Divisions under
General Georgios Tsolakoglou’s 3rd Corps, and in the south the “K” Corps commanded
by General Georgios Kosmas, with the 10th Division and the 11th in reserve. The plan was for the 15th Division to advance
west towards the Cangonj pass, between Morovas and Ivan, and capture its western exit; while
the 9th would attack the center of the Italian defense line towards Mount Morovas, and the
“K” Corps would penetrate the Italian left and flank the enemy positions atop of
Morovas. On November 14th, the Greek forces attacked
on the whole front from Lake Prespa to Mount Grammos, directed against the Morovas-Ivan
area. The main attack was organized against the
mountainous southern part of the area, where the Italians couldn’t use their armored
forces. Also, the Italians weren’t expecting a Greek
offensive so suddenly, and thus they were taken by surprise. By afternoon, the 10th Division took possession
of the Bataros height in Morovas and the villages of Nikolitse and Vozigrad, while the 9th advanced
towards the western bank of the Devolis river. The 15th Division, after a three-and-a-half-hour
struggle, was able to break the Italian defense line and take the Cangonj pass, thus isolating
Mount Ivan. 15 miles from Nikolitse, “K” Corps occupied
the Stavroeides heights on November 15th and fortified their position south of the Valley
of the Dardhe. At this point, the Albanians under Pervizi
had abandoned the front, infuriated by Italian abuse, but Vercellino sent the “Arezzo”
Division to reinforce the line of defense. In response, Papagos reinforced the offensive
with the 11th and 13th Divisions. On November 17th, the 9th and 13th Divisions
moved to occupy the Valley of the Dardhe and the 15th tried to take possession of Mount
Ivan. One day later, the Greeks faced a critical
moment when the 13th Division had to change the direction of their attack under a heavy
rain, and this resulted in a state of disorder and confusion that almost sent the division
into retreat, compromising both the 9th and 10th’s rears. But thanks to the actions of Major Sotirios
Moutousis, order was reestablished and the division continued its advance. In reward, Moutousis was granted command of
the division. After two days of heavy fighting, the Greeks
seized the supply lines of the enemy and gradually advanced along the high ridge of Mount Morovas
under artillery fire. Having seized the Valley of the Dardhe and
the valley between Morovas and Ivan by November 20th, Tsolakoglou launched his offensive action
over Korçë, while Kosmas was sent to take the key border post at Erseke, where the 9th
Army’s defensive line ended. Despite air support, the advantage of a terrain
favorable for defense, and permanent fortifications, Soddu was not able to stabilize a defense
line on the Korçë plateau. Vercellino’s forces would have to retreat
from the city to Pogradec because they felt threatened by a Greek pincer movement against
Korçë. After a hard-fought fight in which the “Bari”
was forced to retreat, the “K” Corps took Erseke on November 21st. One day later, the 15th Division occupied
Mount Ivan and the 9th entered Korçë without resistance, being cheered by the Greek native
population. The Greek forces continued to press Soddu’s
retreating forces one day later. The Italians made a disorderly retreat towards
Ochrida and Elbasan, as well as Klisura and Pogradec. There, they would mount their new defensive
line. The Fall of Korçë was a devastating blow
to the Italian invasion. They had been beaten back by the Greeks and
were now forced to defend in Albania. The city of Korçë was the center of the
Italian campaign in the north, and a key supply point for the invaders, and thus losing it
heavily demoralized the Italian army. On the contrary, the Greeks’ high morale
and national fervor inspired them to advance further and to launch a new offensive, directed
to take the important port of Sarande, and the mountain passes from the northwest to
the northeast of Argyrokastro. The sponsor of this video Call of War allows
you to take command of your nation’s army during the darkest hours of human history:
The Second World War. In this FREE online Strategy game, you get
to fight up to 100 other players in Real-Time and rewrite the history of World War 2. To support our channel and download Call of
War Click on my link below to get 13,000 golds and 1 month of High Command Subscription for
free, only available for 30 Days! However, this was just the beginning of the
Battle of Greece and we will talk more about it soon, so make sure you are subscribed to
our channel and have pressed the bell button. We would like to express our gratitude to
our Patreon supporters and channel members, who make the creation of our videos possible. Now, you can also support us by buying our
merchandise via the link in the description. This is the Kings and Generals channel, and
we will catch you on the next one.
