Did Greek WWII Resistance Delay Hitlers Barbarossa Timetable?
This is a re-posting of something that I wrote a few months back. Though it dealt mainly with the invasion of Yugoslavia and it’s effect on Operation Barbarossa, Greece was also discussed: The invasion of Yugoslavia was necessary after the pro-fascist government of Prince Paul was overthrown just days after agreeing to join the Axis. Enraged by the turn of events, Hitler decided to invade to gain back militarily what he had initially gained diplomatically. German, Italian, and Hungarian troops launched their attack on April 6, 1941 and by April 17 the Yugoslavian operation was over. Many of the German units slated for use in the upcoming Operation Barbarossa were withdrawn from Yugoslavia in some cases before hostilities had ceased. Greece became part of the operation for two reasons. The Italians, using Albania as their springboard, had invaded Greece in October 1940. After some initial success, the Italians were driven back into Albania by a Greek counter-offensive in November 1940.
