OCTOBER, 1940 – MAY, 1941

 HITLER NOT ORIGINALLY INTERESTED IN BALKAN/GREEK OCCUPATION  HITLER DIDN’T EVEN ENCOURAGE AN ITALIAN INVASION  WHY NOT?  HITLER WANTED LEBENSRAUM IN EASTERN EUROPE (Poland, Russia, etc.)  HITLER WAS CONTENT TO ALLOW ITALY TO DOMINATE THE BALKANS & GREECE  MILITARY INVOLVEMENT THERE WOULD REQUIRE NAVAL RESORUCES  GERMANS DIDN’T WANT TO DRAIN NAVAL RESOURCES FROM ATLANTIC  HITLER EVENTUALLY SUPPORTS ITALIAN INVASION OF GREECE  WHY?  BENITO MUSSOLINI WAS DESPERATE TO ACHIEVE “GREAT” VICTORIES  AXIS MILITARY ACTION WOULD PUT MORE PRESSURE ON BRITS.  HOW?  BRITS. & GREEKS ARE ALLIES – BRITS. HAS TROOPS IN GREECE  ATTACK WOULD DISRUPT BRIT. MILITARY ACTION IN NORTH AFRICA

 BENITO MUSSOLINI

 WHEN? OCTOBER, 1940  WHERE? GREECE & ALBANIA  WHY?  MUSSOLINI WANTS MILITARY “VICTORIES” LIKE HITLER  CONTROL OF BOTH COUNTRIES COULD GIVE AXIS CONTROL OF THE ADRIATIC SEA  BALKANS POSSESSED SOME IMPORTANT RESORUCES (Oil, metals, etc.)  MUSSOLINI BELIEVED BOTH NATIONS WERE WEAK  WHAT?  ITALIAN INVASION DOESN’T GO WELL  HITLER FORCED TO “RESCUE” ITALIANS  GERMANS MOVE GROUND / AIR UNITS TO BALKANS  OPERATION “MARITA” BEGINS, APRIL 1941  GERMAN INVASION OF THE BALKANS  YUGOSLAVIA INVADED FIRST – WHY? TO SECURE BASES FOR INVASION OF GREECE  YUGOSLAVIA IS ETHNICALLY DIVIDED AND MILITARILY WEAK  EFFECT:  GERMANS NOW FIGHTING BRITS. IN AREAS FAR FROM BRITAIN  DELAYS GERMAN INVASION OF RUSSIA

 OPERATION MARITA SPRING, 1941

 WHY DID ITALIANS FAIL?  MUSSOLINI DOESN’T HAVE A GOOD REASON TO INVADE  RESULT?: ITALIAN TROOPS ARE UNINSPIRED TO FIGHT  ITALIAN LEADERSHIP IS SUBSTANDARD  WHY DOES GERMANY MOVE IN?  HITLER CAN’T ALLOW AXIS HUMILIATION  BRITISH IN GREECE ARE A CONSTANT THREAT TO HIS OTHER AXIS ALLIES  EX.: BULGARIA, RUMANIA, HUNGARY  BRITS. COULD THREATEN AXIS RESOURCES IN THESE COUNTRIES  EX.: OIL FIELDS IN RUMANIA  BRITS. IN GREECE COULD THREATEN AXIS TROOPS IN NORTH AFRICA

 KEY PROBLEM / QUESTION:  TRANSFERRING FORCES TO THE BALKANS WILL DELAY THE INVASION OF RUSSIA UNTIL SUMMER, 1941  SO WHAT?  OTHER DEVELOPMENTS: YUGOSLAVIA  YUGOSLAVIAN GUERILLA MOVMENT DEVELOPS  “PARTISANS” : GUERILLA ARMY DEVELOPED BY JOSIP BROZ TITO  COMMUNIST GUERILLA ARMY WHICH IS NOT CONTROLLED BY THE SOVIETS  WHY IMPORTANT?

 WHAT?  FIRST, and ONLY, LARGE-SCALE GERMAN AIRBORNE OPERATION OF WWII  ONE OF THE FEW GERMAN CAMPAIGNS RUN BY THE LUFTWAFFE  22,000 TROOPS  600 TROOP TRANSPORT PLANES  280 BOMBERS  200 FIGTHERS  150 STUKAS  WHEN? MAY, 1941 (1 MONTH BEFORE GERMANS INVADE RUSSIA)  WHY?  OPERATION MARITA HAD FAILED TO WIPE OUT BRIT. TROOPS IN GREECE  BRITS. HAD RETREATED TO CRETE  HITLER WAS ENCOURAGED TO TAKE CRETE BY HIS GENERALS  GERMANS BELIEVE CRETE WILL BE A GOOD STAGING AREA FOR FUTURE OPERATIONS IN MED. SEA.  WHO?  C/O: GENERAL KURT STUDENT, LUFTWAFFE  LUFTWAFFE “FALLSCHIRMJAGER” (PARATOOPERS)  SUPPORT UNITS INCLUDED:  AIR UNITS (SEE ABOVE)  ARMY “MOUNTAIN” UNITS  WHERE?  ISLAND OF CRETE (GREEK – OWNED)

 GERMANS ARE VERY CONFIDENT BEFORE ATTACK  WHY?  BELIEVE CRETE IS IDEAL TARGET (WHY?)  BELIEVE BRITS. IN CRETE ARE SUBSTANDARD TROOPS  DON’T KNOW BRITS. HAVE CRACKED THEIR MILITARY CODES.  RESULT?  BRITS. KNOW WHAT GERMAN PLANS ARE  ELEMENT OF SURPRISE IS LOST  WHY SO IMPORTANT?  GERMAN PLAN:  AIRBORNE TROOPS WILL LAND & SEIZE AIRFIELDS  SUPPLIES & EQUIPMENT WILL BE FLOWN INTO SECURE AIRFIELDS  GERMANS WILL ADVANCE ALONG MAIN ROAD UNTIL THEY HAVE SECURED ISLAND

 GERMAN PROBLEMS:  BRITS. HAVE DECODED INFORMATION ABOUT THE ATTACK  EX.: BRITS KNEW WHAT SPECIFIC GERMAN TARGETS ON CRETE WERE  AIRBORNE ASSUALTS DEPEND ON SECRECY – WHY?  GEOGRAPHY OF CRETE WAS DIFFICULT (rocky, uneven)  FALLSCHIRMJAGERS HAVE DANGEROUS EQUIPMENT (ex. parachute harnesses)  LACK OF ‘CHUTE CONTROL = GERMANS OFTEN LAND ON BREITISH POSITIONS  RESULTS? VERY HIGH CASUALTIES

GERMAN AIRDROP OVER BRITISH POSITIONS, CRETE, MAY 1941

 BRITISH PROBLEMS:  LITTLE / NO AIR COVER  LACK OF RADIO EQUIPMENT  LACK OF TRANSPORT VEHICLES  LACK OF EQUIPMENT PARTS / SPARES  SO WHAT?  BRITS ARE CONSTANTLY UNDER AIR ATTACK  BRITS CAN’T COMMUNICATE TO EACH OTHER  BRITS CAN’T MOVE TO REINFORCE EACH OTHER  BRIT. EQUIPMENT CAN’T BE EASILY REPAIRED

 FALLSCHIRMJAGER ON CRETE, MAY 1941

 GERMANS CAN REINFORCE TROOPS (thanks to airpower)  BRITS. CAN’T  RESULTS :  GERMANS TAKE CRETE / BRITS. RETREAT  CASUALTIES ARE HEAVY FOR BOTH SIDES:  GERMANS:  KIA – 4000  220 OUT OF 600 TRANSPORT PLANES DESTROYED  BRITISH:  KIA – 2000  P.O.W. – 12,000  HITLER IS FURIOUS ABOUT LOSSES ; NEVER ALLOWS ANOTHER LARGE-SCALE GERMAN AIRBORNE OPERATION  U.S. & BRIT. AIRBORNE UNITS LEARN VALUABLE LESSONS FROM CRETE OPERATION  EX: NEVER DROP TROOPS DIRECTLY ON TOP OF AN ENEMY POSITION