Greece initially resisted the Italian invasion of 28 October 1940 and pushed Mussolini's forces back into Albania. Hitler reluctantly sent forces to bail out his ally and subdue Greece (Operation Marita). The resulting Battle of Greece in April 1941 delayed the invasion of the Soviet Union, and the heavy losses of the German "Fallschirmjäger" over Crete effectively put a halt to large-scale German airborne operations.