Although the British Empire was the only major power fighting the Germans and Italians during the period, it was not the only major power fighting the Axis as a whole. China had been engaging the Imperial Japan since 1937, when the Japanese launched an all-out invasion. Some minor powers were also fighting the Germans and Italians: Greece fought the Axis powers from October 1940, when it defeated the Italian troops, to June 1941, when Crete surrendered to the Germans. Both Winston Churchill and Charles de Gaulle praised Greece's exceptional heroism at a point that many peoples were subjugated and the Axis seemed unbeatable.