The Battle of Greece (also known as Operation Marita, ) is the common name for the invasion of Allied Greece by Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany during World War II. The Italian invasion in October 1940, which is usually known as the Greco-Italian War, was followed by the German invasion in April 1941. German landings on the island of Crete (May 1941) came after Allied forces had been defeated in mainland Greece. These battles were part of the greater Balkan Campaign of the Axis powers and their associates.