Evening star., 1941-04-10

tells you that a French wit in
Greeks, stop here. This is the F
Mussolini's invasion in reversed
would be the most ludicrous story
in modern history If it had not
caused so many thousands of deaths,
so much destruction and human
misery. The inside story is funnier
than Wodehouse and more melo-
dramatic than Oppenheim. 1t is a
gangster story of bribing and double
crossing.
Mussolini bribed a half dozen
Greek generals to betray their coun-
try. They went to (the late dictator,
Gen. john Metaxas, and he-the
wiliest Greek of them all-said,
Keep the money, be true to your
country and keep me informed" "
They did exactly that and Musso-
lini, expecting to conquer Greece In
48 hours, has been beaten instead.
Ultimatum Was No News.
Three weeks before Mussolini's
unexpected" ultimatum and his
precipitate invasion, your corre-
spondent and at least two embassies
in Rome knew the exact day and
hour of the invasion. l sent four
cables setting the zero hour as pre-
cisely as I could without riSking ex-
pulsion. The Italian excuse that
the Greeks were providing subma-
rine and air bases for the British
was as bald a lie as the trumped-
up story some months before of the
murder of Daut Hodgis, bandit
described by the italians as an AL
banian patriot. Hodgia had been
killed in a drunken brawl two
months before the incident"
Mussolini decided that Greece
ought to be his swag after Hitler
double crossed him on the French
loot. Mussolini jumped on the back
of France, only to the thrown on
with bad bruises, because he wanted
Savoy, Tunisia, Corsica, Nice and
French Somaliland
But Hitler decided not TO give
them to Mussolini. Hitler wanted
the French colonies and the French
Navy for use against the British and
he feared that if Mussolini were
allowed to despoil France prema-
turely the navy and the colonies
might to to Gen. Charles De Gaulle,
head of the Free French" move
ment.
decided In Cross Hitler.
Smarting under Hitler's decision.
Mussolini looked about for quick
pusbcver, to which Hitler might
agree. Mussolini had always wanted
Yugcslavia. but he knew that the
Serbs would fight him and. besides,
Hitler wanted to drain all the live
stock and food out of Yugoslavia
before attacking there. Mussolini
asked Hitler about Greece and Hit
ler said, "Okay. but later. You've
got to wait until much later in the
game"
Mussolini decided to cross Hit
ler. He called IN Ciano and Ettore
Mutt, who had engineered the coup
in Albania, and asked them to re-
peat the performance in Greece.
Mutt is a 6-foot-2 roughneck who
looks like a professional football
player He has the courage of lion
and the brain and education of a
10-year-old child.
Ciano idolized him and told me
once in Mutis presence that his
friend was "the perfect Fascist"
and the most trustworthy lieutenant
he had ever found.
Mutt Beats Up Ciano.
Ciano also took Mutt to the coun-
try club to show him off to his girls
and few foreigners with the kind
of obvious pride a man takes in a
newly-acquired bird dog or mastiff
That ultimately destroyed their
friendship. Mutt fell in love with
one of the girls to whom Ciano in
troduced him and later when Ciano
took the girl away from him, simple,
fortnight Mutt did not understand.
-Four weeks ago on the airport at
Bari, where both are pilots, Mutt
bOdACo StdliO SAdAAO ooehco boSN>
A man who saw the fight told me 1t
was q thriller. Mutt won.
At the time Mussolini ordered
them to engineer the conquest of
Greece, Ciano and Mutt were still
friends. They went to work with q
will. Ciano began to grind out the
press campaign. Mutt arranged the
Daut Hodgia incident. They dis
patched agents to Greece and or
ganized the bombing force. They
planned to repeat the Albanian per-
| formance verbatim.
Ciano gave the Greeks private in
timations that he wanted only Sal
onika and a few bases and would
treat the country we'll If it merely
| offered q nominal show of resistance
The invasion was to be a fifth
column operation, based on treach-
cry by key Greek generals, exploited
by methodical bombing which would
destroy communications and para
| lyze Greek resistance. Ciano and