Greco-Italian War

The Greco-Italian War was a war between the Kingdom of Italy, supported by its puppet Albania and the Tsardom of Bulgaria, and the Kingdom of Greece. The war began in 1941 and came to an end some months later in 1942.
The invasion consisted of Italian troops moving across the Greco-Albanian border, however this initial assault was badly armed and suffered from poor leadership. They encountered unexpected resistance from the Greek troops who used the mountainous and muddy terrain on the border to their advantage. This allowed the Greeks to put the Italians on the backfoot and force them back into Albanian territory, with the Greek soldiers themselves occupying some land in southern Albania.
After the front had stabilised the Italians reinforced their frontlines and sought to win the war quickly in a Spring Offensive, however this proved to also be unsuccessful for the Italians. At this point losses had been almost equal on both sides, but the Italians were able to replenish their men and re-supply them successfully while the Greeks weren't able to do so.
To try and distract the Greek forces, Mussolini promised to cede and all lands east of Macedonia to Bulgaria, in return for their support. Despite fears of a potential Turkish intervention, the Bulgarians agreed to join the war effort and seek their own further land gains in addition to what they annexed from Yugoslavia in 1940. The intervention of Bulgaria, though not an amazing fighting force, proved to be the straw that broke the camels back, and Greece fell apart quickly with pressure on both fronts.
Category:Conflicts
Category:Conflicts involving Bulgaria
Category:Conflicts involving Greece
Category:Conflicts involving Albania
Category:Conflicts involving Italy