This WWII history examines the most consequential and hard-fought battle between Greek and Italian forces in Albania. On March 9th, 1941, the Italians launched their Spring Offensive, designed to stem four months of humiliating reverses. Watched by Mussolini himself, the operation’s objective was a pair of parallel valleys dominated by the Greek-held Hill 731. The Italian Eighth Corps, part of Geloso’s 11th Army, had the task of seizing the heights, spearheaded by 38 (Puglie) Division. Holding the position was the Greek 1 Division of II Corps, with 4 and 6 Division on the flanks. For seventeen days, after a massive artillery barrage, the Italians threw themselves against the Evzones on the hill—only to be repeatedly smashed with appalling losses. It was a merciless fight at close quarters, where bayonets held the place of honor but the battered Greeks held. Mussolini had wanted a spring victory to impress the Führer. Instead, the bloody debacle of Hill 731 could well have contributed to Hitler’s decision to postpone his invasion of Russia. John Carr sheds light on this consequential episode in the Mediterranean theater of operations.

Hill 731 was the scene of the most ferocious battle of the Greek-Italian War in Albania. Watched by Mussolini himself, on 9 March 1941 the Italians launched their Spring Offensive, designed to stem four months of humiliating reverses. The objective was a pair of parallel valleys dominated by the Greek-held Hill 731 that had to be taken at all costs.The Italian Eighth Corps, part of Geloso's 11th Army, had the task of seizing the heights, spearheaded by 38 (Puglie) Division. Holding the position was the Greek 1 Division of II Corps, with 4 and 6 Division on the flanks.For 17 days, after a massive artillery barrage (which reduced the hill's height by 6 metres), the Italians threw themselves with great courage against the Evzones on the hill, to be repeatdly smashed with appalling losses. It was an Iwo Jima-type merciless fight at close quarters, where bayonets held the place of honour but the battered Greeks held.Mussolini had wanted a spring victory to impress the Fuehrer. Instead, the bloody debacle of Hill 731 could well have contributed to Hitler's decision to postpone his invasion of Russia by at least four weeks, a costly delay.

The first of two volumes on the Axis campaigns in the Balkans, exploring Mussolini's fateful decision to move against Greece in October 1940. The Greek President Metaxas rejected the Italian ultimatum with a famous 'Oxi' ('No'), and what followed was Italy's first debacle in World War II. In the wake of Italy's rapid annexation of Albania in April 1940, Mussolini's decision to attack Greece in October that year is widely acknowledged as a fatal mistake, leading to a domestic crisis and to the collapse of Italy's reputation as a military power (re-emphasized by the Italian defeat in North Africa in December 1940). The Italian assault on Greece came to a stalemate in less than a fortnight, and was followed a week later by a Greek counter-offensive that broke through the Italian defences before advancing into Albania, forcing the Italian forces to withdraw north before grinding to a half in January 1941 due to logistical issues. Eventually, the Italians took advantage of this brief hiatus to reorganize and prepare a counteroffensive, the failure of which marked the end of the first stage of the Axis Balkan campaign. The first of two volumes examining the Axis campaigns in the Balkans, this book offers a detailed overview of the Italian and Greek armies, their fighting power, and the terrain in which they fought. Complimented by rarely seen images and full colour illustrations, it shows how expectations of an easy Italian victory quickly turned into one of Mussolini's greatest blunders.

In October 1940 an Italian army some 200,000 strong invaded Greece across its largely undefended border with Albania. Although supported by Great Britain, at first by sea and in the air and later by landing British and ANZAC troops from North Africa, Greece bore the main brunt of the six-month war. Outclassed in materiel and outnumbered, LtGen Papagos's Greek army was so successful against the Italians in north-west Greece that, by 22 November 1940, it was advancing into Italian-held Albania. This would eventually force Hitler to send in German reinforcements to support his beleaguered Italian allies, delaying his invasion of the Soviet Union. Complete with contemporary photographs and full-colour uniform plates, this fascinating study explores the history, organization, and appearance of the armies of this oft forgotten conflict.

This second volume begins with the account of Mussolini attempting to mirror Hitler in acts of aggression by thrusting towards Egypt and capturing the important artery of the British Empire; the Suez Canal. The Italian initiative failed and when its army was driven back with heavy losses, Mussolini asked for help and Hitler sent Rommel. Beginning in the spring of 1941, Axis forces, under a dynamic General Rommel, pushed the British back to Egypt. In the meantime, Mussolini decided on another easy target to spread his new 'Roman Empire' and invaded Greece. Once again, his superior numbers were repelled and the Greeks sent his army back to its starting point in Albania. Hitler came to the aid of his Axis ally and Churchill sent the British to help Greece, but in doing so, depleted his forces in North Africa. During the Battle of Greece, Greek and British forces in the north of the country were overwhelmed by a rapid German advance. The British embarked for Crete and the Germans promptly captured the island with their much-vaunted Fallschirmjager. Matters were disheartening for the British people following these defeats in North Africa and Greece. However, a morale boost came with the sinking of the Bismarck and the defection of Rudolf Hess, Hitler’s deputy, in an amazing flight to Scotland. Then it came: in June, the German Führer took on his greatest military challenge; the invasion of Soviet Russia. By the end of the second year of the war, the Axis forces were deep into Stalin’s territory. Britain now had a major ally at last.

"A chilling reminder of Hitler’s twisted power." —BBC For readers of The Monuments Men and The Hare with Amber Eyes, the story of the Nazis' systematic pillaging of Europe's libraries, and the small team of heroic librarians now working to return the stolen books to their rightful owners. While the Nazi party was being condemned by much of the world for burning books, they were already hard at work perpetrating an even greater literary crime. Through extensive new research that included records saved by the Monuments Men themselves—Anders Rydell tells the untold story of Nazi book theft, as he himself joins the effort to return the stolen books. When the Nazi soldiers ransacked Europe’s libraries and bookshops, large and small, the books they stole were not burned. Instead, the Nazis began to compile a library of their own that they could use to wage an intellectual war on literature and history. In this secret war, the libraries of Jews, Communists, Liberal politicians, LGBT activists, Catholics, Freemasons, and many other opposition groups were appropriated for Nazi research, and used as an intellectual weapon against their owners. But when the war was over, most of the books were never returned. Instead many found their way into the public library system, where they remain to this day. Now, Rydell finds himself entrusted with one of these stolen volumes, setting out to return it to its rightful owner. It was passed to him by the small team of heroic librarians who have begun the monumental task of combing through Berlin’s public libraries to identify the looted books and reunite them with the families of their original owners. For those who lost relatives in the Holocaust, these books are often the only remaining possession of their relatives they have ever held. And as Rydell travels to return the volume he was given, he shows just how much a single book can mean to those who own it.

This military history of the WWII Battle of Greece presents a vivid and detailed account with special focus on the Greek forces defending their homeland. On October 28th, 1940, the Greek Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas refused to accept an ultimatum from Italy’s Fascist leader Benito Mussolini. Immediately upon his refusal, Italian forces began the invasion of Greece via Albania. This aggression was prompted by Mussolini's desire for a quick victory to rival Hitler's rapid conquest of France and the Low Countries. But Mussolini had underestimated the skill and determination of the defenders. Within weeks, the Italian invaders were driven back over the border and Greek forces actually advanced deep into Albania. Eventually, Hitler was forced to intervene, sending German forces into Greece via Bulgaria on April 6th. The Greeks, assisted by British forces, were overwhelmed by the Germans and their blitzkrieg tactics. After Athens fell on April 27th, the British evacuated to Crete. But the following month, German airborn troops invaded and eventually took the strategically vital island. John Carr's masterful account of these desperate campaigns draws heavily on Greek sources to emphasize the oft-neglected experience of Greeks soldiers and their contribution to the fight against fascism.