Hitler's heart was toward Hungary and Bulgaria, and the two countries once again staged a bitter drama. Hitler made the decision, and half of Yugoslavia's territory was divided between Hungary and Bulgaria. Although Mussolini was extremely dissatisfied, he had no choice.
So the three countries occupied their pre-demarcated areas according to their respective goals. With Germany's guarantee, that means the interests of Hungary and Bulgaria were guaranteed. They had been Hitler's little brother for many years and finally paid off. The people of the two countries fell into fanaticism.
Among them, their country’s territory in Kiev can be doubled. How can you not be excited? The armies of the two countries have occupied their own share at an alarming rate.
It took Italy until November to completely control the rest of Yugoslavia, and the basis was very unstable. However, no matter what, with millions of casualties, it finally paid off. Italy's land area increased by three-fifths.
Mussolini did not flinch in the face of huge casualties. The more he looked at Greece, the more he disliked it. He decided to take advantage of the situation to capture Greece and establish a dominant position in the Balkans.
However, Bulgaria has long known that Italy will not let Greece go, so they are ready to wait until Italy and Greece are almost ready to attack again to seize the Aegean Sea outlet.
On March 20, 1943, Italy had not yet healed its wounds in Yugoslavia, so it once again assembled its forces. This time Italy decided to take over Greece in one fell swoop.
However, Greece is more powerful than Yugoslavia. Regardless of popular sentiment, morale, or equipment, especially Greece is not as serious as Yugoslavia's racial conflicts.
The army's combat plan stipulates: launch an attack from the Ashe border, break through the Greek defense line, and crush its basic force group; then launch an attack to Thessaloniki (Thessaloniki), annihilate the remnants of the Greek army, and occupy the entire Italian army in Greece
The "Albanian" Army Group (comprising the 9th and 11th Army Groups, commanded by General V. Plaska) has a total of 157,000 people. Among them, the main force preparing to invade Greece totals 8 divisions of about 87,000 people and 163 tanks.
There are 686 artillery pieces and 380 aircraft. The Greek army (the commander-in-chief is General A. Papagos) has a total of 120,000 people deployed in the 1st, 2nd, and 5th armies in the northern region, but only 20,000 people are deployed on the Ashe border.
The division has another 2 brigades and 13 independent infantry battalions, a total of 27,000 people, 20 tanks, 220 artillery pieces and 36 aircraft. The Greek army is determined to organize defenses based on the border fortification areas to prevent the Italian army from penetrating deep into the country.
The Italian army launched an attack on Florina, Vovusa and Ioannina in three directions, advancing 50 to 60 kilometers south. The Greek army used the favorable terrain in the mountainous area to resist tenaciously.
Because Italy wanted to vent to the British that Germany had given half of Yugoslavia to Bulgaria and Hungary, the British thought that Italy might be able to win them over, so they were no longer prepared to directly send troops to assist the Italians, but at the same time they secretly supported a large amount of supplies
To Greece, hoping that Greece can wear down the Italian army
The British's actions are very contradictory, but they are consistent with their consistent principles of behavior. They support Italy in the hope of drawing Italy against Germany, so that it will not threaten British interests in the Mediterranean. If Germany wants to do that, it will freely defeat Italy and control
Only later can Italy threaten the Mediterranean
The British support Greece because Greece has always maintained a good relationship with the United Kingdom. However, Greece is too weak. The British can only choose to sacrifice Greece for their own interests. The reason why they support Greece is mainly because they are worried that if Italy still follows Germany, Greece will suffer more. It is also in the British interest to consume Italians. In short, no matter what they do, the British will try to choose the more advantageous aspect.
Both the navy and the army of Italy have advantages over Greece in terms of numbers and equipment, but that's all. Greece's invasion by Italy has once again exposed Italy to accusations from civil society groups in various countries.
Greece, as the birthplace of the Olympics, has a very high status in the hearts of people from all over the world. Italy's invasion of such a sacred country aroused the dissatisfaction of countless people, so countless people risked their lives to send supplies to Greece. What's more, who directly participated in the Greek army against Italy
Greece had been careful to guard against the Italian army from the beginning, so the Italian army fought very hard. In addition, people from all over the world condemned it, and countless people directly opposed Italy. For a time, Italy once again became infamous.
The Greek army used the existing fortifications to consume a large number of Italian soldiers. The Italian army once again suffered heavy casualties and its morale was very low. At the same time, the Yugoslav resistance organizations also increased their resistance, which effectively cooperated with the Greek army in fighting the Italian army.
On April 25, after fighting against the Italian army for more than a month, the Greek army launched a counterattack against the Italian army. The Italian army surrendered. They had long been frightened by the Greek army. The Greek army counterattacked all the way to Albania.
On May 10, the Greek army invaded Yugoslavia. A large number of Yugoslavs rose up to resist the Italian army. The Greek government took the opportunity to arm the local armed forces in Yugoslavia and assist Yugoslavia in its restoration.
The situation in the Balkans really changed too fast. A month ago, Mussolini aggressively stated that he would take over Greece. However, a month later, not only did he not take over Greece, but Yugoslavia, which had suffered millions of casualties before, was also taken over. occupies a large area
On May 15, the Greek and Yugoslav rebel forces captured Sarajevo, and the Italian-occupied Yugoslavia actually lost it, which made people sigh.
An anti-Mussolini conspiracy in Italy began. Italians had been dissatisfied with Mussolini for a long time. Not only were the people dissatisfied, but the royal family was also very dissatisfied. They originally tried their best, but in 1922 they were dissatisfied with Mussolini. Solini was taken away, and now Mussolini has made such a major mistake again. They feel that they should take advantage of the dissatisfaction of the Italian people to drive Mussolini out.
The disastrous defeat of the Italian army in Yugoslavia led to anti-war demonstrations across Italy. At the same time, some people opposed Mussolini and demanded that he step down, and their voices became louder and louder.
Britain and France saw that Greece was so powerful and should not support Italy. Italy was not good at all, so Britain and France shipped a large amount of supplies to Greece and the newly formed Yugoslav government.
On the Italian side, everyone felt that Mussolini was pro-German, and now that there is such a good opportunity, it is better to oust Mussolini and bring the pro-British and American Italian royal family to the forefront.