Swastika over the Acropolis

Craig Stockings, PhD. (2006), is Associate Professor of History at the University of New South Wales, Canberra. He has published a number of monographs, edited works and articles on various aspects of Australian and international military history, including Bardia: Myth, Reality and the Heirs of Anzac (UNSW Press, 2009).Eleanor Hancock, PhD.(1989), is Associate Professor of History at the University of New South Wales, Canberra. She has published on various aspects of the history of Nazi Germany and World War II, including Ernst Röhm Hitler’s SA Commander (Palgrave USA, 2008).

• Acknowledgements ... ixList of Maps and Figures ... xiConventions ... xvIntroduction ... 1PART ONE: SETTING THE SCENE1. Axis Ambitions in Europe and Greece 1933-1940 : ‘Greece is assigned to the mercy of Italy’ ... 172. The Italo-Greek War, the Powers and the Balkans : ‘My friend Mussolini is a very sensitive gentleman’ ... 353. Albania, the Bulgarian Frontier & Greek Defensive Schemes ... 714. The Die is Cast : German and British Planning in Early March 1941 ... 915. The Gathering Storm : Mid-March and Early April 1941 ... 115PART TWO: THE DRAMA UNFOLDS6. Opening Moves (6-7 April) ... 1497. The Fall of Northeastern Greece (8-9 April) ... 1798. New Battle Lines (10-12 April) ... 2079. The Battle of Vevi (12-13 April) ... 23710. Pressure on the Passes (14-15 April) ... 27111. Allied Withdrawal Planning & Operations (15-16 April) ... 30112. The Battle of Pinios Gorge (17-18 April) ... 32913. Across the Plains of Thessaly (17-18 April) ... 35914. The End in Epirus (19-21 April) ... 39115. Brallos and the Thermopylae Pass (22-24 April) ... 42516. Corinth and the Peloponnese (25-26 April) ... 45717. The Final Evacuations (27-28 April) ... 485PART THREE: EVALUATION18. The Outcome Explained ... 51319. Justifications, Vindications and Unnecessary Debates ... 54320. Marita and Barbarossa ... 569Epilogue ... 589Bibliography ... 599