087 - Another Last Stand at Thermopylae - The Battle of Greece - WW2 - April 25, 1941

The Battle of Greece continues as forces clash once more at the historic site of Thermopylae.
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Between 2 Wars: • Between 2 Wars
Source list: bit.ly/SourcesWW2
Written and Hosted by: Indy Neidell
Director: Astrid Deinhard
Producers: Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Executive Producers: Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson, Bodo Rittenauer
Creative Producer: Joram Appel
Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
Edited by: Iryna Dulka
Sound design: Marek Kamiński
Map animations: Eastory ( / eastory )
Colorizations by:
- Norman Stewart - oldtimesincolor.blogspot.com/
- Jaris Almazani (Artistic Man), artistic.man?ig...
- Julius Jääskeläinen - / jjcolorization
- Dememorabilia - / dememorabilia
Sources:
- Bundesarchiv, CC-BY-SA 3.0, Bild 101I-163-0318-09/Bauer, Bild 101I-163-0319-03A/Bauer
- Edo leitner from Wikimedia
- Imperial War Museum: E 3830, TR 1762, IWM ART LD 3355, E 676, E 3182, E 3187, E 3178, E 3183, E 2363
- Roll by rivercon from the Noun Project
- Grains by Gan Khoon Lay from the Noun Project
Archive by Screenocean/Reuters www.screenocean.com.
A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.

[@WorldWarTwo]

The war keeps on growing, and were doing our best to keep up with it. As you notice the episodes are often longer these days, but there are still many details we just can't cover in the weekly episodes for time reasons. That's why we do our specials and also why we have our instagram and facebook feed with headlines of the war day by day. For instance, while we cover the Allied retreat at Thermopylae, Indy just didn't have space to go into the details about how Australian and New Zealand forces hold back the Wehrmacht while the others retreat. That will instead be the topic of our post on Instagram / Facebook on April 24 here: instagram.com/world_war_two_realtime/ and on the TimeGhost facebook page. We also dedicated the thumb to that event by featuring a soldier of the 28th (Māori) Battalion of the NZ forces, photographed in North Africa somewhat later in 1941 while doing the Haka. His unit was part of the rear guard at Thermopylae. And on that note we would like to acknowledge that we would never be able to do this massive endeavor without the TimeGhost Army and their financial contribution. Valantis who supported this episode by dedicating it to the Cypriots fighting for the Allies in the war is not only a member of the TG Army, he's also a valuable contributor in our comment sections and volunteers his time to help us sift through and read every comment posted under any of our videos. So, in this place we would like to once again thank Valantis and the entire TimeGhost Army for keeping us in kit, supplies, and manpower to continue the good fight for remembrance and education, especially in these trying times. You can join our forces here www.patreon.com/TimeGhostHistory or here timeghost.tv Spartacus on behalf of the entire TimeGhost team. *RULES OF CONDUCT* STAY CIVIL AND POLITE we will delete any comments with personal insults, or attacks. AVOID PARTISAN POLITICS AS FAR AS YOU CAN we reserve the right to cut off vitriolic debates. HATE SPEECH IN ANY DIRECTION will lead to a ban. RACISM, XENOPHOBIA, OR SLAMMING OF MINORITIES will lead to an immediate ban. PARTISAN REVISIONISM, ESPECIALLY HOLOCAUST AND HOLODOMOR DENIAL will lead to an immediate ban.

[@rantymcrant-pants9536]

The invasion of Russia seems even more insane from the perspective of this week. Those resources could have push to the Suez and almost certain victory vs Britain.

[@AatiNiiranen]

When the invasion of the soviet union starts will you talk about the finnish front?

[@josephrudder2104]

Indy, What if Hitler had switched his armies trajectory from east to southeast and invaded the Middle East from both the Balkans and North Africa? Would that had won the war for Germany and even given Hitler leverage on Stalin?

[@Betrix5060]

When you say at 1:23 that Dessie "will fall to a force entirely of south africans" what does that actually mean? Normally I wouldn't consider the ethnic composition of a unit particularly relevant, but given that this is South Africa, I feel it is of some relevance. Was there an apartheid in the units at this point? Were whites and/or english/afrikaners prioritized for officer positions, etc? For most colonial units it's a pretty clear cut case of a predominantly native force lead by an almost, if not entirely, exclusively white officer corps. (or if the colonizing nation isn't white whatever term fits, it's a comparatively rare case for this period) South Africa however has a very strange ethno-racial history to put it mildly, so I'm curious how that works.

[@jackcoleman5955]

Staggering amount of action for a single week !! Thanks Indy and team, for a riveting summary!

[@rgm96x49]

"We're gonna surrender, but not to Mussolini, they didn't earn this win" Damn.

[@DragonHunter24]

At this point i think everybody was making fun of Mussolini, and i cant stop laughing

[@Danterobo]

Mai-san?

[@anaccountmusthaveaname9110]

when the losers laugh at you, you are the real loser

[@umjackd]

@@threaruscamuwundra7417 It's a much better book than movie, well worth checking that out too. :)

[@lucaventinove3151]

@Hiro Shao It was actually the third one, but indeed that is what has happened

[@mariosvos7323]

A Kiwi friend of mine once told me the following story: " On 2011 I was with my wife and my 2 kids on vacations in Crete. We were in a small taverna in the middle of nowhere. The waitress thought we were German tourists but we said that we are from New Zealand. On the next table there was a company of 4-5 local men. At some point we asked for the bill but instead of the bill, 2 glasses of wine arrived for me and my wife and 2 glasses of fruit juice for the kids. The waitress explained that there was nothing to pay. Then the company next to us raised their glasses and one of them said `this bill has been settled many years ago`. I never felt more proud being a Kiwi. Everywhere in Crete the simple mention of being a Zealander opened all doors."

[@shanehall6081]

In NZ if you joined the army you'll probably do your initial training in Waiouru. The Army Depot. Alot of the barracks and some of the roads are named after famous or Real bitter battles the army has been involved in. Alot of Greek and cretan names there. Galatos barracks being one that is burned into mine memory but heaps of others.

[@ninaakari5181]

I don't know why, but they treated me the same way and I am from North-Europe, so maybe it is also their great hospitality

[@titokarawera25]

I m Kiwi and I had the same experience in the 70s in Crete, " Ah Kiwi we kill many Germans "

[@nikitz7818]

hopefully u visited the maori cemetary..immortals!!

[@user-zh1ct8xe9l]

Well you actually fought for the interests of Britain that at this time aligned with keeping Crete...

[@donvitocorleone7067]

So the infamous Greek roads destroy German tires... Some things never change.

[@aesop8694]

Don Vito Corleone. Never forget that Sicily was a Greek colony.

[@captaingreek]

It's not the roads, it's the German vehicles. Too soft to real conditions...

[@rationalwho]

Your point?

[@davidmoshonas2184]

Italians the fame of WWII! Not😂😂😂

[@TheJBftw]

One decade later this tyre shredding tradition was kept alive in the 'Acropolis Rally'.

[@ForgottenHonor0]

The Greek response to the Italian demand to surrender: "F*** off!"

[@GeorgeeWBush]

Captain Corelli's Mandolin

[@WorldWarTwo]

@Majestic Satire I believe the story is fabricated, but in general that was the attitude of the Greek civilians against the Italian occupation forces.

[@taxiarchiskalyvas8198]

As a Greek i can confirm that fact. People used to talk like that...

[@normalgentleman106]

@@WorldWarTwo the Italians did some real horrific crimes while here

[@alexamerling79]

We have decided that to surrender to Captain Weber's dog is preferable than surrendering to an Italian...

[@Duke_of_Lorraine]

"our decision is that surrendering to Captain Weber's dog is more appropriate than surrendering to an Italian"

[@georget8008]

Captain Corelli's mandoline?

[@nirfz]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/jWKVc4Jvr6-Vpbs

[@lulu-oo9cc]

@@nirfz nice movie, but historically inaccurate, there were no germans in that island, it was occupied by italian paratroopers

[@nirfz]

@@lulu-oo9cc Oh, i know! It isn't meant as a documentary anyway. I just wanted to add the scene Duke of Lorrain quoted for those who hadn't seen it. (And to this episode i think it was fitting and funny, no matter the historical accuracy)

[@arispanagiotopoulos2533]

lu lu Until Italy’s surrender in 1943, then Germans landed on the island as they did in other places controlled by Italian forces, seized control, captured the Italians and disarmed them under of fear that the Italians would side with the allies. They even executed Italian soldiers in some cases where the Italians tried to resist.

[@pnutz_2]

They shall not grow old, As we that are left grow old, Age shall not weary them, Nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, We will remember them

[@legallyblind393]

capnazrael 🇦🇺❤️🇳🇿

[@vivaprez]

🇳🇿🇦🇺🥀🎺

[@ozzieineire]

Lest we forget

[@nicks2474]

How did he comment 2 days ago???

[@pnutz_2]

@@nicks2474 join the timeghost army and you too can post early, post often and become one of the top posters on the channel

[@clevermcgenericname891]

When you and the boys are playing Axis and Allies and your little brother wants to play too; Adolf! Adolf! Make the Greeks surrender to me! I'm telling mom!

[@airplane45w36]

Just use the bulgarian troops and your strategic bomber. smh

[@giorgosx5838]

carmine paola I mean they did have to help your asses with Greece too

[@davedrewett2196]

My grandpa was there with the Aussie 6 th division. He was very fond of the Greek people.

[@alcaeus2]

Happy Anzac Day and stay safe.

[@chriswoolley6951]

@the Achaean the Greeks asked them to leave, to save Greece death and destruction, that's what I read

[@jerrykofiadonu4763]

@@alcaeus2 Only now I recognized that ANZAC Day is on the same date of the Italian Liberation Day...even if on this timeline we'll have to wait 4 years to see the related episode

[@davedrewett2196]

the Achaean indeed. One of the many adventures Winton Churchill had with other people’s lives. He even attempted to divert the ship my grandfather was on to Burma where the Japanese had invaded on mass. They all would have been captured due to lack of equipment and support. This happened after the Australian prime minister ordered our troops back to Australia to prevent a Japanese invasion. They were on Australian ships so luckily our prime minister was informed via message so countermanded this order. It cause a huge amount of ill feeling here. Churchill had a habit of organising disastrous campaigns. Gallipoli , Norway, Greece, Burma. There are probably more that I’m unaware of. I myself went to school in Melbourne during the 1970’s. Most of the time at least half the kids I went to school with were Greek. Thanks to Greek migration we know how to cook our lamb properly lol.

[@davedrewett2196]

Αλέξανδρος Κ. Thank you for your kind words my brother..

[@speedydb55]

Britain: "Oh come on! 'Evacuation' was the word last year too!!"

[@pedrolopez8057]

they've gotten good at it.

[@philstothard8333]

Evacuations are the most difficult of military operations, __ Just ask those poor buggers at Bataan.

[@tisFrancesfault]

Run away today, fight again another day.

[@Daniel-kq4bx]

If France has to suffer from the Surrender Meme Britain should be the "Pullout King"

[@josefoglio9250]

@@lukepepper3949 As usual BRITISH Interpretation OF history. ITALIANS RUN AND ABANDON ALL THEIR EQUIPMENTS. . BRITISH EVACUATE AND FORGET THE EQUIPMENTS IN THE BEACHES .AS QUIXOTE SAID THINGS YOU WILL SEE SANCHO!!!

[@gianniverschueren870]

Simple, but I like it. Not every tie needs to be a screamer. 3/5

[@Southsideindy]

Astrid is charting your charting of my ties. You know you're my hero by now, right?

[@gianniverschueren870]

@@Southsideindy Astrid was already my hero but knowing she's actively charting makes her even cooler.

[@gianniverschueren870]

@Αθηναίος Οπλίτης Astrid does a bit of everything, including picking out the outfits.

[@dragosstanciu9866]

While the Germans are doing the heavy fighting in Greece, the Bulgarians are taking advantage of Greece's fall. Very cheeky Bulgarians.

[@ognjenpetrovic5843]

Backstabbing by the book.

[@northatlanticcommonwealth1188]

@@ognjenpetrovic5843 not really back stabbing if they weren't allies

[@narutomgm]

The Bulgarians took it from the Germans two weeks after it was taken from the Greeks. The video kind of made it look like Bulgaria attacked Greek forces which wasn't the case.

[@narutomgm]

@@ognjenpetrovic5843 Bulgaria wasn't part of the allies,at that point, but the axis, so how is this backstabbing ?

[@ognjenpetrovic5843]

@@northatlanticcommonwealth1188 not allies but neighburs.

[@TheBranchez]

Brave Greek brothers and sisters! Glory to Hellas from Serbia!

[@baginnnnnn]

Thanks 🇬🇷🤜🤛🇷🇸

[@Ascuded]

@@baginnnnnn GR🤜🤛SB

[@user-gw1li6jq5i]

🇬🇷❤❤❤❤❤🇷🇸

[@georgetheodorelymberakis4097]

We are now living the same war. Minor difference is that they are now called Globalists.

[@bartaia]

Orthodox brothers🇬🇷🇷🇸

[@gedeon2696]

My father served in the *th army service corps. He and his company, all Jewish volunteers, were sent to Greece. During the british evacuation, the ships were 'reserved' for "british" soldiers while Anzacs and other "colonials" were refused boarding. Finally the Anzacs set-up machine guns to get their men on the last 2 ships. Unfortunately the ships were sunk b stukas. My father only escaped because a Greek fisherman took him and some others down the coast and passed them on to a larger fishing boat tha took them to Cyprus. THANK GOD FOR THE GREEK PEOPLE !

[@WorldWarTwo]

This evacuation template will be presented to our weekly episodes very soon

[@dorianphilotheates3769]

Gedeon Gelbart - Respect for your dad’s service to my homeland. Greetings, honour, and blessings to the Jewish people and Eretz Yi’srael from Hellas! 🇬🇷

[@Colonel_Blimp]

Gedeon Gelbart absolute rubbish.🇳🇿

[@spiritusIRATUS]

Given all this treatment and the history of Britain as an Empire, I am surprised by how to this day Australia and New Zealand continue to have the queen as head of state and the british flag within their flags, even as they have become more advanced and progressive than Britain itself.

[@Colonel_Blimp]

Robert I Baratheon a truly idiotic comment. Are you an American?🇳🇿😡

[@diapason89]

"Their bullets will blot out the sun." "Then we will fight in the shade."

[@zigwinger2915]

"Commander, we greeks once taught the world to live, now, we shall teach them how to die."

[@shyshy4273]

Call to arms banners fly to the wind For the glory of Hellas Coat of arms reading "Freedom or Death" For the King Leonidas

[@aleembaksh1880]

Wasn't it "Blood of King Leonidas"?

[@zach4007]

Aleem Baksh Yeah, it was. But we get the idea.

[@aleembaksh1880]

@@zach4007 Ite then

[@billvilmezis5968]

Ahh a sabaton fan

[@zach4007]

What about the droid attack on the wokies 900 Ah, I see you’re a man of culture as well.

[@komm6668]

Over 2,000 years later Thermopylae is still seeing battle.

[@WorldWarTwo]

In total, there were 5 battles of Thermopylae in history.

[@j.p.5013]

@@WorldWarTwo Actually, wikipedia says 8??

[@rursus8354]

@@j.p.5013 It says 6.

[@j.p.5013]

@@rursus8354 Idk, I counted 8 periods, so probably 8 battles..

[@apmoy70]

@@WorldWarTwo 480 ΒC: Persian invasion 323 BC: Lamian War (the Athenians under Leosthenes, held the Macedonians under Antipater at Thermopylae) 279 BC: 30,000 Gauls under Brennus were stopped at Thermopylae by a coalition of Greek forces under the Aetolians. 191 BC: Antiochus III the Great occupied the narrow pass to stop the Romans under Manius Acilius Glabrio, but the Romans through the Anopaea trail (the same one Εphialtes showed to the Persians 289 years before), encircled the Greeks and routed them. 253 (or 254) AD: Αn allied army of Goths and Herules were defeated by a Greek coalition army under the Roman proconsul of Achaea Marianus. 1204: A Crusader army under Boniface I, Marquess of Montferrat, defeated an Eastern Roman army under Leo Sgouros. 1821: A 500-strong Greek Revolutionary army under the Deacon Athanassios blocked the bridge of Alamana on the Spercheius river in order to stop the Ottomans under Omer Vrioni from crossing it. The Greeks were defeated and Athanassios was impaled and roasted on a spit alive. The bridge of Alamana is 3 km W of the ancient battle's site. 1825: A Greek Revolutionary army under Ioannis Gouras defeated an 800-strong Ottoman army (Ottoman casualties surpassed 200). 1941: ...

[@quedtion_marks_kirby_modding]

Greece: *Surrends to the Germans* Italy: REEEEEEEE

[@canman5060]

Greece : Surrender to the Germans Italy : Use our spaghettis for the ribbons ceremony !

[@quedtion_marks_kirby_modding]

@@canman5060 lmao.

[@ghostofathens6600]

Greeks are legends and always will be

[@Evzone1821]

Greece lost 700,000-1,000,000 people from war, civil war, occupation, famine, fleeing, and genocide from Bulgaria. We lost the same proportions the USSR did. Us Greeks fought an insane wannabe Caesar to a standstill and bought the USSR time. Greeks held out for one month against three countries when Hitler came. What an honored people we are!

[@slojogojo2766]

Dahkittydoonsta I always thought the Italians/Romans were just wannabe Greeks, for some reason I always seem to have more respect for the Greeks!

[@Evzone1821]

Slo jo Go jo we we both Romans, united through ancestry. When they conquered us militaristically as Rome we conquered them culturally as Greece.

[@Evzone1821]

@@shanemcdowall actually hitler openly complained about the Greeks putting him behind. Fateful Choices: Ten Decisions that Changed the World, 1940-1941. London: Allen Lane. Because “Mussolini’s bungled invasion made us divert hundreds of thousands of men and guns” wasn’t a good looking excuse.

[@nicholasthuya7683]

Greece did not lose the same amount of troops as the ussr The USSR alone lost 30 million people

[@basilaras0170]

@@nicholasthuya7683 he meant percentage wise. And not only that greece was completely destroyed. Roads, buildings, Forrest burned. Everything.

[@stamatopoulosgeorge811]

The greek campaign:*ends* Bulgaria: I hereby attack Greece

[@Unknown-ei7we]

That's not really how it happened... Bulgaria supported Germany and that land was part of the deal it had. That was land owned by Bulgaria before WW1 where it lost 1/3 of its land as punishment for being against the allies.

[@stamatopoulosgeorge811]

@@Unknown-ei7we that does not justify an invasion...if anything else it simply shows how entrenched the Bulgarians were and how ready they were to attack an already crippled opponent, effectively taking advantage of the suffering.

[@apostolispouliakis7401]

@the Achaean This war was not fought because of ethnic reasons(at least ours) but for expansion into foreign land whether Bulgarians lived there didn't matter what mattered was access to the sea

[@user-bk5ul6dh3q]

@ It's clear you haven't lived in Greece. You would have seen anti-nazi graffities everywere. The GD didn't even make it to the parliament. As for stealing land. What did Greece steal??? Last time I checked we were the first ones there. From 1913 to 1940 Greece was on the defence against Bulgaria. Attrocities happened from both sides. War is behind us peace in front of us. No point in this war of words. Let's just hope these days don't come back

[@Prussian_Defence]

@the Achaean check the Petrich incident, to see how the Greek army invaded Bulgaria. Due to this mess caused by a dog, Greek had to pay reparations to Bulgaria :D :D D:D :D :D :D :D

[@PPanossss]

5:12 Που να ξέρουν αυτοί από λακούβες, την πατήσανε :)

[@th2nos]

Σαν να μην πέρασε μια μέρα

[@stefanosgrimp8990]

Πρέπει να έπαθε την πλάκα της η βερμαρχτ με τους κατσικοδρομους

[@thepavl]

Αχαχαχαχαχαχχαχα

[@user-tq7xc7in1p]

Για αυτό δεν αναβαθμίζουμε τους δρόμους μας

[@lambros8369]

Από στρατηγική και μόνο

[@legalvampire8136]

In the early 1990s I visited a small town in the Northern Peloponese in Greece called Kalavrita. The Church on the main square had two clock towers, one of the clocks told the time and the other was stopped at 2.40. On the streets of the town one could see young men and middle aged men, but no old men. Reason: during the German occupation in WW2, as a punishment for local resistance, the Germans rounded up every male in Kalavrita aged 15 or over and at 2.40 pm machine gunned them all to death just outside the town. A few miles away is the ancient monastery of Mega Speilion ('the Great Cave') built in a cave at the foot of a cliff. At the same time as the Kalavrita massacre, the Germans took all 13 monks to the top of the cliff and threw them off of it to their deaths. There is a memorial to them there listing their names and ages. They ranged from an 80 year old abbot to a novice monk aged 13.

[@motocount]

My friend, it is too early for mentioning these things. When time comes, they will be mentioned. There is not only Kalavrita, there are more villages and regions with similar story. Be patient.

[@legalvampire8136]

@@motocount Dimitris, perhaps it will be covered in later episodes, I don't know, but I wanted to mention it while the attention was on the fall of Greece in case, given the momentous events about to occur in the east, and towards the end of the year entry of Japan and USA into the World War etc. Greece under occupation is forgotten.

[@dusk6159]

@@legalvampire8136 Just like many other stories and resistance deeds by all the other similar countries, of course.

[@Thechezbailey]

There were far too many such instances. It happened in almost every country the Nazis occupied, unfortunately. WWII can't possibly cover them all.

[@user-wd8io5ej2k]

In early 2010's I had a German professor, who taught Classical literature at the university of Patras, just some kilometres away from Kalavryta. He loved Greece, he knew the Ancient and Modern Greek language better than a Greek. Every year in December 13nth he would go to Kalavryta and put flowers in memory of the victims. This gentlemen had also been born in Eastern Germany so he would sometimes mention that "he knew very well about the black but also the red fascism"...

[@apmoy70]

This week in the Greek Campaign: On Sunday, April 20, 1941, Squadron Leader Marmaduke Pattle, was among the downed by the Luftwaffe, allied pilots. Two Messerschmitt Bf-110 from Jagdgeschwader 26 (Fighter-Wing 26) shared him. His Hurricane was shot down on the E coast of the island of Psittalia, outside the harbour of Piraeus, in S Greece. Ηis body was never recovered. Pattle is commemorated on the Alamein Memorial at El-Alamein, together with 3,000 other Commonwealth airmen who lost their lives in the Middle Eastern Theatre during WWII, and who have no known grave. He is believed to be the most successful Western Allied fighter pilot in WWII with 50 air victories (and 2 shared), 7 (and 1 shared) probable victories, and 4 (and 2 shared) damaged. His final record will probably never be known, as official squadron combat reports and RAF documents for the time were lost in the retreat from Greece and Crete. Most researchers consider him possibly the top RAF ace of the war, and certainly the top South African. On the same day, the Greek VIII Infantry Division achieved the feat of being the Greek formation which provided the first and the last successes to the Greek Army before the Axis occupation of the country. In the beginning of the Italian invasion, VIII Infantry Division, under the overall command of Maj. Gen Haralampos Katsimitros, was deployed in a defensive position stretching from the village of Kalpaki to the river Kalamas, and until November 8, 1940, successfully repulsed the attack of the Italian XXV. Corps. The division's victory at Kalpaki - Kalamas, signalled the failure of the Italian invasion. In the later stages of the German invasion, the remains of VIII Infantry Division, under the overall command of Maj. Gen. Haralampos Katsimitros, were deployed in a defensive position stretching from Kakavijë, a road border crossing between Albania and Greece, to the village of Grapsh in the area of Gjirokastër. An Italian advanced echelon attempted to force the area defended by one battalion from VIII division, together with the dismounted cavalry of VIII Reconnaissance Cavalry Section. After an intense Italian artillery bombardment, the Italian infantry assaulted the Greek positions. The Greeks offered obstinate resistance and repulsed the Italians. The Italians launched successive attacks against Hill 364 sustaining serious casualties. The Greek troops on the hill did not collapse under the intense Italian pressure. The Greek battalion under Maj. Panaghiotis Yiannoulis, repulsed the Italians taking 43 casualties (11 KIA). Fierce fighting in the sector, continued for the whole day. On April 30, 1941, Katsimitros would be appointed Minister of Labour in the collaborationist government. After Greece would be liberated, Katsimitros would be arrested, stripped of rank and medals, and tried and sentenced to 5 years imprisonment for this. He would receive a royal pardon in 1949, his medals would be restored and would be promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-General for his service during WWII. He would die in 1962 at the age of 75. Also on Sunday, April 20, at 1800 hours, Lt. Gen. Georgios Tsolakoglou CO of T.S.D.M ('West Macedonia Army Section'), conspiring with Lt. Gen. Panaghiotis Demestichas of A' Corps, and Lt. Gen. Georgios Bakos of B' Corps, signed unauthorised armistice with SS-Obergruppenführer Josef 'Sepp' Dietrich overall commander of Leibstandarte-SS 'Adolf Hitler' at Votonossi, a village in the region of Metsovon, Epirus, NW Greece. On April 30, 1941, Tsolakoglou would be appointed Prime-Minister of a collaborationist government by the Axis occupation authorities. After Greece would be liberated, Tsolakoglou would be arrested, tried by a Special Collaborators Court in 1945 and sentenced to death. His death penalty would be ultimately commuted to life imprisonment, and he would die of leukaemia in prison in 1948. Οn Monday, April 21, the Greek surrender was formalized with Gen. Tsolakoglou signing the protocol of unconditional surrender of the Greek Army to the Germans, in the Thessalian capital, Larissa, while the written order of his relieve by the C-in-C of the Greek forces, Gen. Alexandros Papagos, had already reached him. Tsolakoglou attempted to prevent Greek surrender to the Italians and a subsequent Italian occupation of Greece, considering them both deeply humiliating, so, the protocol made no reference to Italy. After the signing of the surrender protocol by Tsolakoglou, General Alexandros Papagos resigned. General Papagos remained in Athens and did not flee to Crete with the King and the Greek government. He would decline the offer of an honorary pension by the collaborationist government, and would form in 1943 the resistance group 'Military Hierarchy' together with the retired generals Georgios Kosmas and Ioannis Pitsikas. On July 25, 1943 they would be arrested by the German occupation authorities and would be sent to the Dachau concentration camp were they would be held captive until May 1945. On January 29, 1949, Papagos would be once again appointed C-in-C of the Greek Land Forces to defeat the Communists in the Greek Civil War. This he would achieve, and as a reward for his services, he would be awarded the rank of Field Marshal on October 28, 1949. His is the only Greek Army Officer to ever hold this rank. Field Marshal Papagos would be elected Prime-Minister of Greece in 1951 and would die in 1955, at the age of 72 after short illness. On Tuesday, April 22, 1941, three Bulgarian divisions from the Second (Lt. Gen. Ivan Markov) and Fifth (Maj. Gen. Nikola Mikhov) Armies, crossed the Bulgarian-Greek border, and invaded Greece. The divisions occupied Greek Western Thrace and Greek Eastern Macedonia to relieve pressure on the Germans. In words chosen by the Bulgarian Tsar Boris III, Bulgaria announced the occupation of the two Greek regions 'to preserve order and stability in the territories taken over by Germany' (sic). A process of forced Bulgarisation policy in education and religion would begin, with the introduction of the Bulgarian school system, the suppression of Greek culture and language, as well as the forced use of Bulgarian language in the Greek Orthodox Church's services. Also on April 22, a humilating incident for the Italians took place: the Bersaglieri of 4th Bersaglieri Regiment (Col. Guglielmo Scognamiglio), as they reached the Berat bridge in S Albania, were forbidden of crossing it by a German Feldgendarmerie (Military Police) unit, who pointed to the signed protocol of unconditional surrender of the Greeks to the Germans, which excluded the Italians. On Wednesday, April 23, Hitler ordered the surrender ceremony to be repeated with the Italians present this time, in an attempt to placate Mussolini who was enraged after the Greek unilateral surrender to Germany. Thus, at 2100 hours, the surrender ceremony was repeated, and the CO of 'Epirus Army Section' or 'T.S.E' Lt. Gen. Ioannis Pitsikas, and Lt. Gen. Georgios Tsolakoglou, CO of 'Western Macedonia Army Section' or 'T.S.D.M.' signed the same surrender protocol before the CO of the Italian 11. Army, Gen. Carlo Geloso. Mussolini issued a panegyric order of the day: 'After six months of the bitterest struggle, the enemy has laid down his arms, and victory consecrates our sanguinary sacrifices' (sic). The Greco-Italian War ended on Wednesday, April 23, 1941, 177 days after its outbreak. (End of Part 1)

[@apmoy70]

(Part 2) Except for some tactical air support received from the British, the Greek Armed Forces carried the fight entirely on their own. Italian casualties amounted to 38,382 KIA & MIA*, 50,874 WIA, 12,368 frostbite victims, 52,108 sanitary casualties outside of combat, ~26,000 POW; 281 were tried for desertion, only 2 confirmed deserters were executed. The Greeks listed the names of 11,911 KIA, 1,342 MIA**, 63,266 WIA (including frostbite victims), and 2,392 POW; 13 confirmed deserters were executed, 14 Greeks defected to the italian side (Italian figures are from the Greek translation of Giorgio Rizzo's book 'Grecia: La Guerra Subdola' (October 2014). Greek figures are taken from various sources). The first Italian KIA was the alpino Giovanni Vallar from the town of Chievolis di Tramonti di Sopra, in the Friuli region, while the first Greek KIA was the infantryman Vassilios Tsavaliaris from Trikala, Thessaly. As far as active Albanian participation in the conflict is concerned, here's what Bernd Jürgen Fischer in his book 'Albania at War 1939-1945', writes: 'Despite the claims of later Socialist Albanian historiography that the Albanians helped the Greeks, in reality they did little more to help them. By early November 1940, reports surfaced that Albanians were interfering with Italian military efforts, cutting telephone communications, seizing ammunition, harassing the Italians, and providing intelligence to the Greeks. Although this aid may have been more substantial than that given to the Italians, it still must considered minimal, and it came primarily from the Greek minority in S Albania who warmly welcomed the arrival of the Greeks troops.' A few thousand regular Albanian army and blackshirt fascist paramilitary, participated in the Italian invasion of Greece. They fielded five battalions under the Italian XXV. Army Corps which after the incorporation of the Albanian units was renamed Army Corps 'Ciamuria'. Only two Albanian battalions, the 'Tomori' & 'Taraboshi' saw action against the Greeks in the Korçë area, although with poor performance. After the Greek successes, Albanian units either deserted or defected in droves, so much so that the Italians were forced to withdraw all Albanian formations from the front. Albanian casualties by an enemy action were negligible, 59 KIA, 78 WIA. Some 3,000 Albanians were tried for desertion though, and were executed to the last man by the Italians. By April 24, twenty-three Greek warships, including a hospital ship, were sunk in Greek coastal waters by the Luftwaffe. The two-day 'Battle of Thermopylae' opened on Thursday, April 24, 1941. Commonwealth forces were ordered to defend the Thermopylae coastal pass for as long as possible, or as the Australian Brig. George Alan Vasey so eloquently put it, 'Here we bloody well are and here we bloody well stay' (sic). The NZ Maj. Gen. Bernard Freyberg was given the task of holding the line Thermopylae - Brallos and he deployed two Commonwealth brigades, the 19th Australian Bde (Brig. George Alan Vasey), and the 6th New Zealand Bde (Brig. Harold Eric Barrowclough). The German onslaught began with the 5. Panzer-Division (Maj. Gen. Gustav Fehn), and 6. Gebirgs-Division (Maj. Gen. Ferdinand Schörner) attacking at 1130 hours the allied positions. The Germans met fierce resistance. They lost at least a dozen of tanks and sustained considerable casualties by well-camouflaged allied artillery. The ANZAC held out the entire day. Unfortunately for the allies, the ancient Thermopylae narrow passage between the sea and the mountain, was now as wide as 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) in places, eliminating the narrowest points of the pass, and considerably increasing the size of the plain around the outlet of the Spercheius river. Thus, on April 25, a wide enveloping movement was undertaken by elements from the 6. Gebirgs-Division crossing the difficult terrain W of the allied positions, while simultaneously, another outflanking manoeuver was performed by a tank-supported motorcycle battalion advancing via the beach. Eventually after offering tenacious resistance the allies abandoned the Thermopylae Pass, and set up another rearguard at Thebes, Boeotia, 93 km (58 mi) N of Athens. ANZAC casualties were estimated in the hundreds. The Germans lost ~100 KIA, WIA, or MIA. The allied stance at Thermopylae is the last pitched battle of Commonwealth forces with the Germans in mainland Greece. On the same day, 'Operation Demon' commenced, the allied evacuation of Greece. Royal Navy and Royal Hellenic Navy ships, would transport Greek, British, and Commonwealth troops from the Greek mainland to Crete and Alexandria, Egypt, leaving behind heavy weapons, trucks, and aircraft. Approximately 60% of the ~65,000 troops would be transported to Crete, the rest to Egypt, within a week. British Air Vice-Marshal D'Albiac moved his HQ to Crete where he attempted to cover the allied evacuation with the few aircraft available. On Saturday, April 26, the airborne operation for the Capture of the Isthmus of Corinth by the Germans, took place. At about 0700 hours, after a heavy preparatory air attack, more than 400 three-engine transport and tow-planes, as well as numerous troop and cargo-carrying gliders, dropped their loads above the designated objectives. The first to land were the gliders, which touched gound on both sides of the isthmus. Two battalions out of the Fallschirmjäger (Paratrooper)-Rgt 2. (Col. Alfred Sturm) dropped on both sides of the Corinth canal, overwhelmed the allied defences and seized the bridge intact, but the defenders managed to set off the charges and destroyed it, killing twelve German Fallis. Later on the same day, German Pioniertruppe (Battle engineer troops) constructed a temporary span next to the one that had been destroyed so that the traffic between the Greek mainland and the Peloponnese peninsula was interrupted for only a short time. The attack cost the Germans 285 casualties, one transport plane crashed, and two gliders wrecked while landing. A large number of British and Commonwealth troops made prisoner. The successful airborne operation cut off all Commonwealth troops N of the isthmus bound for the Peloponnese (including the 4th New Zealand Brigade under Brig. Edward Puttick). *According to the latest Italian resources (Davide Rodogno 2002), Italian fatal casualties in the Greco-Italian War were at least 23,755. Giorgio Rizzo (2014) gives the number posted above: 38,382 which includes both bodies found, and the missing presumed dead. **Presumed dead although neither their remains nor grave has been positively identified.

[@raihanarifian5619]

So i guess this is the end of Greek resistance (?)

[@seeyouchump]

"After 6 months of the bitterest struggle, the enemy has laid down his arms and victory consecrates our sanguinary sacrifices" -Mussolini.... Well, his fate was well deserved after all.

[@Giannakask96]

@@raihanarifian5619 nope! wait and see what happened to the german paratroopers who were deployed to Crete by order of the operation Mercury.

[@papas15]

@@raihanarifian5619 actually no. Crete, the largest of the Greek islands, is still free and will not fall easily. Just wait and see...

[@luxembourgishempire2826]

Go Greece!

[@Iason29]

Nothing more exciting than being backed by the Luxembourgish Empire

[@kefalonitis5698]

@@Iason29 indeed

[@baginnnnnn]

Love from Greece 🇬🇷 🇬🇷 🇬🇷 Λουξεμβούργο🤜🤛Ελλάδα

[@PROD1GY]

"We will not say hereafter that the Greeks fight like heroes, but heroes fight like Greeks!"~ winston churchill

[@skamazbg5675]

That's why they surrendered.

[@taxiarchiskalyvas8198]

@@skamazbg5675 they preferred instead of being executed to flee to Egypt and fight there or continue guerilla warfare. For example there was a division of Greeks being part of the SAS

[@skamazbg5675]

@@taxiarchiskalyvas8198 yeah right that is why 223000 greeks SURRENDER to 1 devision.

[@oldesertguy9616]

@@skamazbg5675 what is your issue? It wasn't just 1 division invading Greece. Wehraboo much?

[@skamazbg5675]

@@oldesertguy9616 yes but it was only one devision that cough them.

[@cerealkiller7143]

It is said that during the first days of the Occupation of Greece a group of Italian soldiers were chatting in Athens when a Greek sneaked up to them and suddenly yelled the greek war cry ''Aeraaaaaa'' which made the Italians scatter in fear.

[@user-gw4ys3bd6n]

Yes my friend,it was a way to scare the enemy,. The same happened in the mountains where our grandparents shouted " aeraaa" with bayonet in their guns

[@Irene-iu9sj]

@@user-gw4ys3bd6n And enemy asked : what aera means...answer : that's a secret weapon. ....

[@blackhathacker82]

I remember poems from the childhood years related to that phrase aera

[@elgatopage]

Germans: *Attack Thermopolye British: "COWABUNGA IT IS"

[@Cancoillotteman]

WHAT IS YOUR PROFESSION ?! Oh sorry, wrong century, I'll wait outside

[@dorianphilotheates3769]

Honour and gratitude to our ‘Brit’, 🇬🇧Aussie’, 🇦🇺and ‘Kiwi’ 🇳🇿Allies, and to all those who fought alongside my countrymen for the defence of Greece and the cause of Freedom. Happy ANZAC Day, and eternal respect from Hellas! 🇬🇷

[@peteroneill5426]

Imagine being the Germans advancing on Thermopolaye and thinking 'It will be fine, they won't try to hold it'

[@stevekaczynski3793]

Although stıll a good defence position, erosion by the sea meant it was no longer the narrow pass that Leonidas knew over 2,000 years before.

[@RandomStuff-he7lu]

@@stevekaczynski3793 Not erosion. Silt deposits and continental rebound has resulted in the pass widening, in some places by up to 9km.

[@mightypriapus57]

Germans in Thermopylae: "Oh here they go again!"

[@egooidios5061]

@@stevekaczynski3793 indeed but then again....its a line of 2-3km of flatland where the panzers can pass through. Obviously they cannot take the single road through, its been blown and mined and blown. But if you see the place youll know that a few well placed artilery pieces and some AT guns would make it a killzone. It would take heavy shelling and some luftwaffe sorties to clear it out. Alas, no Greek regiment managed to make it back there and mount a serious defence. But even the temporary defence of the point by Anzac forces made some good kills against the Germans

[@PokerGrind02]

Greeks are such badasses

[@TheHunterOfYharnam]

watler you too man you too

[@billvilmezis5968]

Thank you

[@alex_2293]

You too king

[@LookBackHistory]

Yep.

[@jotarokujo8344]

@@primitiveplanet8202 no it did not You know there's something called the Byzantine empire and it was full of greeks And yeah it lasted for 1100+ years

[@KiNGGAMESgr]

and thus the first chapter of Greece in this war ends . Proud of my great grandfather and my grandfather , they boht fought in Albania and proud of my still livng grandmother that participated at some point as a child in the second and biggest chapter , the resistance .

[@aleksk4151]

Congrats

[@KiNGGAMESgr]

@@aleksk4151 its been 2 years bro , how is it going ?

[@xarmanhsh2981]

03:02 literally the first time ever someone prounounced a Greek name correct! You earned my sub just for that.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Καλωσήρθες!

[@dorianphilotheates3769]

World War Two - Ha! Well done.

[@Iason29]

Yea but he butchered Grevena, maybe unsub now:P Easy come easy go

[@spiritusIRATUS]

Turkish name tbh xD but still very hard for an Anglophone.

[@dorianphilotheates3769]

Robert I Baratheon - Turkish surname, but he pronounced it as Greeks do.

[@thesilenttraveler670]

US President Franklin Roosevelt said: “When the entire world had lost all hope, the Greek people dared to question the invincibility of the German monster raising against it the proud spirit of freedom.”

[@goodshipkaraboudjan]

And yet the US wouldn't enter the war for nearly a year afterwards.

[@whishiwhooshi5783]

@@goodshipkaraboudjan You do realize that public opinion in the US at the time was that of "We don't wanna get involved because that is Europe's war", right? If the US government said fuck it and declared war on Germany or Japan then it would really upset the US population. They just had to wait around until the Axis dealt the first blow.

[@THECOMMUNISTCHANNEL]

Greece: *surenders to the Germans instead of the Italians* Everybody: *OOOHHHHHHHH*

[@GreekgodXX]

Greeks never surrenders to anyone ;)

[@badseednut]

Greeks defeated Fascist Italian forces and when eventually the Nazi German forces after six weeks of a battle invaded Greece, Mussolini wanted to have Greeks surrendered to him to heal his wounded ego. But Greeks didn't fall for it and they laid down their weapons (stopped fighting) only to the German troops who at the time appeared to be superior. But Greece never actually surrendered.

[@THECOMMUNISTCHANNEL]

@@badseednut communist Italian forces?!!?! Wtf are you on? Learn history

[@badseednut]

@@THECOMMUNISTCHANNEL Ooops. I apologise, I meant Fascist. lol. I got carried away from another video re communist Russia (or rather Soviet Union) vs Nazi Germans. But the point of the message was to explain to you why Greeks refused to surrender to the Italian forces as from what it seems you didn't get it.

[@servinginhellaimingforheav2446]

Imagine being called losers by the losers like damn

[@perisdim]

Greeks are legends and they keep showing the world that each and every time!

[@aleksk4151]

Legends conquered by Bulgarians 🤣

[@KiNGGAMESgr]

@@aleksk4151 welp by conquered , you must referring in the germans that literary gave you for free the western Thrace . Thats not what we call "conquer" . You do disappoint me bud after 2 years you keep acting like child .

[@aleksk4151]

@@KiNGGAMESgr i'm just having fun/trolling. Sorry don't take it personal my friend. And i am surprised that you remember me 2 years is a long time

[@xdx2653]

@@aleksk4151 xaxaxaxax awhen tht happened???stupid coward lol

[@charalamboszacharia6082]

@@aleksk4151 Is your butt still hurt?

[@viceboy5080]

Cmon battle of crete we're waiting for you

[@thesilenttraveler670]

Winston Churchill said, “Hence, we will not say that Greeks fight like heroes, but that heroes fight like Greeks.”

[@darthfikus5206]

If Mussolini ware a League of Legends player he would be ADC that roams into enemy jungle alone, gets killed, gets carried by Hitler, ends the game with 0-18-1 and then writes "GG EZ".

[@Cancoillotteman]

And Rommel the toplaner who took back his botlane after Mussolini roamed and only stoped when facing the inhib in Suez ? Looks like it ! My question is : who's support ? Bulgaria or Romania ?

[@mehmetemrecalsr7328]

when they get baron Mussolini types EZ GG then when it is clear they are going to lose the game, flames his own team in all chat while afking.

[@Cancoillotteman]

@@mehmetemrecalsr7328 I can clearly see him run it down at Anzio calling "WAKE UP TEEEAAAAM !"

[@lookatmyprofilepicture2796]

Legend

[@user-do5wh5jt1g]

Didn't expect a league joke here but damn, thank you

[@SantiFiore]

Call to Arms, banners fly in the wind For the glory of Hellas Coat of Arms reading FREEDOM or DEATH BLOOD OF KING LEONIDAS

[@thequeensowncameronhighlan7883]

Well done The Cyprus Regt ! I'd never heard of them until now, glad I did.

[@Patryk128pl]

Man, that Italian Minecraft guy has really bad leadership skills, wonder when he'll start screaming over microphone, break his keyboard and finally rage quit.

[@auguststorm2037]

And then switched to the winning side

[@LookBackHistory]

Just give him about four years... :)

[@merdiolu]

British and Commonwealth sent more than 58.000 men to Greece and evacuated 50.850 at Operation Demon (though among evacuees there were a few thousand Greek troops also) Most of the evacuated troops minus most of their heavy equipment , vehicles and vital equipment were transferred to Crete to defend the place. Eventually as Greek PM Metaxas feared , British forces were enough to provoke a German invasion of Greece but too few to defend the country

[@Hypernefelos]

He was right on the latter point but we now know that the Germans would have invaded anyway. They would have just used some flimsier excuse as a provocation, if they even bothered to do that.

[@farzaan1479]

Greco-Persian Wars 🤝 World War II Last stand at Thermopylae to delay an invading force

[@michaeltheundeadmariachi4494]

Thermopylae is a place of Greek martyrdom

[@johnconley3218]

My father was at the pass and were originally ordered to hold it to the last man, lucky for me the retreat was faster then they expected and the order was rescinded. Still had to try to hold Crete. Much love and respect to the people of Crete and Greece. Huge respect brothers at arms

[@dorianphilotheates3769]

Seventeen members of my immediate family - including my maternal great-grandfather and both grandfathers - fought in the Greco-Italian campaign, and alongside the British and ANZAC expeditionary forces during ‘Operation Marita’ and at the battle of Crete. They all served with the two famed Roumeliot Evzone regiments: the 5/42 headquartered at Lamia, and the 2/39 at Mesolonghi; both units recruited from the hill country of Central Greece.

[@asterixdogmatix1073]

My grandfather was in the 2nd NZEF as an artilleryman in Greece. He recalled having drive the Greek mountain roads at night in the evacuation, with only the thin strip of the taped over tail light of the truck in front as light. As the heavy equipment was all abandoned at Athens, he was evacuated from Crete to North Africa.

[@creatoruser736]

Stalin: How dare the West appease Germany! Also Stalin: I don't want to provoke Germany, so keep those raw material deliveries on time!

[@DiggingForFacts]

That's megalomaniacal dictators for you: the rules always only apply to the others.

[@damnyourpasswords]

communist

[@arianas0714]

@ Also Switzerland: shoots down german planes

[@damnyourpasswords]

@@ottogunsche279 communist

[@damnyourpasswords]

@@ottogunsche279 showed your colors? how much the party is paying you per month? you should find a real job, like a real man.

[@viettrungnguyen1242]

This is where we hold them!This is where we fight!This is where THEY DIE! Earn these shields,boys!

[@MarvinT0606]

*COAT OF ARMS!* *BANNERS FLY IN THE WIND!* *FOR THE GLORY OF HELLAS!* *COAT OF ARMS READING FREEDOM OR DEATH!* *BLOOD OF KING LEONIDAS!*

[@indianajones4321]

Australian and New Zealander defenders: THIS IS ANZAC!!!!!

[@saint4life09]

And British. The Empire fought together.

[@onylra6265]

@@KnightofAges ANZACs weren't 'shipped' they volunteered and fought willingly with great pride. It's not about glory - it's about survival, for if Britain and Europe falls, who's to stop the Japanese from having their way in the Pacific and Asia, and eventually Oceania? They fought for freedom and against evil - the world should be grateful they did what they did, if certain European countries had shown half the courage and determination to resist that these little countries did in Greece, Africa, Italy, and the Pacific, then the world wouldn't have been in such a pickle at this point in time.

[@saint4life09]

@@KnightofAges That's literal bullshit. All the nations of the Empire fought together valiantly in the name of our Empire and in the name of democracy.

[@guyh9992]

@@KnightofAges The Australians were not happy about it as they were worried about the threat of Japanese expansionism. They agreed to send forces to the other side of the world under the principle of collective imperial defence on a number of conditions; 1. the Australian government be consulted before every action, 2. the AIF fight as a single force under an Australian commander (not Generals Australia did not rate like Wilson) and 3. Singapore be properly defended. In the actual event none of these things happened and are reasons why the relationship between the Australian government (and army) and Churchill deteriorated after Singapore.

[@guyh9992]

@@KnightofAges The British kept the majority of their army at home in the UK in case there was a German invasion. The supply lines via Capetown were also long and potentially dangerous. It was easier to bring in Empire troops from the region and also India and Australia/NZ.

[@mikereger1186]

According to Christopher Buckley’s excellent book on the Greek campaign, the Royal Horse Artillery was doing an excellent job, pulling back, setting up, firing in anti-tank role then pulling back again to repeat with their 25pdr guns. This was an example of a fighting withdrawal done properly, not many armies could have pulled it off at the time.

[@josephgray2475]

British General: Practice, Practice, Practice.

[@avanticurecanti9998]

Italy is that guy whose leg gets broken but still "wins" the fight because his friend rescues him.

[@mark12strang58]

It is odd that the German Wehrmacht had more respect for the Greek POW, than for their Italian allies.

[@WorldWarTwo]

On May 4, 1941, in his address to the Reichstag, Hitler stated: “Historical justice obliges me to state that of the enemies who took up positions against us, the Greek soldier particularly fought with the highest courage. He capitulated only when further resistance had become impossible and useless (...) Towards the vanquished and unhappy Greek nation we feel sincere sympathy. It was the victim of its King and of its deluded leading caste. It has, however, fought so bravely that even the respect of its enemies cannot be withheld from it.”

[@yarpen26]

Only temporary. Later down the line they became as ruthless to them as they were to any other nation to the East of them that tried to defend themselves against them (only those who largely didn't resist, such as the Czechs, Balts or Ukrainians, were given more lenient treatment). So the "bravery" of soldiers didn't really amount to anything-if anything, they were simply laying ground for even harsher mistreatment by the occupiers. Personally, I think that Hitler & Co. simply felt the need to somehow explain to their public how come their armies had the moral right to conquer the cradle of European civilization. Even though post-Ottoman Greece has always been more or less on a par with its immediate neighbors when it comes to economic development, it has always benefitted from foreigners' fascination with its ancient history. That's the reason why they were asked to host the first Olympics and basically word-for-word the argument d'Estaign used to convince Germans, Italians and British to admit Greece to the European Community as early as 1981 (while a much wealthier Spain had to wait another five years).

[@cookingonthecheapcheap6921]

Thank you for the longer episodes guys, your extra efforts are very appreciated here. Gotta get me some sweet time ghost merch i think; help keep this wagon rolling. Have fun and stay safe guys.

[@zachsmith1676]

I must say I love the series and so glad Indy is the host for these episodes! He's an absolutely stunning orator of the hectics that the world gets up to! Many thanks for your efforts, Indy and crew!

[@leontarkostas5768]

My grandfather was fighting the Germans (I am Greek). He told me that when the greek government surrendered they were told to bury their weapons so the germans would not find them.

[@aidanalvarez5486]

🎵 Call to arms, banner fly in the wind For the glory of Hellas Coat of Arms reading “Freedom or Death” Blood of King Leonidas! 🎵

[@AgentGWG]

Wow, that WW2 memorial was really good. Succinct description of the unit and how it pertained to today’s episode. Really helped with the ideal of personalizing the war. Great job!

[@YiannissB.]

The only reason Britain send troops in Greece was merely to save face. Having failed to help Czechoslovakia and then Poland, Churchill really wanted to show that Britain cared for its allies.

[@YiannissB.]

@martin corderoy Damn... Hurt much? Mentioning a fact doesn't mean one attacks something.

[@mariosmatzoros3553]

@@YiannissB. Δεν έχει σημασία, αυτό που έχει σημασία είναι ότι βοήθησαν. Δεν υπάρχουν συμμαχίες με βάση φιλιά, θρησκεία ,πολιτισμό κτλ. είναι όλα θέμα συμφερόντων . Όλα είναι ένα γαιο πολιτικό παιχνίδι το ποιο δυστυχώς η Ελλάδα δεν ήξερε πότε να παίζει καλά.

[@user-eo1ro4pf8t]

@@mariosmatzoros3553didn't really help...Prime Minister Metaxas asked for 10 divisions and when the British replied that they didn't have so many to spare he said that by sending so small a force they are just provoking Hitler to invade Greece...and remeber Metaxas although fascist was in favour of Britain.

[@grandly2214]

Damn Thermopylae was always one hell of a battlefield

[@oskarrasmussen7137]

Mussolini: "Finally, we crushed those bugs!" Koryzis: "...have surendered to Germany, Bulgaria, and their allies." Mussolini: [head inflates slightly more from anger]

[@yourethatmantis5178]

World War 2 but every time Italy is incompetent Mussolini's head gets bigger.

[@motocount]

Koryzis was already dead!!!

[@oskarrasmussen7137]

@@motocount Even better then

[@KiNGGAMESgr]

we never surrendered to the Bulgarian , bulgarian entered greece after the surrender of the greek army to the germans

[@MarkhasSteelfort]

@@KiNGGAMESgr Thats true! Bulgarians joined after the surrender. They didn't dare attack before Germans came because Turkey threatened them not to invade Greece.

[@joek600]

I think that the battle for Metaxas Line deserves a video of its own. Although constructed for a different kind of war, and considering the bulgarian army capabilities, that line of forts managed to be a headache for the Germans and epic close quarter combat took place there. The german officers that examined the line of forts later, said that they were superior and more effective than the Maginot Line.

[@WorldWarTwo]

You're absolutely right and we talked about doing it. We don't cover battles in separate episodes, but we wanted to do a Metaxas Line special. We sadly didn't get around to doing it in time though.

[@joek600]

@@WorldWarTwo Well even if its out of the timeframe, it would be a cool add on video. My grandfather was a machinegunner there and I grew up with his tales. I found some scraps of paper where he begun to write some kind of journal and has some minute but interesting details like the password for the day Italy declared war on Greece, or names of his officers. I remember him telling us that when they run out of ammo, they signaled for more but they were cut off. The answer of the command on the radio telephone was ''you are heroes better than those of '21'' (meanning the 1821 revolution for independence).

[@merdiolu]

Yes , as a Turkish person myself I can say we were quite anxious back then despite public bravado , the goverment in power was doing its best to placete Germans , selling grain and bor , copper raw minerals to Germany. There was a small but very loud and influential ultra nationalist German sympathising political fringe that wished to join Axis and participate German war against Soviet Union (centuries long Turco-Russian friction in Black Sea , Balkans and Caucaus played a role in that) Under that much pressure Turkish goverment kept its neutrality is a miracle itself. We were a little lucky that German invasion of Greece was done against Hitler's wishes to clean Mussolini's mess and complated in a hastily ad hoc manner.

[@legalvampire8136]

Thank you for that interesting information. While WW2 is an immense subject to cover, I hope this series will find time to tell us about the neutral countries like Turkey, Switzerland, Spain and Portugal who were in the same region as the fighting and how they were affected by it, preparations in case they became directly involved and the extent to which they sold food and war materials to the combatants and how important this was to the combatant countries.

[@khalee95]

The Allies had many political deals with the Turkish government to ensure that they would not join the war. Allied leaders were aware of Turkey's position and the importance of keeping them away as to not have another front open.

[@Pavlos_Charalambous]

Still a have to say that staying neutral was a miracle for Turkey and any other nation That managed to stay out of the most devastating war in history that is

[@merdiolu]

@@khalee95 I know , actually Turkey just like many neutrals was playing in both sides of the street , aiding escaped Allied POWs in its territory to return to their ranks , giving intelligence to Allies and even sabotaging Axis operations to send weapons aid to Iraq rebels in 1941

[@primitiveplanet8202]

You were lucky he didn't do the reasonable thing that was going into middle east and instead went after his obsession with Russia. Otherwise Turkey had been occupied by the Germans right after Greece.

[@matthewforbes2969]

Italian soldier: this invasion is madness! Ghost of Leonidas: madness? THIS! IS! SPARTAAAA!

[@motocount]

From the book “Inside Hitler’s Greece: The Experience of Occupation. 1941 - 1444” Mazower M., 1993. (pages 16 - 18): Next day (21 April), General Tsolakoglu capitulated to the Germans, apparently on his own initiative. His communications with the general staff in Athens were constantly interrupted, and he appears to have hoped that by reaching an agreement with List, he could hold the line against the detested Italians in Albania. At first, he was not disappointed, for List agreed that the Italian forces should not be allowed south across the border into Greece. Some detachments of the Leibstandarte, impressed by the brave performance of the Greek army, went so far as to block the Italians by stationing themselves between Greek and Italian units at a border crossing called Ponte Berati. But to the Italians, these developments came as unwelcome and most humiliating blow, for Mussolini had been desperately anxious to beat the Greeks before the Wehrmacht arrived. As news of the Greek capitulation came through, he was enraged. He warned the German attache in Rome that he would observe a ceasefire only if the Greeks came to terms with the Italians too. Otherwise the “perfidious” Greeks would later boast - as, quite justifiably, they indeed did - that they had not been beaten by the Italians. On learning that List had negotiated a surrender, not just a ceasefire, the Duce became even more incensed. Rintele, the German attache, dryly reported their exchange: ‘He alone had been ready for the Greeks. If 500000 hadn’t done it, he would have sent a million. He regarded it as impossible to accept that the Greek surrender was a result of German attack. I assured Duce that this was certainly not the German view, nor no doubt that of the Greeks either.’ Most reluctantly Hitler decided to help Mussolini once again, even though this meant publicly humiliating List and the other Wermacht officers who had negotiated the original terms with Tsolakoglu. On 23 April, with the Italians present, a second surrender document was signed. In a feeble effort to exploit the propaganda potential of the occasion, Mussolini decided to anticipate the agreed public announcement of the surrender by broadcasting the news earlier that morning. According to Italian radio, the surrender had been tendered to the ‘commander of the Italian Eleventh Army’ and details would be worked out together with ‘our German allies’. This broadcast further embittered relations between the two Axis armies. The Wermacht now felt utter contempt for their allies. The Italians were ‘just like children, wanting to gobble up everything’, observed Field Marshal Keitel. And when men of the Leibstandarte marched past some Italian women outside Patras, the soldiers responded to their greetings with shouts of ‘Brutta Italia!” Πάρθηκεν από Μάγους το σώμα του Μαγιού Οδυσσέας Ελύτης

[@aleksk4151]

wow man you should become Historian :D

[@Pappillon2007]

What a narrator! Discovered you recently man, fantastic voice, clean English, attitude when you speak and explain things... Also, in a way, you remind me of Simon Baker actor. Btw, the story was about Yugoslavia, where i discovered your channel, but you were pretty careful about that one 😁 Subbed!

[@musaabahmed3431]

Thank you so much I honestly love this channel a lot

[@Palpatine001]

Greek, British, New Zealand and Australian troops doing it rough in Greece this week while ANZAC Day continued on April 25.

[@philipjooste9075]

Often underappreciated is the role of South Africa's UDF during the East African Campaign, and their successes were again due to mobility, fire power and being able (and allowed) to operate independently - reminiscent of the Boer Commandos. Despite limited manpower, the Springboks were well equipped, fought in terrain they were quite used to, and their logistic support was pretty good for the time with more than 15 000 trucks sent overland all the way from the Union.Their cooperation between army and air force was novel for the time and the tactics using locally-developed armoured cars scared the crap out of any Italian colonial defender - therefore they became known as the "Apostles of Terror". I believe they performed less well in North Africa in a more conventional war and under British command.

[@HistoryHustle]

Great work once again!

[@b.cronin5155]

Any coverage involving New Zealand is greatly appreciated. Thanks Indy

[@WorldWarTwo]

You're welcome! And thanks to you for watching.

[@jonizymberi6787]

6:20 I said in the previous video My grandfather who was 3 when King Alexander was assassinated and 10 when Yugoslavia was invaded said the German took his hometown (Mitrovica) with just 2 soldiers on a motorcycle. I though it was him exaggerating but maybe not. I hope you cover Yugoslavia from 41-45 it was a mess. since watching this series, I've been speaking to my grandpa about his experience living in that period as a kid.

[@pagodebregaeforro2803]

Mitrovica now is like a serbian exclave in kosovo right? Dangerous area? Dude the balkans is a mess, and yet you guys are in so proximity and look like each other in phenotype but theres so much beef and fight between your nations(balkans)

[@Johnnylemoni]

Allied nation:gets invaded Britain:evacuate

[@dusk6159]

Luckly there were the Soviet Union and later the US to fix all that mess in its place.

[@charalamboszacharia6082]

Cowards

[@tragnemalm]

Really classy to post this on the same date as the event. Nice touch.

[@nymalous3428]

I don't know why this channel was recommended to me sooner. I'm always watching WW2 videos. Neat idea, kind of "on this day in history." If the rest of the videos are this good, I will likely subscribe. Plus, I teach a middle-school class on WW2, so I'll pass the word along to them.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Welcome to the channel! We're sure you won't be disappointed so be sure to subscribe and keep up with us. We've had other educators tell us before that they've used our content in lessons and its always been a great honour, hopefully you will find some use for it in your teaching.

[@malikcagatay7923]

as a turkish man, I can say that you mentioned our country at ww2 way more than my teachers did good video,good work👍👍

[@merdiolu]

I agree wholeheartedly

[@lookatmyprofilepicture2796]

Well,you didn't do much

[@malikcagatay7923]

@@lookatmyprofilepicture2796 you are right but this war effected our country as well and there are so many lessons to take from it but they do not teach, even worse many people (I mean almost everybody) do not even care🙄🙄

[@skatiarhs007]

@@malikcagatay7923 nautrality means you never fight against nazis and in many cases you support them, so its not the best thing to teach in school...

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Kurtuluş - we could have been a greater help if Greece didn't invade an exhausted Turkey just after WW1 to the brink extinction...

[@RandomStuff-he7lu]

One thing to note about Thermopylae is that it's no longer a narrow pass. In some places it's 9km wider than in antiquity.

[@alsimmons2112]

Armies are also a lot bigger than when Thermpolyae was a narrow pass. With modern equipment 9 km front to defend is still a dream for army commanders

[@RandomStuff-he7lu]

@@alsimmons2112 But it was defended by brigades whereas 9km would usually be defended by multiple divisions.

[@alsimmons2112]

@@RandomStuff-he7lu Multiple divisions for 9 km of front??? You need to do some research my friend, by your logic the Eastern front would have to be manned by hundreds of millions of troops. Military doctrine of that era stated that 1 km of front should be manned by around 1000 men. A standard division was 15000 men in most armies so a couple of brigades would be more than enough to keep 9km of front for a couple of days.

[@ssukhdeepkaur1783]

​@@RandomStuff-he7lu A couple of brigades can adequately defend 9km of front.

[@RandomStuff-he7lu]

@@ssukhdeepkaur1783 History proves you wrong.

[@andenmil]

Have a wonderful ANZAC day all Kiwis and Aussies! - Māori-swede.

[@vivaprez]

chur bro nga mihi✋🏽

[@gunman47]

5:36 An airborne operation for the invasion of Crete huh? Hmm would make sense given that the Royal Navy is controlling a lot of the waters surrounding Crete. It might work without too much casualties if things may go well like what has happened in the Greek and Yugoslavian Campaigns so far. It's time for the Fallschirmjäger to shine again... Like the Māori Battalion Haka thumbnail by the way, feels rather eye catching to it!

[@dcbanacek2]

It's raining men... HALLELUJAH!!

[@unknowntincan1408]

Spoiler alert they took the island but had so many loses it was a massacre

[@657449]

They took the island. That is all that counts.

[@demandeman3018]

The Cretans and i am not kidding, were hiding in the fields waiting for the German troops to fall and when the Germans were in the ground the Cretan would pop out with scythes and cut them (also with guns mostly from the previous wars). I think there is a diary from a paratrooper who wrote about how terrifying was the site of the Cretans.

[@antonisk.2165]

@@demandeman3018 A priest and his son broke into a museum and used rifles used in the Greco-Turkish war to snipe Germans and take their weapons and an elderly man beat a German to death with his walking stick before he untagled his parachute

[@ChanahsCreativeEdits]

Thanks for video! Great detail. Reminder to all that Heroes Fight Like Greeks (Winston C ) 🇬🇷🇬🇷🇬🇷 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

[@joshman531]

You though BEF stood for British Expeditionary Force but it actually stood for Back Every Friday.

[@romigithepope]

You said “bye” when you hung up the phone this time. I liked that.

[@Iason29]

What? All this time he didnt say bye? I never noticed, how rude

[@cameronjackson8947]

Awesome video. Huge fan from the UK 💖

[@MrMortadelas]

Regarding the Greek strategy, I feel it was the only strategy with an actual winning condition. If Yugoslavia fell slowly, its army and King would cross to Greece and form a government in exile. This would allow for a continuous line of defense and at the same time credibly hold all positions. Falling back to defend a narrower line of defense would effectively only result in losing slowly since most food producing areas would already be under occupation. It feels like an optimistic gamble for victory was preferred to an optimistic war of attrition.

[@aesop8694]

Tolis Mortadelas. Greece was waiting and waiting and waiting for the promised allied help, which arrived just in time to retreat.

[@havocgr1976]

I actually tested this in HOI3 and I lasted until 1945.This was all about not giving up parts of Greece, and I understand it, we previously bled so much for every meter of it.

[@LackyGaming]

I do study in Grevena! Its really impressive that they could pass these mountains and move so fast from there! There are some old bridges from WW2 there or some of them half destroyed! It is really impressive!

[@perseusarkouda]

They had ze panzers while Greek were on foot. Nothing impressive.

[@frankwhite3406]

Excellent Episode Indeed Most Enjoyable!

[@victorburacu9960]

Indy I like that you open each episode by speaking on the phone.

[@xappgametvx]

Germany just typed in "annex YUG" in the console

[@dusk6159]

Alexander Absolutely (though it worked out terribly, even worse than Greece and other similar finely resisting invaded countries).

[@lordrork5884]

Sounds like we need an episode on the Cypriots :D . There are so many smaller or less well known aspects of WWII that I wasn't aware of that I wouldn't mind hearing about!

[@savvasavraam8670]

Lord Rork Cyprus was occupied by Britain at the time. Britain promised, that if Cyprus joined against the Axis, they would‘ve granted them their independence, thus enabling Cyprus to reunite with the rest of Greece. Alas, Cyprus send ~50000 troops to Britain, many of whom were pilots. After the war Britain didn’t keep on it’s promise so Cyprus rebelled(1955-1959).

[@WorldWarTwo]

Britain made no such explicit promise, as it will be binding. Her promises were more vague...

[@ckoumenis]

Interesting fact about Cyprus's contributions to the Allied effort in WW2. Glafkos Clerides, one of the most respected statesmen of the Cyprus Republic and its president from 1993 to 2003 (largely credited with ushering it into the EU due to its stable economy), fought as a RAF pilot. He was studying law in London at the time, volunteered for RAF like many other Cypriots and was shot down over Germany. He spent WW2 in a concentration camp. Source: Wikipedia

[@savvasavraam8670]

World War Two I only know that Britain should never be trusted. By anyone.

[@savvasavraam8670]

Richard Schiffman I don’t think so.

[@xappgametvx]

didn't realise today is Saturday... thanks for the great vid!

[@OptimusWombat]

Been waiting for this!

[@romaniacountryball]

This time 300 greeks vs many germans

[@andypants1000]

The thousand nations of the axis powers have descended on you. Their close air support will block out the sun

[@romaniacountryball]

@marios gianopoulos and many bombs start falling from the shy and the greek soldiers stay in the shadow

[@aleksk4151]

Tonight we Dine in Albania 😂

[@mrmonsieur7583]

3:01 I was impressed with the pronunciation and I'm not even greek!

[@fahrradmittelfranken8207]

When you play as Greece / Allies in Panzer General it's interesting how accurate it is. You have this giant frontline in the west with Greeks vs Italians and you're holding on fairly easily, even though you're bombarded from the sea, and then after 10 or so turns Yugoslavia is gone and the Panzers start rolling in on the east, and you just collapse even if you place your strongest units there.

[@forthleft]

Thanx guys.

[@Alex-cw3rz]

This week in April 1941, during a rearguard action at the Corinth canal, an actor called Clive Dunn, who later played the eccentric Lance Corporal Jones in Dads Army, was captured by German forces and spent the next 4 years in a prison camp in Austria. On a side note I'd love if you guys could do a video on Dads Army, like the one you did on Blackadder Goes Forth for ww1, you could also do one on Allo Allo too.

[@sammyvasco6385]

Being a big fan of Greek mythology, it's so weird to hear the names of Greek cities in a modern context...

[@Iason29]

Sadly most of the greek names you hear aren't ancient but are from the roman byzantine period. Some others are Turkish but not many, and it's weird how we didn't change them to atleast their old ancient greek names since independence. Like Trikala for example Turks are really good in changing names, like they would leave any greek name left in their country

[@justwatch7091]

@@Iason29 Bruh, what? A big chunk of western and central city names, even in Turkey today, is either loaned or originated from Roman, Greek and Anatolian. So yeah, we still use names with Greek origins. Even İstanbul and Ankara comes from Greek for fuck's sake. What a blatant lie, fucking moron.

[@trippsmythoftheaurigancoal8155]

Indy, thank you for this.

[@robmiller1964]

This is so well done I'll have to watch at least 3 times! My dad was in the Famous 20th Battalion, which was basically a South Island Battalion, the 19th Battalion was basically from the lower half of the North Island, and the 18th Battalion was from the upper half of the North Island; my dad served in Greece, Crete, North Africa and then Italy! Wow did they go through some crap! I have my Dad's medal awarded to him by the Greek Government for his combat in WW2. He was very proud of it and my mum and dad went back to Greece and Crete in 1981, they then went to Munich and were hosted by the Fallschirmjager Veterans! My dad was awarded an Oak Leaf and Bar; he was wounded, taken POW and escaped! He was in the same outfit as Charles Upham, the only double VC in the British Empire! Cripes; it took a New Zealander to be the first person to Give women the vote, split the Atom, get 2 VCs, Climb Mount Everest, win 3 Rugby World Cups, Be the current holders of the World Cricket Cup, Blaa blooody blaa, and live in Paradise!