Balkans 1940-41 (2), The: Hitler's Blitzkrieg against Yugoslavia and Greece

by Pier Paolo Battistelli, Adam Hook (Illustrator)

Overview

This concise yet detailed overview gives a balanced account of this key Blitzkrieg campaign in the Balkans during the opening years of World War II.

The Wehrmacht's last Blitzkrieg campaign was indeed a lightning war, since German forces were required to seize both Yugoslavia and Greece before redeploying immediately to the East ready to attack the Soviet Union in a matter of weeks. Although the plans for the conquest of Yugoslavia were developed in haste, the campaign was extremely successful: in a short space of time, both Yugoslavia and Greece had fallen, accompanied by the capture of large numbers of British, Australian and New Zealand troops. The 1941 Balkan campaign was an apparently brilliant military accomplishment that demonstrated once again the superiority of the Wehrmacht, and its cutting-edge campaigning skills.

This superbly detailed work details the opposing forces that took part in this campaign, documents their weapons and analyzes the effectiveness of their tactics. It explores the initial Axis campaign against Yugoslavia, the breakthrough of the Metaxas Line and advance into Macedonia and the withdrawal of Allied troops south. Detailed battlescenes depict key moments in the land, sea and air battles that took place in the Balkans, vividly bringing to life events of almost 80 years ago.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781472842619
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	07/27/2021
Series:	Campaign
Pages:	96
Sales rank:	685,700
Product dimensions:	7.10(w) x 9.60(h) x 0.30(d)

About the Author

Pier Paolo Battistelli earned his PhD in Military History at the University of Padua. A scholar of German and Italian politics and strategy throughout World War II, he is active in Italy and abroad writing titles and essays on military history subjects. A contributor to the Italian Army Historical Office, he is currently revising his PhD thesis for publication: The War of the Axis: German and Italian Military Partnership in World War Two, 1939-1943. Pier is based in Italy.

Adam Hook studied graphic design, and began his work as an illustrator in 1983. He specializes in detailed historical reconstructions, and has illustrated Osprey titles on subjects as diverse as the Aztecs, the Ancient Greeks, Roman battle tactics, several 19th-century American subjects, the modern Chinese Army, and a number of books in the Fortress series. His work features in exhibitions and publications throughout the world. Adam is based in the UK.

Table of Contents

Origins of the Campaign 4

Chronology 6

Opposing Commanders 8

Axis

Allied

Opposing Forces 15

Axis

Allied

Order of battle, Yugoslavia-Albania, 6 April 1941

Order of battle, Greek campaign

Opposing Plans 23

German

Allied

The Campaign 29

The collapse of Yugoslavia

The battle for the Metaxas Line

The Aliakmon Line The Olympus Line and the Allied withdrawal

Last stand at Thermopylae Operation Demon: the Allied evacuation

Aftermath 89

The Battlefields Today 92

Bibliography 94

Index 95