Ohi Day in Greece

Beginning of war. MobilizationOn the night of October 27-28, 1940, the Italian ambassador to Greece appeared at the door of Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas’ office and handed a telegram to Mussolini, in which Greece was asked to surrender to the mercy of the Italian dictator unconditionally, to surrender its national positions. The Greek prime minister’s answer was categorical: “No!” At the Italian Embassy’s ultimatum, it was stated that this method of appeal was regarded as a declaration of war on Greece by Italy, and at 6 a.m., with the approval of the Italian Parliament, the armed forces began the occupation of Greek territories.

Greece entered the Second World War. On October 28, 1940, Italian troops invaded Greece from Albania. Greeks from all over the country arrived on the front line, the army took the dominant heights and repulsed the onslaught, and on November 14 went on a counteroffensive. For five months, the Greek army resisted many times the superior forces of the enemy, once again proving to the world that in war strength, numbers, weapons and equipment do not always win, but also the spirit of the people. The Greek army was not only able to stop the Italians, but also threw their troops into the Adriatic Sea.

The Italian dictator was forced to ask for help from the Allies, and on April 6, 1941, Hitler’s troops invaded the country from already occupied Bulgaria. By April 23, the Allied forces had defeated the Greek army, and on April 27, the Germans occupied Athens. The surviving Greek units together with the British defended the cradle of civilization - the island of Crete, but as a result of the German airborne operation on May 20, 1941, the island had to be abandoned. Greece was completely occupied, which did not mean total surrender: the remnants of Greek troops continued to fight the Wehrmacht in North Africa, and from November 1942 a guerrilla movement spread throughout Greece.

In October 1944, German troops were withdrawn from Greece, as the Soviet troops advancing in the Balkans could block them, and the British entered Greece.