75 years ago, on April 6, 1941, Nazi Germany attacked Yugoslavia and Greece. The Yugoslav ruling elite and the army were unable to offer worthy resistance. On April 9, the city of Nis fell, on April 13, Belgrade. King Peter II and his ministers fled the country, first flew to Greece, and from there to Egypt. On April 17, an act of unconditional surrender was signed in Belgrade. At the same time, Germany and Italy defeated Greece. The Bulgarian government provided the country's territory for the operational deployment of the Wehrmacht. Greek troops, relying on a fortified line on the border with Bulgaria, fiercely fought back for several days. However, the Greek leadership, not believing in victory, decided to capitulate. And the British expeditionary force that landed in Greece could not have a decisive influence on the situation. On April 23, 1941 the representatives of Greece signed an armistice with Germany and Italy. On the same day, the Greek government and the king fled to the island of Crete, and then to Egypt under the protection of the British. British Corps troops were also evacuated. On April 27, German troops entered Athens. By June 1, 1941, German troops also captured Crete. Thus, the Third Reich established practical complete control over the Balkans.
The strategic importance of the Balkans. Prehistory of the Yugoslav and Greek operations
During the deployment of World War II, the Balkan Peninsula was of great military-political and economic importance. Control over this region made it possible to create a strategic foothold for expanding expansion to other regions - the Mediterranean, the Middle East, Russia. The Balkans have long been of great political, strategic and economic importance. Control over this area made it possible to extract large profits, use local human resources and strategic raw materials. Important communications passed through the peninsula, including its coastline and islands.
Hitlerite Germany viewed the Balkan Peninsula as a southern strategic foothold for an attack on the USSR. By capturing Norway and Denmark and having Nazi Finland as allies, Germany secured the northwestern foothold for the invasion. The capture of the Balkan Peninsula provided the southern strategic flank of the German Empire. Here it was supposed to concentrate a large grouping of the Wehrmacht for an attack on Ukraine-Little Russia and further to the Caucasus. In addition, the Balkans were to become an important raw material and food base for the Third Reich.
Also, the Balkan Peninsula was considered by the military-political leadership of the Third Reich as an important springboard for the implementation of further plans to establish its own world order. The Balkans could become a base for the struggle for domination in the Mediterranean, the Middle East and North Africa, for further penetration into Asia and Africa. The seizure of the Balkan Peninsula allowed the Nazis to create strong naval and air bases here for gaining dominance in the eastern and central Mediterranean Sea, disrupting part of the communications of the British Empire, through which the British received oil from the Middle East.
In the struggle for the Balkans, Berlin in the second half of 1940 - early 1941. made some progress. Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria joined the Triple Pact (Berlin-Rome-Tokyo axis). This seriously strengthened Germany's position in the Balkans. However, the position of such important states as Yugoslavia and Turkey was still uncertain. The governments of these countries did not join any of the warring parties. Greece, which has a strong position in the Mediterranean, was under British influence, although it also listened to Berlin (led a "flexible" policy).
The Balkan Peninsula was also of great strategic importance for Britain. He covered the possessions of England in the Mediterranean Sea, in the Near and Middle East. In addition, the British planned to use the armed forces, human resources of the Balkan states in their own interests and form one of the fronts of the fight against the Third Reich on the peninsula. It is also worth remembering that at this time London hoped that there would be a clash of German and Soviet interests in the Balkans, which would develop into an armed confrontation and thereby distract the leadership of the Third Reich from Britain and the Balkan Peninsula. The main goal of London was the war between Germany and the USSR, so that the two great powers destroyed each other's potential, which led to the victory in the Great Game of the Anglo-Saxon project.
Thus, the Balkan Peninsula, directly overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, on the one hand, was an important springboard for the implementation of the operational and strategic goals of Italy and Germany, which took a course to change the world order in their favor, on the other hand, it was an important raw material, food base and a source of human resources. Also, important communications passed through the Balkans, including the shortest route from Europe to Asia Minor, to the Near and Middle East, which were important in the plans of the builders of the "Eternal Reich". In addition, the armed forces of the Balkan states and Turkey played an important role in the balance of military power in the region. If Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria acted as allies of Berlin, then Yugoslavia and Greece were viewed as potential enemies, even taking into account the flexible and often pro-fascist policy of their elite. It is also worth keeping in mind the strategic interests of Britain.
According to the original concept of the German "global strategy", Italy was to play the main role in the expansion in the Mediterranean, Africa and the Balkans. She was supposed to fetter the forces of England and France in these regions and provide the Wehrmacht with favorable conditions for ending the war in Europe. Germany itself planned to actively begin the development of these territories after the final victory in Europe.
This was facilitated by the policy of Italy itself. Rome counted on broad colonial conquests and even before the war began the creation of the “great Roman Empire”. Fascist Italy was positioned as the direct heir to Ancient Rome. In the Balkans, the Italians planned to seize Albania and part of Greece. However, the Italians turned out to be bad fighters (plus the weakness of the industrial base and the lack of raw materials, which prevented the creation of modern armed forces), and even in conditions when France was defeated by the Wehrmacht and England had to go over to strategic defense and make extraordinary efforts to maintain positions in the Mediterranean and the Middle East, in Africa, she could not independently solve the tasks set earlier. In Kenya and Sudan, the Italians were unable to build on their early successes and went on the defensive. The offensive in North Africa in September 1940 also failed, with the Italians advancing from Libya into Egypt. Affected by the elongation of the rear, supply interruptions and, most importantly, the general weakness of the Italian military machine.
However, Mussolini decided to unleash another war - to conduct a sudden, "lightning-fast" campaign against Greece. Rome planned to include Greece in its sphere of influence. Mussolini told Foreign Minister Ciano: “Hitler always confronts me with a fait accompli. But this time I will repay him in the same coin: he learns from the newspapers that I have occupied Greece. " On October 15, an operational directive was drawn up on the Italian army's offensive against Greece. It stated that at the first stage of the operation, Italian troops from the territory of Albania should strike a surprise attack on Ioannina with the task of breaking through the defenses of the Greek army, crushing it. Then build on the success with the forces of the mobile group along the Gjirokastra-Ioannina highway, capture the northwestern region of Greece - Epirus, and continue the offensive against Athens and Thessaloniki. At the same time, it was planned, by landing a naval landing, to occupy the Greek island of Corfu.
On the night of October 28, 1940, Italian Ambassador Emanuele Grazzi presented Metaxas with a three-hour ultimatum demanding that Italian troops be free to occupy undefined "strategic targets" in Greece. Metaxas rejected the Italian ultimatum. Even before the end of the 140,000 ultimatum. The 9th Italian Army (250 tanks and armored vehicles, 700 guns and 259 aircraft) invaded Greek territory from Albania. On the border with Albania, there was only a Greek border grouping of 27 thousand soldiers (20 tanks, 220 guns and 26 aircraft). That is, the Italian troops had complete superiority. The Italians broke through the Greek defenses on a 50-kilometer stretch and broke into the territory of Epirus and Macedonia.
The Greek government of Metaxas and the General Staff, not daring to confront Italy, ordered the Epirus army to retreat without engaging in battle with the enemy. However, the Greek soldiers refused to carry out the criminal order and entered into battle with the invaders. All the people supported them. In Greece, a patriotic upsurge began. The Greek border units and the Epirus army put up stubborn resistance and the Italian army, having lost the first offensive impulse, got stuck and stopped the offensive on November 8. The Greeks launched a counteroffensive, and by the end of November 1940, the Italians had practically rolled back to their original positions. Thus, the Italian blitzkrieg failed. Furious, Mussolini changed the high command: the chief of the General Staff, Marshal Badoglio, and the commander-in-chief of the troops in Albania, General Visconti Praska, resigned. General Cavaliero became the chief of the General Staff and part-time commander of the troops in the Greek campaign.
The Greek military-political leadership, instead of using the favorable military situation and pursuing the defeated enemy on the territory of Albania to destroy the potential of a new Italian invasion, succumbed to the pressure of Berlin, which recommended “not to hit Italy so hard, otherwise the master (Hitler) will start be angry . As a result, the success of the Greek army was not developed. Italy retained its invasion potential, while Germany continued to prepare for an invasion of the Balkans.
Greek artillerymen fire in the mountains from the mountain version of the 65-mm cannon during the war with Italy
Greek soldiers in battle in the mountains during the war with Italy
Meanwhile, Italy suffered serious new defeats. British troops in Egypt, having received reinforcements, launched a counteroffensive on December 9, 1940. The Italians were not ready to strike, they were immediately defeated and ran. By the end of December, the British had cleared all of Egypt of Italian troops, and in early January 1941 they invaded Cyrenaica (Libya). The heavily fortified Bardia and Tobruk surrendered to the British army. The Italian army of Graziani was completely destroyed, 150 thousand people were captured. The pitiful remnants of the Italian army (about 10 thousand people) fled to Tripolitania. The British stopped their advance in North Africa and transferred the bulk of the army from Libya to Greece. In addition, the British Air Force carried out a successful operation against the Italian naval base of Taranto. As a result of the raid, 3 battleships (out of 4) were incapacitated, which gave the British fleet an advantage in the Mediterranean.
Britain tried to strengthen its position in the Balkans. As soon as the Italian-Greek war began, the British urgently tried to put together an anti-German bloc in the Balkan Peninsula consisting of Greece, Yugoslavia and Turkey with the support of England. However, the implementation of this plan ran into great difficulties. The Turks refused not only to join the anti-German bloc, but also from fulfilling their obligations under the Anglo-French-Turkish treaty of October 19, 1939. The Anglo-Turkish negotiations held in January 1941 showed the futility of the British attempts to attract Turkey to help Greece. Turkey, under the conditions of the outbreak of the world war, when the former dominant influence of France and England was extremely weakened, was looking for an advantage in the changed conditions. Greece was the traditional enemy of the Turks, and Turkey gradually leaned towards Germany, planning to profit at the expense of Russia-USSR. Although the leadership of Yugoslavia refrained from joining the Triple Pact, it also pursued a "flexible" policy, not intending to oppose Berlin.
The United States actively supported London's policy in the Balkans. In the second half of January 1941, the personal representative of President Roosevelt, one of the leaders of American intelligence, Colonel Donoven, left for the Balkans on a special mission. He visited Athens, Istanbul, Sofia and Belgrade, urging the governments of the Balkan states to pursue policies in the interests of Washington and London. In February and March 1941, American diplomacy continued to put pressure on the Balkan governments, especially Yugoslavia and Turkey, in pursuit of the main goal - to prevent the strengthening of Germany in the Balkans. All these actions were coordinated with Britain. According to the British Defense Committee, the Balkans at this time acquired a decisive importance.
In February 1941, British Foreign Secretary Eden and Imperial Chief of Staff Dill left on a special mission to the Middle East and Greece. After consulting with the British command in the Mediterranean region, they were in the Greek capital. On February 22, an agreement was reached with the Greek government on the upcoming landing of a British expeditionary force. However, it was not possible to agree with Belgrade in a similar way.
Thus, Italy was unable to independently solve the problem of establishing dominance in Africa, the Mediterranean and the Balkans. In addition, Britain and the United States increased their pressure in the Balkans. This forced the Third Reich to join the open struggle. Hitler decided to use the situation that had arisen in order, under the guise of helping allied Italy, to take dominant positions in the Balkans.
Operation "Marita"
On November 12, 1940, Adolf Hitler signed Directive No. 18 on the preparation "if necessary" of an operation against Greece from the territory of Bulgaria. According to the directive, it was envisaged to create in the Balkans (in particular, in Romania) a grouping of German troops consisting of at least 10 divisions. The concept of the operation was clarified during November and December, linked to the Barbarossa variant, and by the end of the year it was outlined in a plan under the code name Marita (lat. Marita - spouse).
According to Directive No. 20 of December 13, 1940, the forces that were involved in the Greek operation were significantly increased up to 24 divisions. The directive set the task of occupying Greece and demanded the timely release of these forces in order to fulfill the "new plans", that is, to participate in the attack on the USSR.
Thus, plans for an invasion of Greece were developed by the German military-political leadership at the end of 1940. However, Germany was in no hurry to invade. The failure of Italy was planned to be used to further subordinate Rome to the German leadership. In addition, the undecided position of Yugoslavia forced us to wait. In Berlin, as in London, they planned to win Belgrade over to their side.
Decision to invade Yugoslavia
Berlin stepped up pressure on Belgrade by exploiting economic opportunities and the German community in Yugoslavia. In October 1940, a German-Yugoslav trade agreement was signed, which increased the economic dependence of Yugoslavia. At the end of November, the Yugoslav Foreign Minister arrived in Berlin to negotiate Belgrade's accession to the Triple Pact. For participation in the pack, they offered Belgrade the Greek port of Thessaloniki. In February - March 1941, negotiations continued at a higher level - Yugoslav Prime Minister Cvetkovic and Prince Regent Pavel visited Germany. Under strong pressure from Germany, the Yugoslav government, the Yugoslav government decided to join the Triple Pak. But the Yugoslavs made a number of concessions to themselves: Berlin pledged not to demand military assistance from Yugoslavia and the right to pass troops through its territory; after the end of the war, Yugoslavia was to receive Thessaloniki. On March 25, 1941, a protocol was signed in Vienna on the accession of Yugoslavia to the Triple Pact.
This agreement was a betrayal of all previous politics and national interests, especially in Serbia. It is clear what caused the anger of the people and a significant part of the elite, including the military. The people regarded this act as a betrayal of national interests. Protest actions began across the country with the slogans: "Better war than a pact!", "Better death than slavery!", "For an alliance with Russia!" In Belgrade, unrest swept all educational institutions, in Kragujevac 10 thousand people participated in them, in Cetinje - 5 thousand. On March 26, 1941, rallies and demonstrations continued, in the streets of Belgrade, Ljubljana, Kragujevac, Cacak, Leskovac, thousands of rallies were held to protest against the signing of an agreement with Germany. In Belgrade, 400 thousand people, at least 80 thousand people took part in a protest demonstration. In Belgrade, protesters ransacked a German information office. As a result, part of the military elite, associated with the political opposition and British intelligence, decided to carry out a military coup.
On the night of March 27, 1941, relying on like-minded officers and parts of the air force, the former head of the Air Force and General Staff of Yugoslavia Dusan Simovich (was removed due to objections to military cooperation between Yugoslavia and Germany) carried out a coup d'etat and removed the prince from power -regent Paul. Cvetkovic and other ministers were arrested. The 17-year-old Peter II was placed on the royal throne. Simovic himself took the post of Prime Minister of Yugoslavia, as well as the post of Chief of the General Staff.
Belgrade residents welcome the military coup on March 27, 1941
Renault R-35 tank on the streets of Belgrade on the day of the military coup on March 27, 1941. The inscription on the tank: "For the King and the Fatherland"
Unwilling to provide a pretext for starting a war, the Simovic government acted cautiously and hesitantly, but immediately after the coup in Yugoslavia, Hitler held a meeting with the commanders-in-chief of the ground and air forces and their chiefs of staff in the imperial chancellery in Berlin. It announced the decision "to make all preparations in order to destroy Yugoslavia militarily and as a national unit." On the same day, Directive 25 was signed on the attack on Yugoslavia. It stated that the "military putsch" in Yugoslavia caused changes in the military-political situation in the Balkans and that Yugoslavia, even if it makes a declaration of loyalty, should be considered an enemy and must be defeated.
In addition to Directive No. 25, the High Command of the Wehrmacht issued an Instruction on Propaganda Against Yugoslavia. The essence of the information war against Yugoslavia was to undermine the morale of the Yugoslav army, to inflame national contradictions in this "patchwork" and largely artificial country. The aggression against Yugoslavia was shown by the Hitlerite propaganda machine as a war against the government of Serbia alone. Allegedly, Belgrade was guided by England and "oppressed other Yugoslav peoples." Berlin planned to evoke anti-Serb sentiments among Croats, Macedonians, Bosnians, etc. This plan was partly successful. For example, Croatian nationalists have promised to support German troops in the war against Yugoslavia. Croatian nationalists also acted from the territory of Italy. On April 1, 1941, the leader of the Croatian nationalists, Ante Pavelic, with the permission of Mussolini, began to conduct propaganda radio broadcasts on Croats living in Yugoslavia from the Italian radio station ETAR. At the same time, the formation of combat units from Croatian nationalists began on Italian territory. Croatian nationalists planned to declare Croatian independence at the start of the war.
The German command decided to start the attack on Greece simultaneously with the attack on Yugoslavia. The planned invasion of Greece on April 1, 1941 was postponed for several days. The Marita plan has been radically revised. Military action against both Balkan states was viewed as a single operation. After the final plan of attack was approved on March 30, 1940, Hitler sent a letter to Mussolini stating that he was awaiting help from Italy. The German leadership, not without reason, expected that the attack on Yugoslavia would meet with the support of Italy, Hungary and Bulgaria, whose armed forces could be involved in the occupation of the country by promising territorial acquisitions: Italy - the Adriatic coast, Hungary - Banat, Bulgaria - Macedonia.
The invasion was supposed to be carried out by inflicting simultaneous strikes from the territory of Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary and Austria in converging directions to Skopje, Belgrade and Zagreb with the aim of dismembering the Yugoslav army and destroying it piece by piece. The task was set to capture, first of all, the southern part of Yugoslavia in order to prevent the establishment of communication between the armies of Yugoslavia and Greece, to unite with the Italian troops in Albania and to use the southern regions of Yugoslavia as a springboard for the subsequent German-Italian offensive against Greece. The air force was supposed to strike at the Yugoslav capital, destroy the main airfields, paralyze railway traffic and thereby disrupt mobilization. Against Greece, it was envisaged to deliver the main attack in the direction of Thessaloniki, followed by an advance to the Olympus region. The start of the invasion of Greece and Yugoslavia was set for April 6, 1941.
The new Yugoslav government tried to continue its "flexible" policy and "buy time". As a result, a paradox arose: the government, which came to power on the wave of popular protest against the pro-German policy of the previous government, did not officially announce the breakdown of the contractual relations defined by the pact. Nevertheless, Belgrade has intensified its contacts with Greece and Great Britain. On March 31, 1941, British General J. Dilly, personal secretary to British Foreign Secretary P. Dixon, arrived in Belgrade from Athens for negotiations. On the same day, March 31, 1941, the General Staff of Yugoslavia ordered the troops to begin implementation of the R-41 plan, which was of a defensive nature and involved the formation of three army groups: the 1st army group (4th and 7th armies) - on the territory Croatia; 2nd Army Group (1st, 2nd, 6th Armies) - in the area between the Iron Gate and the Drava River; 3rd Army Group (3rd and 5th Armies) - in the northern part of the country, near the border with Albania.
Under pressure from the masses, who traditionally saw Russia as an ally and friend, and also wishing to get the support of the USSR in a difficult situation on the world stage, Simovich turned to Moscow with a proposal to conclude an agreement between the two countries. On April 5, 1945, the Treaty of Friendship and Non-Aggression between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was signed in Moscow.
Application. Directive No. 20 of December 13, 1940
1. The outcome of the fighting in Albania is not yet clear. Given the threatening situation in Albania, it is doubly important to thwart British efforts to create, under the protection of the Balkan Front, a bridgehead for air operations, dangerous primarily for Italy, and along with this for the Romanian oil regions.
2. Therefore my intention is:
a) Create in the coming months in southern Romania, in the future, gradually strengthened grouping.
b) After the weather is favorable - probably in March - this group will be thrown across Bulgaria to occupy the northern coast of the Aegean Sea and, if necessary, the entire mainland of Greece (Operation Marita).
Bulgaria's support is expected.
3. The concentration of the grouping in Romania is as follows:
a) The 16th Panzer Division, arriving in December, is placed at the disposal of the military mission, the tasks of which remain unchanged.
b) Immediately thereafter, a strike group of approximately 7 divisions (1st deployment echelon) is transferred in Romania. Engineering units in the amount required to prepare the crossing of the Danube can be included in the transports of the 16th Panzer Division (under the guise of "training units"). The commander-in-chief of the land army will receive my instructions in time to use them on the Danube.
c) Prepare the transfer of further transports envisaged for Operation Marat up to a maximum (24 div.).
d) For the Air Force, the task is to provide air cover for the concentration of troops, as well as to prepare for the creation of the necessary command and logistic bodies on Romanian territory.
4. The very operation "Marita" to prepare on the basis of the following principles:
a) The first goal of the operation is the occupation of the Aegean coast and the Gulf of Thessaloniki. Continuing the advance through Larissa and the Isthmus of Corinth may become necessary.
b) We transfer the flank cover from Turkey to the Bulgarian army, but it must be reinforced and provided with German units.
c) It is not known whether the Bulgarian formations, in addition, will participate in the offensive. It is also now impossible to clearly present the position of Yugoslavia.
d) The tasks of the Air Force will be to effectively support the advance of ground forces in all sectors, suppress enemy aircraft and, as far as possible, occupy British strongholds on the Greek islands by landing air assault forces.
f) The question of how Operation Marita will be supported by the Italian Armed Forces, how the operations will be agreed upon, will be decided later.
5. The especially great political influence of military preparations in the Balkans requires precise control of all related activities of the command. The dispatch of troops through Hungary and their arrival in Romania should be announced gradually and initially justified by the need to strengthen the military mission in Romania.
Negotiations with Romanians or Bulgarians, which may indicate our intentions, as well as informing Italians in each individual case, must be approved by me; also the direction of intelligence agencies and lodgers.
6. After the operation "Marita" it is planned to transfer the mass of the compounds used here for a new use.
7. I await reports from the commanders-in-chief (with regard to the land army already received) on their intentions. Provide me with the exact schedules for the planned preparations, as well as the necessary conscription from the enterprises of the military industry (the formation of new divisions on vacation).
