I'm looking through old powerpoint slides from a WWII class I took last semester and I'm curious because I am now taking a course on Italy.
Italy and Germany successfully invaded Greece in 1941, the Italians occupied much of Greece even though they played a small role compared to the Germans in the invasion.
In my notes I have "In Sept. 1943, Italy surrendered. The Germans did not want the arms and ammunition on Cephalonia to fall into the hands of the Greek resistance. The Italians refused to turn over the arms and ammunition and began fighting the Germans. The Germans prevailed and killed about 6,000 of 9,000 Italian prisoners."
How did the Greeks resurge after they were destroyed in 1941 during the invasion, and why did the Italians make a deal with the Allies if they had already acquired Greece?
Thank you
Well Greece was a very rural country and one deeply divided along political lines. The communists in particular formed militias and were able to cause many problems for the invading axis because of the rural nature of the country which lent it's self well to guerrilla operations.
As for why Italy surrendered when it controlled Greece? Well the allies had invaded mainland Italy and this caused the Italian leader Mussolini to be overthrown. The Italians assumed the war was close to being over. I mean if the allies invaded mainland Italy it was only a matter of time till they invaded France and things weren't looking great on the eastern front either.