The anniversary of April 6, 1941, is more than just the start date of a war; it is the moment when Greece, exhausted yet proud from the six-month epic in Albania, was called upon to face the most powerful war machine on the planet.
It was the day Greece delivered its second "OCHI" (NO), and the "Metaxas Line" brought the Nazi war machine to a standstill.
By: Mara Christou
Athens – Following the death of Ioannis Metaxas in January 1941, Alexandros Koryzis assumed the premiership. Pressure from Berlin was suffocating. Hitler had not initially desired a Balkan front; however, Mussolini’s failure and the presence of British troops in Greece—who posed a threat to the Romanian oil fields—forced his hand.
At 5:30 AM on April 6, the German Ambassador, Viktor Erbach, visited Koryzis. The communique stated that German troops would invade to expel the British. However, the attack had already begun at 5:15 AM, as the first German shells began striking the forts of Thrace and Eastern Macedonia. Nazi Germany’s assault, codenamed "Operation Marita," launched 45 minutes before the ultimatum delivered to the Greek Prime Minister had even expired.
Adolf Hitler, seeing his ally Benito Mussolini facing defeat in the mountains of Albania, was forced to intervene. His goal was not only to save Axis prestige but also to clear the Balkans before the launch of "Operation Barbarossa" against Russia.
Greece found itself in an unequal, two-front struggle:
-
In Albania: The main body of the Greek Army was engaged with the Italians.
-
At the Bulgarian Border: Only 70,000 men under Major General Konstantinos Bakopoulos were called to stop the German 12th Army, consisting of 680,000 men and 1,200 tanks.
The Greek defense relied on the Metaxas Line, a fortification complex that stunned the Germans. The quality of the concrete, the masterful camouflage, and the underground tunnels allowed Greek fighters to resist even after the main front had been breached.
"The Greek soldiers fought with a self-sacrifice that commanded the respect of German officers, who, following the surrender, presented guards of honor to the defeated but heroic defenders."
Despite the staunch resistance at the forts (Rupel, Lisse, Istibey), German armored superiority allowed for a breakthrough via Yugoslavia. On April 8, German forces entered Thessaloniki, bypassing the Metaxas Line and forcing the leadership to surrender on April 9. By the end of the month, the entire Greek mainland had been occupied, marking the beginning of the dark period of Triple Occupation: German, Italian, and Bulgarian.
