#216: The 1941 German Invasion of Greece - TWiE War on the Southern Front

'Unternahmen Merita', Greece, April 6th 1941: The German invasion of Greece relied as much on politics as it did on military force. Bulgaria joined the Axis in March 1941, thereby giving Germany excellent bases for an invasion. Yugoslavia joined the Axis on March 25th, and rights were secured to pass through her territory and drive into northern Greece. Greek political pride played into German hands as well; resentment of Italy and Bulgaria resulted in 90% of the Hellenic Army being deployed in Albania, or along the border with Bulgaria. A single division held the entire Yugoslav boundary. Greece's ego would be her downfall. Britain attempted to parry German gains; the pro-Nazi Greek king was wooed by the Allies, and one armored and two infantry divisions were stripped from North Africa and sent to Greece. OKH had devised an ambitious plan. Using an Army split along two axes, a force of six divisions would drive into Thrace from Bulgaria, lulling the Greeks into believing the Bulgarian deployment was sound, while the main Panzer force passed through Yugoslavia, invading down the Axios River corridor into the Greek heartland. Italian forces would also attack to keep Greek units fixed on the Albanian Front. The plan was nearly un-hinged by a coup in Yugoslavia. The new regime nullified transit rights and renounced all treaties. In response, Hitler ordered the immediate invasion of Yugoslavia to occur with the invasion of Greece. The tanks of the Axios River thrust would just have to fight their way to their start positions.