This concise yet detailed overview gives a balanced account of this
key Blitzkrieg campaign in the Balkans during the opening years of World
War II.
The Wehrmacht's last Blitzkrieg campaign was indeed a lightning war,
since German forces were required to seize both Yugoslavia and Greece
before redeploying immediately to the East ready to attack the Soviet
Union in a matter of weeks. Although the plans for the conquest of
Yugoslavia were developed in haste, the campaign was extremely
successful: in a short space of time, both Yugoslavia and Greece had
fallen, accompanied by the capture of large numbers of British,
Australian and New Zealand troops. The 1941 Balkan campaign was an
apparently brilliant military accomplishment that demonstrated once
again the superiority of the Wehrmacht, and its cutting-edge campaigning
skills.
This superbly detailed work details the opposing forces that took part
in this campaign, documents their weapons and analyzes the effectiveness
of their tactics. It explores the initial Axis campaign against
Yugoslavia, the breakthrough of the Metaxas Line and advance into
Macedonia and the withdrawal of Allied troops south. Detailed
battlescenes depict key moments in the land, sea and air battles that
took place in the Balkans, vividly bringing to life events of almost 80
years ago.