Axis occupation of Greece

Overview

The occupation of Greece by the Axis powers began in April 1941 after the German invasion of Greece to assist its ally, Italy, in the Greco-Italian War had begun in October 1940. Following the Battle of Crete, Greece was occupied starting in June 1941. The occupation of the mainland lasted until Germany and its ally Bulgaria withdrew under Allied pressure in early October 1944, with Crete and some other Aegean Islands being surrendered to the Allies by German garrisons in May and June 1945, after the end of the Second World War in Europe.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Axis occupation of Greece followed Germany's April 1941 intervention to relieve its Italian ally, which had launched the Greco-Italian War in October 1940 and subsequently faltered. After the fall of Crete in June 1941, Axis forces held the Greek mainland and islands under a prolonged occupation. German and Bulgarian forces withdrew from the mainland under Allied pressure in early October 1944, though German garrisons on Crete and several Aegean islands held out until May and June 1945, after the formal end of the war in Europe. The occupation thus stretched across nearly the full span of the European war, making Greece one of the last theaters where Axis forces formally surrendered.