The Balkans 1940–41 (2)

The Balkans 1940–41 (2) offers a concise yet detailed overview, providing a balanced account of this pivotal Blitzkrieg campaign in the Balkans during the opening years of World War II.

The Wehrmacht's last Blitzkrieg campaign was indeed a lightning war, requiring German forces to seize both Yugoslavia and Greece before immediately redeploying to the East in preparation to attack the Soviet Union in just a matter of weeks. Although the plans for the conquest of Yugoslavia were developed hastily, the campaign proved to be extremely successful. In a short span, both Yugoslavia and Greece had fallen, leading to 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 examines the opposing forces involved in this campaign, documents their weapons, and analyses the effectiveness of their tactics. It explores the initial Axis campaign against Yugoslavia, the breakthrough of the Metaxas Line, the advance into Macedonia, and the withdrawal of Allied troops to the south.

Detailed battle scenes illustrate key moments in the land, sea, and air battles that occurred in the Balkans, vividly bringing to life events from almost 80 years ago.