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A review by komet2020
YUGOSLAVIA AND GREECE 1940-41: The Axis' aerial assault in the Balkans by Basilio Di Martino, Pier Paolo Battistelli
informative
medium-paced
5.0
YUGOSLAVIA AND GREECE 1940-41: The Axis' Aerial Assault in the Balkans offers a concise account of the air war that was waged in the Balkans between the Axis and Allies between October 28, 1940 and April 30, 1941. It was an air war that took place in 3 phases.
The first phase was the Italo-Greek War, which began on October 28, 1940 when Italy invaded Greece from its bases in Albania. Mussolini, feeling outdone by the sweeping German victories in Western Europe and Scandinavia during the previous spring, was anxious to conquer Greece and secure Italian dominance in the Aegean and Mediterranean. But he failed to take into account the factor of the weather and some of the shortages and deficiencies his Regia Aeronautica (air force) faced in fulfilling its assigned tasks. The Italian offensive lost impetus after a short time and the Greek Army staged a counter-offensive, which pushed some of the Italian forces back into Albania, leading to the Greeks gaining a toehold in that country. The book details the struggles waged by the Regia Aeronautica, the Roval Hellenic Air Force (Greece), and the Royal Air Force (RAF), which sent in some of its bomber and fighter units from Egypt to assist the Greeks.
The second phase of the air war took place over Yugoslavia between April 6, 1941 (the day of the German invasion) and April 15, 1941 (when Yugoslavia surrendered to Axis forces after putting up a spirited resistance). The Yugoslav Air Force, Regia Aeronautica, and Luftwaffe figured prominently in this aspect of the air war. The book goes into some detail describing the role air power played in helping the Axis conquer Yugoslavia.
The third phase of the air war took place in Greece through most of April 1941 in which the Luftwaffe - with a supplementary role played by the Regia Aeronautica - supported the Wehrmacht in defeating Greek and British Commonwealth forces in Greece who, by month's end, despite VIII Fliegerkorps' best efforts to prevent them from escaping from Greece, managed to evacuate the bulk of its forces to Crete. The air campaign as waged by the Luftwaffe and Regia Aeronautica against the remnants of the Royal Hellenic Air Force and RAF are vividly described.
The book also has lots of photos, illustrations, maps, and three-dimensional diagrams which provide the reader with a fleshed out account of this air war which extended from the Balkans into the Eastern Mediterranean and Aegean.
The first phase was the Italo-Greek War, which began on October 28, 1940 when Italy invaded Greece from its bases in Albania. Mussolini, feeling outdone by the sweeping German victories in Western Europe and Scandinavia during the previous spring, was anxious to conquer Greece and secure Italian dominance in the Aegean and Mediterranean. But he failed to take into account the factor of the weather and some of the shortages and deficiencies his Regia Aeronautica (air force) faced in fulfilling its assigned tasks. The Italian offensive lost impetus after a short time and the Greek Army staged a counter-offensive, which pushed some of the Italian forces back into Albania, leading to the Greeks gaining a toehold in that country. The book details the struggles waged by the Regia Aeronautica, the Roval Hellenic Air Force (Greece), and the Royal Air Force (RAF), which sent in some of its bomber and fighter units from Egypt to assist the Greeks.
The second phase of the air war took place over Yugoslavia between April 6, 1941 (the day of the German invasion) and April 15, 1941 (when Yugoslavia surrendered to Axis forces after putting up a spirited resistance). The Yugoslav Air Force, Regia Aeronautica, and Luftwaffe figured prominently in this aspect of the air war. The book goes into some detail describing the role air power played in helping the Axis conquer Yugoslavia.
The third phase of the air war took place in Greece through most of April 1941 in which the Luftwaffe - with a supplementary role played by the Regia Aeronautica - supported the Wehrmacht in defeating Greek and British Commonwealth forces in Greece who, by month's end, despite VIII Fliegerkorps' best efforts to prevent them from escaping from Greece, managed to evacuate the bulk of its forces to Crete. The air campaign as waged by the Luftwaffe and Regia Aeronautica against the remnants of the Royal Hellenic Air Force and RAF are vividly described.
The book also has lots of photos, illustrations, maps, and three-dimensional diagrams which provide the reader with a fleshed out account of this air war which extended from the Balkans into the Eastern Mediterranean and Aegean.