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A group of Italian gunners emplace a field artillery piece in a protected position in the sector of Val Devol on
the Greek-Albanian front. Despite the recommendations made by Hitler, Mussolini decided to start an offensive against Greece,
but the Italian troops were soon forced to withdraw towards Albania.
A military chaplain imparts the customary blessing to an Italian unit in the front. Behind him, inside the truck, there is
a field altar.
Three German pioneers assault an enemy position with the help of a flamethrower. The resistance found in Yugoslavia caused
the delay of Operation Barbarossa, and this would contribute to the eventual failure of the immense campaign for the invasion
of Russia.
The crews of a group of German panzers take advantage of a pause during the advance to resume
the never ending card game, so many times interrupted.
Greece bought from United States, in 1914, the two obsolete battleships of the Mississippi class; they were renamed as
Kilkis and Lemnos. This photograph taken by a German observer shows the battleship Kilkis after
being sunk in the docks of Salamina by Stuka dive bombers.
This photograph from the Italian Ministry of Propaganda shows an Italian sentinel in Athens with the German, Greek and Italian
flags on the background.
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German Alpenjager (alpine soldiers) onboard a carriage manned by a Bulgarian soldier. At this point
the German Army was already present throughout East Europe.
A kette (group of three aircraft) of Junkers Ju 87 Stuka dive bombers on
its way towards Belgrad. The air bombing over the unarmed Yugoslavian capital was one of the most shameful actions performed by
the Luftwaffe.
A column of soldiers of the Axis advances during the campaign in the Balkans.
During the fast advance, the German columns meet the Yugoslavian ones, destroyed by the dive bombings from the Stukas.
In less than a month, the German blitz had occupied almost completely the Balkans.
A Henschel Hs 126 reconnaissance aircraft flying over a town in Greece.
Despite its desperate resistance also the Greek Army had to yield to the German advance, and its soldiers ended as prisoners of
the Wehrmacht. On the other hand, the British Expeditionary Force had to escape by sea and was in danger of being enclosed,
as it had happened in Dunkerque during the invasion of France and Belgium.
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