Partisan Warfare in Greece 1941-44

The German invasion of Yugoslavia in spring 1941 was aided by Italy's unsuccessful attempt to invade Greece in 1940–41. After Athens and Crete fell to the Axis powers in April and May, the country was divided and occupied by Germany, Italy, and Bulgaria. The royal government and Army retreat to British-ruled Egypt, while various resistance organizations emerged within Greece, utilizing the difficult terrain and challenges in communication. The largest resistance force was the Communist-led National Liberation Front (EAM), with its guerrilla group Greek Popular Army (ELAS). Although the Western Allied powers attempted to mediate cooperation between the EAM/ELAS and the National Republican Greek League (EDES) with its EOEA, tensions between the two groups often overshadowed their separate operations against the occupying Axis forces. Drawing from a wealth of sources, Phoebus Athanassiou documents the intense fighting in occupied Greece, which resulted in approximately 15,000 casualties for both the resistance and the