The defeat of the Italian invasion and the Greek counter-offensive of 1940 have been called the 'first Axis setback of the entire war' by Mark Mazower, the Greeks 'surprising everyone with the tenacity of their resistance'. As the British bombers and fighter aircraft struck Italy's forces and bases, the Greeks completed their mobilization and counter-attacked with the bulk of their army to push the Italians back into Albania РІР‚вЂњ an advance which culminated in the Capture of Klisura Pass in January 1941, a few dozen kilometers inside the Albanian border. By mid-November, the Greeks had stopped the Italian invasion just inside Greek territory. Italy's invasion of Greece, launched from Italian-controlled Albania, was a fiasco: six divisions of the Italian Army, badly organized and insufficient to manage a full-scale invasion, encountered unexpectedly tenacious resistance by the Hellenic Army and had to contend with the mountainous and muddy terrain on the AlbanianРІР‚вЂњGreek border. On 28 October, Mussolini issued an ultimatum to Greece demanding the cession of Greek territory, which the Prime Minister of Greece, Ioannis Metaxas, rejected. A number of provocations culminated in the sinking of the Greek light cruiser Elli by the Italians on 15 August. This was followed by a hostile press campaign in Italy against Greece, accused of being a British ally.

By September 1940, the Italians had invaded France, British Somaliland and Egypt. On 10 June 1940, Italy declared war on France and the United Kingdom. This local war began the Balkans Campaign of World War II between the Axis powers and the Allies and eventually turned into the Battle of Greece with British and German involvement. The Greco-Italian War ( Italo-Greek War, Italian Campaign in Greece in Greece: War of '40) took place between the kingdoms of Italy and Greece from 28 October 1940 to 23 April 1941. (Prime Minister from 29 January to 18 April)Р”Р€00 aircraft of which 160 operational(fighters) ( Prime Minister of Greece to 29 January 1941) Axis occupation of Greece by Germany, Italy, and Bulgaria following the German intervention.Greece repels the Italian invasion: the Hellenic Army, with British air and material support, counter-attacks and occupies the south of Italian Albania, where the war turns into a stalemate.

Pearl harbor ita