Long Live the King - a more successful Greece

   While the navy is important, given Greece's long coastline and active merchant marines the army is also slowly built up, along with defences on the borders with Turkey and Bulgarian and from 1933 with Italian Antalya. New defences are also started in 1939 on the borders with Albania after Italy formally annexes that state.

 

  Another quick update on this short timeline.  Next chapter will be the early stages of Greece in WWI.

  Well it took longer than I planned but finally got up the energy to do some number crunching and get the next chapter out.  Or at least some of it as the damned thing grew like topsy so this is only about half of what I was considering.

Chap 4: - Conflict with Italy and Turkey Part 1. Nov-Dec 1940:

   Greece feels fairly secure, despite growing tensions until war breaks out over Poland, which cases some increased spending on organising and training reserve units. It is after the sudden fall of France and Italy's joining Germany in conflict with Britain and its allies that things really start looking dangerous.

   Greece had not established heavy defences on any border because so many were at risk. [i.e. not a massive expenditure on the Metaxas Line in TTL.] Instead from 33 as instability grew and especially from 1937 money had been spent on upgrading the army and supporting forces, as well as the navy and a small air force. Much of the new equipment was from Britain, although some problems occurred after March 39 as the rate of British rearmament increased and hence sales to Greece and other 3rd countries were delayed a bit.

   Even so with a larger population and greater wealth and stability Greece when fully mobilsed could assemble 26 Inf divisions¹, 1 Cav Div and 4 Arm Brigs. The latter were an attempt to supply a mobile force for flexibility and were also a favour of the king. One was deployed in Thessay, one near Constantinople and two in western Anatolia, near Busra and Smyrna.

   Despite the fact it was already at war with Britain, which Mussolini was confident would still make peace he also desired to take land from Greece and puppetise what was left. Therefore, he ordered a build-up in Italian controlled territories, both Albania and Antalya, alongside his 'invasion' of Egypt. [As OTL this moves only a short way past the Libyan border before fortifying positions because with only foot infantry supplies were insufficient.

   Hence on the 28th October 1940 Mussolini issued an ultimatum to Athens which would have made it a puppet state and seen a number of regions annexed openly Italy. Even before the deadline expired or the Greek rejection had reached him Italian forces were attacking across the borders. From Albania 8 Inf divisions, a Mtn div and the Centauro Arm Div attacked the Epirus region of NW Greece while another 10 Inf Divs attacked from Atalya towards Smyrna.²

   However Mussolini hasn't been totally reckless seeking to persuade Bulgaria and Turkey to also attack Greece, albeit with relatively little warning. The Bulgarians as OTL refuse to do so citing their army not being ready for action and concerns about their other borders. There was some evidence that they were also concerned that such a move was happening without German support and hence it was not wise to risk upsetting them.

   The Turks had some doubts as well. They knew that after the defeats two decades before and with the internal instability that had followed their military was weak. Both because much of it was largely still equipped with WWI arms, many of them poorly supported and because the internal divisions, which still continued to some degree meant that the army was politically divided and a fair number of officers were in position more for their political and factional influence rather than their ability. Also they were doubtful that Italy would seek to grab all the spoils after a victory, or at least increase further their Anatolian possessions. Some also argued that this might be a feint by Italy to lure them into a war simply to distract Greece. However the chance to regain some of their lost lands, many of the population had been expelled from was too great while the idea of a war against Greece was seen as a way of uniting the country. Hence Ankara replied it would attack, although the Turks left silent that they would wait a couple of days until they were sure that Italy was actually attacking and to hopefully draw off Greek forces before their attack. Turkey however started to mobilise its reserves, which of course raised some concern in Greece.

   The Italian attacks quickly ran into problems as many units weren't fully equipped and leadership and reliability of equipment was often lacking. On the NW front the difficult terrain made attacks against well dug in defenders difficult and the Italians found the front line Greek forces already moblised, with more on the way. As such attacks stalled, often with heavy losses, Initially there were only a couple of divisions facing them, along with two independent brigades but they were quickly reinforced and the Italians found their attacks proving futile.

   In Anatolia the terrain was also rugged and much of the border was along the Meander River, which caused further problems. The Greeks initially only had 3 divisions active along here, not quite at full strength but they were quickly reinforced by two more. Things changed on the 4th November when 12 Turkish divisons attacked Greek Anatolia with only two divisions and a couple of assembling brigades in their way. Fortunately two divisions heading for the Italian front were hurriedly recalled and the 1st Arm Brg [Alexander] and 2nd [Leonidas] which had been left in reserve were also pushed forward, On the 8th the government also decided to order the 4th [Constantine] brigade and the 14th Inf division from Constantinople to help as well.

   As soon as the Italians attacked Churchill [assuming minimal butterflies for simplicity] offered British military support and again when it became clear that the Turks had also joined the conflict. However after some discussion the Greek government declined such help as it might prompt German intervention and they feared that while they were hopefully they could hold the Italians.

   This seemed to be the best bet as in November three quick clashes, near Ousakeion [Turkish Usak] , Nicomedia [Turkish Izmit] and Inonu [Turkish name, not sure of what the Greeks might have called it] saw the ramshackle Turkish units heavily defeated, having no response to the Greek mobile forces and largely destroying 6 of the Turkish divisions, forcing the others to withdraw.

  In turn however this had pulled forces from the Menader line and the Italians had forced a crossing at Tralles [Turkish Aydin] and were threatening a breakout. This actually started out on the 24th but fortunately the arrival of the Leonidas brigade on the 25th and the Alexander brigade on the 28th helped turn the Italian advance into a rout, largely destroying two Italian divisions.

   Both sides now needed a breather as they regrouped. The Turks were organising more units, albeit even more poorly equipped and they were to have some troubles with supplies. [It was later found out that Stalin, fearful that the attack on Greece was backed by Germany and an attempt both to control the straits and to pull Turkey into the Axis camp ordered a cut in military supplies to Turkey, which further compounded their problems in assembling new units. The Italians were also worried by their position in the east but the Greeks had also suffered losses and they were concerned about how weakly they had left the border with Bulgaria defended.

   Furthermore things were happening at sea. On the night of the 11-12th Nov a British air strike hit the Italian naval base at Taranto. Two elderly battleships, Conti di Cavour and Caio Duilio were sunk in shallow water and never fully refloated and the Giulio Cesare damaged but later repaired. Also a number of cruisers and destroyers were also damaged. This reduced the naval threat to the allies in the Med. However they found out only shortly afterwards they had missed the key units. The two new BBs Littoiro and Vittorio Veneto were not present and so escaped as did 6 heavy cruisers and twelve destroyers. This was because Mussolini, worried by early problems in Atalya had ordered a large convoy of reinforcements sent and they have sailed only the previous day. This included the Ariete Arm Div, the Triese Mot Div and two further Inf Divs. [This also means that the en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Strait_of_Otranto_(1940) the following evening didn't occur as the transporters involed in that mission are TTL involved in this convoy.]

   When this convoy is spotted off the Greek coast it causes some panic especially as intel reports some details of the units involved. Unfortunately the Greek navy can't face such a force and it lands its troops and some supplies at Antalya and the Greeks also heard that the Italians have removed a Inf Div from Rhodes, to also reinforce their next attack.

   The allies do manage some revenge when the force returns as a successful ambush, the Battle of Kithira sees Greek the Greek navy along with the British Med fleet force a combat and while the elderly BB Ramilles is damaged and the allies lose three cruisers and see others damaged the combined forces manage to sink the Vittorio Veneto and the heavy cruisers Bolzano, Fiume and Pola as well as damaging several other ships and sinking most of the transports. To add insult to injury for the Italians the Littoiro runs into a minefield and is damaged for three months off the Otranto.

   The additional forces and the fact another wave of 14 Turkish divisions along with reports of Bulgarian mobilisation causes great concern in Greece and the government reverses its stance on British aid, only to be informed that the British are just commencing an attack on the Italian forces that have 'invaded' Egypt. [Here Operation Compass is started several weeks earlier in part because of pressure from Churchill and in part because the situation is seen as more critical.

   Operation Compass, carried out by the 7th Armoured division and the 4th Indian Motorised Division is an outstanding success. In less than a week they destroyed 4 divisions and drove the Italians from Egyot. However they were stopped from advancing into Libya and attacking Bardia. The decision had been taken in London that aid must be sent to Greece³.




  Footnotes:-

  1 - This is somewhat larger than OTL details which seems to suggest ~13 Inf and 1 Cav fighting the Italians in Mar 41 and other, albeit smaller forces in the Metaxas line [Wiki gives 6 Inf Div for this] and presumably elsewhere in Greece. i.e. doubt that Athens, Corfu which had been threatened by Italy earlier and Crete and the other islands were undefended. I guestimated that the total available was ~22 Inf and 1 Cav divs so have given a 20% increase in the total infantry and have added the 4 Arm brigades. With spending on forces rather than defences, because Greece doesn't know which direction a threat might come from they are somewhat better equipped, rather than reliant largely on ~WWI equipment.

The 4 Arm Brigades are actually pretty weak, consisting of only two regiments each, one of tanks, and one motorised infantry regiment which includes a motorised artillery section. Those are partly also because of the more general nature of the threat and the greater wealth of the Greece state meaning some use of machines to replace manpower. Also King Alexander was interested in motor vehicles and along with a couple of army officers were very impressed by a demonstration of the experimental British mobile force during a visit during the 1920s'. The tanks are fairly old and light although the 1st, Leonidas brigade, deployed near Smyrna includes some newer British tanks.

One point to note is that while the Italian divisions had a two brigade structure the Greece had a three division structure which means individually their about 50% stronger – which was the case OTL as well.


  2 - This is slightly larger than the OTL Italian attack which had two less Inf units attacking from Albania and of course none from Italian Atalya as that didn't exist. I'm actually assuming Italy has no additional forces compared to OTL but has more units in the initial attack. This seems reasonable as a massively overconfident Mussolini actually allowed 300,000 troops and 600,000 reservists to go home to bring in the harvest and OTL Italy sent additional divisions to Albania. This included 6 in Nov, 4 in Dec, 6 in Jan 41 and 4 more by March 41, totalling 3 Mtn and 17 Inf reinforcements.

Also assume that the Italian forces in Libya [14 Inf Div] amd E Africa [2 Inf and 5 colonial Inf Divs] are as OTL. Hence you have a garrison in Atalya with some reinforcements in the months before the attack, although disrupted by British subs but less left in Italy itself. Similarly assuming that british forces in the ME region are pretty much as historical.



   3 - The cutting short of Operation Compass means Italian losses are markedly less. However its another blow to their morale and it does free up British forces earlier for intervention in Greece. Also because of the shortages of forces the 4th Indian Div isn't sent to east Africa, the attacks on the Italians there being postponded. However there are substantial advantages for the allies. Without the advance the defensive line is much more secure and the units receive much less wear and tear damage.  Of course there is another big advantage for the allies that the people of this timeline would never know but we would, although not possibly obvious at this stage.

  Steve

  Since I have the details fairly fresh in my head here's the next chapter.

Chap 5: - Conflict with Italy and Turkey Part 2. Jan-Mar 1941:

   The Greek position looks precarious by the start of 41. While the NW border looks fairly secure in Anatolia their forces await a new attack from both the Turks, slowly assembling their new forces and the Italians, bloodied but with reinforcements including motorised/armoured units that can counter the Greek advantage. Also while the Italians in the west can replace losses, albeit slowly when it comes to material the Greeks are unable to really rest troops or replace materials. Britain could in theory provide most of its needs but is short of materials as it slowly rebuilds its own armies after the disaster in France and also has the problem of transporting any such stockpiles from Britain around Africa to Greece. Furthermore the transfer of forces from Egypt has left that vital area sparcely defended, relying on the poor performance and logistics of the Italians.

   The initial British force arriving in Smyrna in late December is the 4th Indian Div, and the 4th armoured brigade, leaving only the 6th Australian Div, the 5th Indian and the 7th armoured brigade in India although other forces are being assembled. However with the immediate danger of invasion disappearing from Britain and the crisis in both Greece and the ME the region is the top priority for reinforcements, even through they would now have to go around Africa. Also the situation in Malta is getting desperate. The major reductions to the Italian fleet may help in this but whether the island can be relieved is a matter of concern.

   They have barely arrived when both Italians and Turks, having squabbled over the timing, finally launch new offensives combined with a new attack from Albania.

   In the north west the Greeks have only 6 Inf Divs and a Cav Div as they have had to commit forces to the Bulgarian border, although so far the latter do not move from neutrality. However despite facing 17 enemy Divs the defensive terrain, the bad weather and the fact a number of those Italian units have already seen heavy combat in previous attacks means the Greeks hold and inflict heavy losses, although they suffer some themselves and are running low on supplies.

   In Anatolia things are more frantic. The Italians make an attack higher up the Meander valley, surprising the Greeks while having a feint attack at Tralles. In desperate actions the Greek 17th Inf Div fights to prevent a breakthrough until the arrival of elements of the 4th Indian on the 9th and counter-attacks, joined by the rest of the division and the 4th Arm Brg the following day. With the Greek 19th Inf also arriving on the 12th the Italian forces are held and in heavy fighting the poor quality of their armour again proves fatal in the face especially of the British Matilda's. By the 19th the crisis is over and on the 21st the bulk of three Italian divisions are forced to surrender including the recently arrived Ariete Arm Div and the Triese Mot Div. Coupled with losses from accompanying units and those attacking at Tralles the Italians have seen the core of their forces destroyed and the Greeks can now feel some relief.

   Further north the Turks have been slowly advancing. Three Greek divisions and the two Arm Brgs have been fighting a delaying action, aided by the poor quality of the Turkish forces and the assistance of local militias, who hold out at Nicomedia and Inonu. Now however the allies are able to turn on them, the British forces and the Greek 2nd Arm Brig smashing two divisions pinned by a Greek unit near Ousakeion then drive north towards Inonu isolating 5 other divisions and relieving the city. The isolated divisions are forced to retreat, chased by the Greek 1st and 2nd Arm Brig and some local cavalry irregulars, inflicting heavy casualties and forcing the units to abandon their already limited artillery and baggage train. Meanwhile the British forces push on to Nicomedia, helping to destroy two more Turkish units and forcing the rest of the Turkish units to retire in some disarray.

   By the end of January the fronts are reasonable quite again but the allies are taking a more needed breather and worrying about declining supplies and manpower. The Italians in Antalya are now seen as a minimal threat but still have up to 5 divisions of Inf as well as a brigade on Rhodes, although they are thought to be short on supplies themselves. Similarly in Epirus although the Greeks have won and inflicted heavy losses on the Italians they have suffered themselves and are also increasingly short of munitions.

   February sees relative quiet as all sides are preparing for the next round. There are two points of conflict. At sea the Greeks win a morale boosting victory off Milos on the 14th when an Italian attempt to push a convoy through to Antalya is intercepted by their navy and while the HC Thebes is sunk the Italians lose two of their own HCs, three DDs and 4 of the 7 transport and cargo ships. Most noticeably the nature of the ships, bringing supplies and fuel rather than more men highlights the shortages the Italian forces in Antalya are suffering.

  This is highlighted from the 18th when a hurriedly organised attack, crossing the upper Meander takes the Italians by surprise and destroys their 46th Div, then the Alexander Brig, backed rapidly by the 4th Indian and the British 4th Arm Brig manage to force their way through to the coast just west of Antalya, capturing another brigade and much of the Italian stockpiles then push west.

   With the position in Antalya looking on the verge of collapse Mussolini urges new offensives to regain the imitative and also his prestige. However his generals make clear that the next wage of attacks can't occur before the start of March so a fighting retreat towards the Marmaris peninsula, with forces pulling back from opposite Tralles. Shortages of fuel along with concerns about their western flank means that the allied mobile forces aren't able to cut them off but by early March the Greek 19th Div controls the neck of the peninsula, supported by a couple of units of artillery. With two weakened divisions looking westward to guard the new gain against any Turkish attack the allies have pulled back their mobile forces.

   From the 3rd to the 7th March Italian forces again move onto the offensive. There is a new set of attacks in Epirus and the units on the Marmaris are also ordered to attack, although their commander ignores the orders and starts slowly evacuating men to Rhodes.

   Further south Italian forces again cross the Egyptian border, this time being more menacing as it includes 6 Infantry divsision, 3 of them Blackshirts but also the Centauro Arm Div, the 1st Mobile Div and the 102 Trento Motorised Div, giving them a mobile arm.

   Even further south the forces in E Africa, having raised 5 more colonial divisions to give a total of 10 plus 2 Italian divisions somewhat reluctantly send 1 Italian and 4 Colonial Divs NW into the Sudan. Their movement is slow due to the terrain and the fact they are totally foot infantry as well as the relatively poor logistical support and morale of the colonial forces.

   Mussolini is seeking to win a big victory in seizing Egypt, which he knows is only thinly defended as well as finally make progress in Greece before the Germans intervene as he has heard reports that Hitler is considering helping out his ally, especially after the British entry into Anatolia raises concerns about his perennial worry of the Romanian oilfields.

   Fortunately for the allies some reinforcements have arrived. With the arrival of the 12 Arm Brig the 7th Arm Div is back up to full strength while the 9th Australian and 5th Indian are also recent additions in Egypt while the 2nd NZ is due to arrive any time soon. Also with the attack into Italian E Africa cancelled for the moment and the threats from multiple fronts Churchill manages to get the S Africans to remove their restriction about their units only being used south of the equator. As such the 1st SA, already in Kenya will be moved north to Egypt to shortly be replaced by the 2nd SA.

   Some of those units were to move onto Greece but the current situation means that is postponed. Also supplies are a problem.

   Meanwhile, with continuing concerns about the northern border the Greek government in late February starts a programme of defensive construction. Nothing massive, just what can be done with manual labour. A position in front of Salonika to guard against a drive west from Bulgaria and two shorter ones to the east. Some defensive positions are started at the neck of the Gallipoli peninsula and also, with greater emphasis on the tongue of E Thrace that lead to Constantinople. About 30 miles wide attempts were made to provide defensive positions and barrier to enemy movement. [Must admit I'm replying on an old atlas here as can't seem to find a map of the area with an actual scale on it, let alone any real terrain details. ] they are not only concerned about Bulgarian but also some reports of an increasing probability of attack from Germany.

   The saving grace for the Greeks and British was that the Asian front was quiet and the Turks were actually considering signing a ceasefire with the allies. This gave them a pause while the war was going on elsewhere.

   In Epirus the Greeks hold again, but are wearing thin and it is necessary to swap out three of the exhausted divisions with new ones from elsewhere in Greece to try and allow them to rest and regroup although there were few reserves left. Italian losses are however also heavy and their morale is faltering.

   In Africa the British have the vital advantage of interior lines, aided also by the railway between Alexandria and Khartoum. Coupled with the massive advantage of fully mobile forces. As such while the 6th Aus div had been raiding the Italians advancing from the west to delay their advance and the newly arrived 9th Aus div joins the 7th Aus in garrisoning the capital and delta region the 7th Arm and the 5th Ind moved west. From the 17th -28th March they linked up with the 6th Aus and again used their mobility and the relative weakness of the Italian mobile units to isolated and destroy the Italian force piecemeal. The two new units reach Misheifa then drive north, catching the 64th Inf and 2nd BS divs on the march and largely scattering them within a couple of hours. This prompts the Italian mobile units to about turn to seek combat and protect their own supply lines. However the British have air superiority, albeit with small forces and more confidence. While the rest of the Italian infantry further west hunker down, fearing attack this leave O'Connor to organise a drive east against them while the 6th Aus strikes from the east. Again the Italian tanks prove fragile and their command and control collapses. In 48 bloody hours the Italians lose most of their tanks and start to retreat.

   During the next week the 3 'British' divisions chase the retreating Italians, causing many to surrender as they lack the mobility to get away and large numbers surrender. In all while the remnants of the 3 mobile units largely get away they need major efforts to rebuild them. Only the 62nd Inf and parts of the 1st BS divs reach Bardia where they join two other divisions. Churchill and Wavell would both like to besige the place and force their surrender but events elsewhere makes that impossible. Hence the British withdraw again back towards the Nile.

   At the end of March the 7th Aus is starting to entrain for passage to Khartoum where local forces approaching as they fight to slow the advance of the Italians who have been slowly struggling through the desert toward it and the Nile. They are to be joined by the 5th Indian once that has returned from the western desert and a couple of armoured brigades.

   A few days earlier on the 275th March the Yugoslav regent, Prince Paul and PM Cvetkovic reluctantly signs Yugoslavs adherence to the Tripartite Pact. This is deeply unpopular with many of the Serbian military especially and two days later a military coup overthrows the government and the 17 year old prince Peter is declared of age and the king.

   Hitler sees this as a personal insult and immediately orders that the planned attack on Greece be extended to include an attack to crush Yugoslavia. The storm clouds gather quickly.

++++++

 

  I hope people think I've got things reasonably balanced.  The Greeks are doing very well and the British are punching well above their weight.  However this is partly based on historical factors with the Greeks managing to hold the Italians and being a bit better equipped and slightly larger in total forces than OTL and their reserves are wearing down, especially in the west.  In the desert the Italian units were of poor quality and their colonial ones even weaker and relatively small British forces did do spectacularly both in OTL Operation Compass and in E Africa.    However next turn they meet much more formidable opponents.