Origins of operation Marita

Discussions on all aspects of Italy under Fascism from the March on Rome to the end of the war.
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perseus
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Origins of operation Marita

#1

Post by perseus » 13 Sep 2004, 12:38

A couple of months ago I wrote an essay on the Italian and German attack on Greece. I've concluded something quite interesting (I think). This is what it said, more or less:

"Mussolini only attacked Greece because Hitler was so military successful. Hitler only attacked Greece because Mussolini flunked the attack on Greece. Only the combination Hitler-Mussolini made the existence of operation Marita possible."

Think about it. Mussolini's main motivation for launching an attack on Greece was jealousy. The Duce saw Hitler conquering Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, France, Denmark and Norway in no time. Mussolini also wanted a piece of the action and found an apparent "weak" victim in Greece. Mussolini wanted war.

Hitler had no interests in an Axis-occupied Greece. The Italian assault on Greece would give the British a pretext to invade the Balkan. A British attack on Greece would jeopardize the Rumanian oil fields, on which the Wehrmacht relied. Futhermore, Hitler was preoccupied with the preparations for operation Barbarossa and the last thing he wanted was an uncertain southern flank. It was Hitler who wanted peace, at least, in THIS part of Europe.

What are your thoughts about this?

perseus
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Location: Netherlands

#2

Post by perseus » 13 Sep 2004, 22:12

Come to think of it... Maybe this topic should be moved to the "WW2 in Africa & the Mediterranean" forum... :wink:


ohrdruf
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#3

Post by ohrdruf » 13 Sep 2004, 23:11

The view you stated is generally held, see for example the memoir of Hitler's Luftwaffe ADC von Below: "At Hitler's Side", Greenhill Books 2001.

The need is bolster Mussolini in Greece delayed the invasion of the Soviet Union and was not wanted by Hitler, to whom it came as a shock: when warned that Italy was considering precipitate action, Hitler travelled to meet Mussolini to dissuade him. However, you have to bear in mind the deteriorating situation in the Balkans which made easy Hitler's decision to invade Yugoslavia. .

perseus
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Joined: 11 Sep 2004, 14:57
Location: Netherlands

#4

Post by perseus » 14 Sep 2004, 11:54

The view you stated is generally held, see for example the memoir of Hitler's Luftwaffe ADC von Below: "At Hitler's Side", Greenhill Books 2001.
When I stated this view before, some fellow students and at least one teacher tried to convince me that the sole motivation for Mussolini to attack Greece was to consolidate Italy's military position in the Mediterranean. I guess the vast majority of historians proved them wrong :P

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