Italian second spring offensive (1941)
| Italian second spring offensive | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Greco-Italian War and Battle of Greece of World War II | |||||||||
Italian soldiers advancing in Albania, April 1941 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Italy | Greece | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Ugo Cavallero Carlo Geloso Alessandro Pirzio Biroli |
Alexandros Papagos Georgios Tsolakoglou Ioannis Pitsikas | ||||||||
| Units involved | |||||||||
|
11th Army 9th Army |
Epirus Army Section Western Macedonia Section | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| 5,747[1] | Unknown | ||||||||
The Italian second spring offensive or known as Battle of Epirus in Italy, was an offensive by Italy against Greece from 13 to 23 April 1941, in the final phase of the Greco-Italian War. The Greek army, which had pushed the Italians back into Albania, was forced to retreat due to the rapid success of the German invasion of Greece since 6 April. The retreating Greek forces were attacked by the Italians, who pressed south, recovered southern Albania and occupied territories in the Greek region of Epirus. The German and Italian pressure brought about the capitulation of the Greek army in Epirus on 22 April.
Background
After the failed Italian spring offensive in March 1941. Mussolini ordered Cavallero, that the Italian forces in Albania must stay on defensive posture as the German invasion of Greece is getting prepared. On April 4, Hitler insisted Mussolini that the Italian defence in Albania would be the outmost importance of the Operation Marita. Since the first weeks of April. The Greek Commander-in-Chief Alexandros Papagos launched attacks towards Elbasan, Berat and Valona. Despite some success, the Greek forces in Albania lost the offensive capacity as the Italian defences was stiffened. As the German invasion of Greece was launched. Cavallero ordered Biroli, commander of the 9th Army to launch an offensive towards Western Macedonia, while Geloso's 11th Army would launch an attack aiming towards Argirocastro.[2]
Battle
On 13 April, the Italian forces began the second spring offensive. The Italian offensive was slowed due to the Greek rearguard troops left by the retreating Greeks in Albania. The town of Koritza was taken on 14th, Bilishti on 15th, but Erseke fell on 17th which the Greek troops offered resistance, Klisura fell on the same day. The advance was then aimed towards Leskovik to Ponte Perati, where Italian troops faced stiff opposition from Greek forces. The XXV Army Corps entered the Greek territory on 21 April.[3][4]
It was a clear, windy day on 13th April 1941. The forward elements of General Carlo Geloso's Italian 11th Army were approaching Korçë by late evening. On the first day of operations, Italian forces in Albania reported having taken around 1,000 Greek prisoners of War and approximately 12 pieces of artillery in the Lake Ohrid area. The Italian 9th Army, commanded by General Alessandro Pirzio Biroli, also experienced stiff resistance, including roadblocks and minefields. However, the formations of General Carlo Geloso continued to press forward, taking the town of Bilisht on 15th April and then moving on to Ersekë 2 days later.[5]
Deteriorating weather on 14 April resulted in rain and Italian General Staff Chief Ugo Cavallero's warning to Pirzio Biroli that success depended on rapid action.[6] He believed that Greek forces were trying to withdraw to Greece through deteriorating weather, so Cavallero ordered continuous aerial attacks to disrupt those withdrawals. The bridge was the major target at Perati. Picchiatelli dive-bombers were supposed to bomb and strafe the crossing with cannons.[7] The 9th Army was to seize the area, but due to increased fighting, Tridentina, Parma, and Piemonte divisions bogged down and did not advance as fast as originally planned. Aerial bombing began on 14 April and continued largely as planned in spite of the intense anti-aircraft fire. There was one Picchiatello shot down on 16 April.[8]
The occupation of Korçë by divisions of the Italian Ninth Army greatly weakened the British, Australian and New Zealand Forces' defensive positions in Greece. On April 18, the Italian high command reported that large formations of the Italian Eleventh Army had earlier that day, after heavy fighting, breached the Greek defensive line and captured Klisura. On the fifth day of the offensive, the Casale Division and the Ferrara Division captured Porto Palermo. In order to continue applying pressure to the enemy as they retreated, the commander of the Eleventh Army, General Carlo Geloso, executed a maneuver using different elements of the Eleventh Army to wheel around to the east and advance toward Klisura Pass. The Bari Division, as part of these operations, captured Përmet, which took the Greek forces in the area by surprise and inflicted large casualties.[9]
Airborne operations by the Aeronautica Nazionale played an important part in the ground fight due to their success in disrupting the Greek forces and establishing air dominance for the Italian forces. The Greek commanders expected the Royal Air Force to also provide air support but instead did not have any support aircraft over the battlefield. The Royal Air Force did have aircraft intercepting Italian aircraft in Albania on 14 April, including 1 Fiat G.50 claimed as destroyed and a number of others that were damaged around Korçë, and also attacked the port at Vlorë. However, the Royal Air Force rarely flew over the battlefield again.[10]
It was a clear, windy day on 13th April 1941. The forward elements of General Carlo Geloso's Italian 11th Army were approaching Korçë by late evening. On the first day of operations, Italian forces in Albania reported having taken around 1,000 Greek prisoners of War and approximately 12 pieces of artillery in the Lake Ohrid area. The Italian 9th Army, commanded by General Alessandro Pirzio Biroli, also experienced stiff resistance, including roadblocks and minefields. However, the formations of General Carlo Geloso continued to press forward, taking the town of Bilisht on 15th April and then moving on to Ersekë 2 days later.[11]
Deteriorating weather on 14 April resulted in rain and Italian General Staff Chief Ugo Cavallero's warning to Pirzio Biroli that success depended on rapid action.[6] He believed that Greek forces were trying to withdraw to Greece through deteriorating weather, so Cavallero ordered continuous aerial attacks to disrupt those withdrawals. The bridge was the major target at Perati. Picchiatelli dive-bombers were supposed to bomb and strafe the crossing with cannons.[7] The 9th Army was to seize the area, but due to increased fighting, Tridentina, Parma, and Piemonte divisions bogged down and did not advance as fast as originally planned. Aerial bombing began on 14 April and continued largely as planned in spite of the intense anti-aircraft fire. There was one Picchiatello shot down on 16 April.[8]
The occupation of Korçë by divisions of the Italian Ninth Army greatly weakened the British, Australian and New Zealand Forces' defensive positions in Greece. On April 18, the Italian high command reported that large formations of the Italian Eleventh Army had earlier that day, after heavy fighting, breached the Greek defensive line and captured Klisura. On the fifth day of the offensive, the Casale Division and the Ferrara Division captured Porto Palermo. In order to continue applying pressure to the enemy as they retreated, the commander of the Eleventh Army, General Carlo Geloso, executed a maneuver using different elements of the Eleventh Army to wheel around to the east and advance toward Klisura Pass. The Bari Division, as part of these operations, captured Përmet, which took the Greek forces in the area by surprise and inflicted large casualties.[9]
Airborne operations by the Aeronautica Nazionale played an important part in the ground fight due to their success in disrupting the Greek forces and establishing air dominance for the Italian forces. The Greek commanders expected the Royal Air Force to also provide air support but instead did not have any support aircraft over the battlefield. The Royal Air Force did have aircraft intercepting Italian aircraft in Albania on 14 April, including 1 Fiat G.50 claimed as destroyed and a number of others that were damaged around Korçë, and also attacked the port at Vlorë. However, the Royal Air Force rarely flew over the battlefield again.[10]
Aftermath
Greece originally surrendered to Germany, which Mussolini protested that Greece is also required to surrender to Italy. General Wilhelm List spoke to Mussolini that another surrender agreement will be drawn with the Italians.
The surrender agreement was formally signed on 23 April. General Tsolakoglou for Greece, General Alfred Jodl for Germany, and General Alberto Ferrero for Italy.[12]
References
- ^ ...between 14 and 22 April, 9th Army had lost only 927 men while the 11th Army lost 4,820 men. Montanari, Campagna di Grecia, p.735-749
- ^ Ibid, p. 724-725, p. 742-743
- ^ Ibid, p.732
- ^ Montanari, Campagna di Grecia, p.735
- ^ supremo (2018-10-24). "Ponte Perati: The 'Highway of Death' of the Greek Army in Albania". CommandoSupremo. Retrieved 2026-03-10.
- ^ a b Cavallero 1948, p. 15.
- ^ a b Emiliani 1974, p. 136.
- ^ a b Lazzati 1975, p. 141.
- ^ a b van Creveld 1973, p. 162.
- ^ a b Pearson 2006, p. 144.
- ^ supremo (2018-10-24). "Ponte Perati: The 'Highway of Death' of the Greek Army in Albania". CommandoSupremo. Retrieved 2026-03-10.
- ^ Cervi 2005, p.253-257
Bibliography
- Cavallero, Ugo (1948). Diario, 1940–1943 (in Italian). Ciarrapico.
- Emiliani, Angelo (1974). Regia Aeronautica: Balcania e Fronte Orientale (in Italian). Intergest.
- Piraino, Marco (2011). Venti Anni (in Italian). Lulu Press.
- Lazzati, Giulio (1975). Stormi d’Italia: Storia dell’Aviazione Militare Italiana (in Italian). Mursia.
- van Creveld, Martin (1973). Hitler’s Strategy 1940–1941: The Balkan Clue. Cambridge University Press.
- Pearson, Owen (2006). Albania in the Twentieth Century: A History, Volume II: Albania in Occupation and War, 1939–45. I.B. Tauris.
- Canevari, Emilio. La Guerra Italiana: Retroscena della Disfatta (in Italian). Vol. 2. Tosi.
- Faingold, Eduardo D. (2010). The Kalamata Diary: Greece, War, and Emigration. Rowman & Littlefield.
- Longo, Luigi Emilio (2001). Immagini della Seconda Guerra Mondiale: La Campagna Italo-Greca, 1940–1941 (in Italian). Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito, Ufficio Storico.
- Di Ruffano, Antonio Ferrante (2011). Mai Daùr: Never Retreat. Lulu Press.
- Lindsay, Helen Electrie (2013). Written on the Knee: A Diary from the Greek-Italian Front of WWII. Scarletta Press.
- Joseph, Frank (2010). Mussolini’s War: Fascist Italy’s Military Struggles from Africa and Western Europe to the Mediterranean and Soviet Union 1935–45. Casemate Publishers.
- Stockings, Craig; Hancock, Eleanor (2013). Swastika over the Acropolis: Re-interpreting the Nazi Invasion of Greece in World War II. Brill.
- Carr, John (2013). The Defence and Fall of Greece 1940–1941. Pen and Sword.
- Messenger, Charles (2005). Hitler’s Gladiator: The Life and Wars of Panzer Army Commander Sepp Dietrich. Conway.
- Carrier, Richard (2021). Mussolini's Army against Greece: October 1940–April 1941. Routledge Studies in Second World War History. Abingdon: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-138-58128-9.
- Arena, Nino (1981). La regia aeronautica, 1939–1943 (in Italian). Roma: Stato Maggiore Aeronautica, Ufficio Storico.
- Rossi, Ernesto (1967). Alpini (in Italian). Milano: Edizioni del Borghese.
Sources
- Cervi, Mario (2005). Storia della guerra di Grecia (in Italian). Rizzoli. ISBN 88-17-86640-7.
- Carrier, Richard (2021). Mussolini's Army against Greece: October 1940-April 1941. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-138-58128-9.