War in the Balkans

This WWII pictorial history presents a vivid look at the Balkan campaign from Italy’s invasion of Greece to the Nazi airborne assault on Crete. Through rare wartime photographs, War in the Balkans traces the course of the entire Balkan campaign. Beginning with Mussolini’s first act of aggression, the narrative continues through Albania, the invasions of Yugoslavia and Bulgaria by German forces, and on to the battle for Greece and the final airborne assault on Crete. Historian Jeffrey Plowman gives equal weight to every stage of the campaign and covers all the forces involved: the Italians, Germans, Greeks, and British Commonwealth troops. By shifting the focus to the mainland—rather than the culminating Battle of Crete—Plowman views the campaign as a whole, offering a balanced portrayal of a conflict that is often overlooked in histories of the Second World War. Most of the photographs included here have never been published before, and many come from private sources. They are a unique visual record of the military vehicles, tanks, aircraft, artillery and other equipment used by the opposing armies. They also show the conditions the soldiers faced, and the landscape of the Balkans over which they fought.