255: Greece Pt. 7 - The Invasion Ends

History of the Second World War

Wesley Livesay

Society & Culture, Documentary, History

4.5 • 626 Ratings

🗓️ 22 April 2026

⏱️ 23 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Just ten days after Germany launched Operation Marita, the decision was made to evacuate all British forces from Greece — and this episode covers the chaotic final weeks of the campaign as that decision unfolded. Greek military commander Papagos had largely given up hope by mid-April, the Greek government and royal family fled to Crete, and the 200,000-strong Greek force in Albania surrendered to the Germans on April 20th in a quiet deal that deliberately excluded the Italians. The RAF fought its last battles over Athens before withdrawing, and the Royal Navy scrambled to organize a night-only evacuation using destroyers and converted liners under constant Luftwaffe pressure that would ultimately destroy 26 ships and kill 2,000 men. Communication failures plagued the effort — at Kalamata alone, twice the expected number of troops arrived at the beaches, and half were left behind when the ships pulled away before dawn. In total roughly 50,000 men were brought out of Greece, but around 14,000 were left to be captured, all without their heavy equipment, and the entire expedition would be recorded as yet another British disaster — setting the stage for the fight to hold the island of Crete that would follow almost immediately. History of the Second World War is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠megaphone.f⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠m Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to an Airwave Media podcast.
0:04.8	Grownups, if there's a child in your life who is interested in, curious about, or fascinated by people and places from history, then my podcast, the past and the curious, might just be a hit in your home.
0:17.1	From the invention of microscopes to world-traveling dogs to fashions of the 1890s, gold rush ghost towns, and audiences going wild for walking competitions,
0:27.3	we've got a little bit of it all.
0:29.5	Hosted by children's author and museum educator Mick Sullivan, that's me, the show is fun,
0:34.9	funny, engaging, honest, and beloved by kids and parents alike.
0:39.4	Find the past and the curious at all the usual podcast places.
0:53.5	Hello everyone and welcome to History of the Second World War, episode 255, Greece, Part 7,
1:00.9	The Invasion ends. This week, a big thank you goes out to Chris, Grimm, and Max for supporting
1:05.9	the podcast by becoming members. Members get access to ad-free versions of all of the podcast
1:10.5	episodes, plus
1:11.5	special member-only episodes roughly once a month. Head on over to History of the Second World
1:16.0	War.com slash members to find out more. The German invasion of Greece had started on April 6th,
1:22.8	1941, and just 10 days later, the decision would be finalized for the evacuation of all British
1:28.3	forces that had been brought into Greece.
1:31.1	During those 10 days, there had been some successes, and there would be a few further
1:35.6	successes for the British and Greek defenders, but those successes were always on a relatively
1:40.7	small scale.
1:41.7	A unit here would hold for a few days, a pass would be defended
1:45.2	well. But none of these small successes could make up for the challenges faced when it came to
1:50.0	this strategic situation, or simple geography. Once the German forces were able to attack out of Yugoslavia,
1:56.5	the entire Allied defense plan began to fall apart immediately, and it never really recovered.
	...

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