The morale of the Greek and the Italian soldier in the 1940-41 War
Part of : Balkan studies : biannual publication of the Institute for Balkan Studies ; Vol.33, No.1, 1992, pages 111-141
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111-141
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Articles
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To what did the Greek soldier own his victory on the mountains of Epirusin 1940-41? The writer shows that the Greek army’s success was not due tothe Italians’ cowardice or lack of training. The invaders’ morale was high ;they fought heroically and with self-sacrifice, at least during the first, mostdecisive, days of the war. But the lower-ranking Greek officers, NCOsand troops put up a resistance which surpassed all rational bounds, freelymaking reckless and bloody sacrifices beyond measure.The General Staff and the political leaders in Athens were no less astonishedthan the Italians. From their first defeats until the end of the Greek-Italian conflict, the latter consistently overestimated their adversary’s abilitiesand were overwhelmed by a profound sense of awe, fatalism, weakness, andcollective resignation.The writer points out that both sides suffered virtually the same loss ofhuman life; which shows that the Greeks defeated a foe who also knew howto fight, to lay down his life for his ideals, to retreat, certainly, but also to defy death. The appendix contains official Italian documents published for the first time.
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Έλληνας-Ιταλός στρατιώτης στον πόλεμο 1940-1941
