Greece during World War II. It followed an unsuccessful Italian invasion
in October 1940 and an Italian counterattack in March 1941. When the
German invasion began (German artillery pictured), the bulk of the Greek
army was on the Albanian border, defending against the Italians. German
troops created a second front by coming through Bulgaria, where the
Greek defensive line did not receive adequate reinforcements. The Greek
army was vastly outnumbered by the two invading forces and was soon
forced to surrender. The German army reached Athens on 27 April and
Greece's southern shore on 30 April, capturing 7,000 soldiers from
British Empire forces who had been sent in anticipation of Germany's
invasion. The conquest of Greece was completed with the capture of Crete
a month later. Looking back near the end of the war, as Germany's defeat
loomed ever closer, Hitler blamed Mussolini's Greek fiasco for his own
subsequent catastrophe. As an explanation of Germany's calamitous defeat
in the Soviet Union, this had little to commend it. It nevertheless had
serious consequences for the Axis war effort in north Africa.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Greece>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1580:
One of the largest earthquakes in the recorded history of
England, Flanders and Northern France struck the region.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1580_Dover_Straits_earthquake>
1830:
Joseph Smith, Jr., Oliver Cowdery, David Whitmer and others
formally organized the Church of Christ, starting the Latter Day Saint
movement.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_Christ_(Latter_Day_Saints)>
1896:
The first modern Olympic Games (official report pictured)
opened in Athens, with 241 athletes from 14 nations participating in 43
events in nine disciplines.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1896_Summer_Olympics>
1947:
The first Tony Awards, recognizing achievement in live American
theatre, were handed out at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Award>
2008:
Egyptian workers staged an illegal general strike, two days
before key municipal elections.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Egyptian_general_strike>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
lek:
(biology) An aggregation of male animals for the purposes of courtship
and display.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lek>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
Whenever the powers of government are placed in any hands other
than those of the community, whether those of one man, of a few, or of
several, those principles of human nature which imply that government is
at all necessary, imply that those persons will make use of them to
defeat the very end for which government exists.
--James Mill
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_Mill>
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