Operation 25 & Operation Marita By: Manoella Contigiani,

Haley Williams & Adam Simer

Operation 25 Maps Operation Marita

Operation 25

Operation 25● The Invasion of Yugoslavia, or the April War, was a German attack on the

Kingdom of of Yugoslavia from the Axis powers.

● Germany tried to convince Yugoslavia to join the axis power.

● Yugoslavia also failed to honor its agreement permitting travel through

its territory for german soldiers moving toward greece.

● Germany planned to incapacitate the Yugoslav government and military

systems

● Germans launched their invasion from Hungary

Operation 25-continued● Yugoslavs decided to disperse the aircraft's throughout the country, using

small airfields as operations bases.

○ The lack of facilities and resources at the fields, combined with

harmful weather, damaged the air force’s capabilities.

● The Germans bombed the city of Belgrade which successfully disrupted

Yugoslav communication, which greatly hampered the coordination of

resistance operations.

● The Yugoslavs managed to evacuate some aircraft and around 1,000 military

personnel.

● Completed in just 11 days.

Operation 25- Importance● The Axis Powers gained the

Yugoslav territory

● The plan to unite retreating

Yugoslav forces with the Allies

in Greece was largely a failure

● The fall of Yugoslavia paved

the way for the German invasion

of Greece, as all the countries

on its northern orders were now

under Axis control.

Operation marita

Operation Marita● The Battle of Greece also known as Operation Marita occurred on the

Greek mainland and in southern Albania.

● It was between the Allied forces and the Axis

○ Allied- Greece and the British Commonwealth

○ Axis- Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Bulgaria

● It was the result of a failed attack on Greece from Italy, which

forced Nazi Germany to come to their aid.

Operation Marita-continued● Most Greek troops were on the Albanian border so German troops invaded

Greece through Bulgaria in an effort to secure its southern flank.

● The combined Greek and British Commonwealth forces fought back, but were

vastly outgunned and outmanned, and finally collapsed.

● Athens fell on April 27. However, the British managed to evacuate about

50,000 troops.

● It ended with a German victory, and it was over within 24 days.

Operation Marita-Importance● Some historians say it was

decisive in determining the course of World War II.○ maintaining that it delayed the

Axis invasion of the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa).

● Others say that the campaign had no influence on the launching of Operation Barbarossa.○ They characterize British

intervention in Greece as a hopeless undertaking.

TimelineOctober 15, 1940- Mussolini invades Greece

November 4, 1940- Hitler sent Troops through bulgaria and romania

April 6, 1941- Germany invades Greece and Yugoslavia

April 8, 1941- Germany bombs the capital of Yugoslavia Belgrade

April 14, 1941- Germany destroys Yugoslavian forces, which cleared a path to

Greece

April 27, 1941- Germans enter Athens

April 30, 1941- Evacuation of commonwealth soldiers are complete

Works Cited“Axis Invasion of Yugoslavia." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2017.

“Battle of Greece." New World Encyclopedia, . 17 May 2016, 14:50 UTC. 18 Apr 2017, 17:04

“Invasion of Yugoslavia (April 6, 1941) Summary – WWII German Attack." Totally History Invasion of Yugoslavia Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2017.

"Timeline of the Axis Invasion of the Balkans (October 28th, 1940 - June 1st, 1941)." WW2 - Timeline of Events. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2017.