250: Greece Pt. 2 - After the Failure

250: Greece Pt. 2 - After the Failure

From History of the Second World War by Wesley Livesay

February 25, 2026 · 27 min · Season 4 · Episode 59

About this episode

This episode continues the story of the Italo-Greek War, focusing on the aftermath of the Italian invasion and the subsequent Greek counteroffensive.

This episode continues the story of the Italo-Greek War following the disastrous Italian invasion of Greece in late October 1940. After the Italian defeat at Kalpaki, the Greeks launched a counteroffensive that quickly pushed Italian forces back across the border and into Albania, capturing the city of Korce and taking over 10,000 prisoners. The episode examines the Italian leadership shake-ups that followed, with General Soddu replacing Prasca and Marshal Badoglio being publicly scapegoated before his replacement by Cavallero. As winter set in, both armies suffered terribly from frostbite and harsh conditions that made offensive operations nearly impossible. The RAF arrived in limited numbers but disappointed Greek hopes for major air support, while the Royal Hellenic Air Force performed the remarkable Engineers' Epic, moving aircraft 26 kilometers through blizzard conditions to preserve their fighting strength. The episode concludes with the death of Greek leader Metaxas in January 1941 and his replacement by Koryzis, whose willingness to accept British ground forces would set the stage for the war's expansion beyond a regional Greco-Italian conflict. History of the Second…

People in this episode

Host: Wesley Livesay

Topics covered

  • Italo-Greek War
  • military strategy
  • leadership changes
  • winter warfare
  • air support
  • Greek history

Keywords

  • Italo-Greek War
  • Italian invasion
  • Greek counteroffensive
  • military leadership
  • winter conditions
  • air support
  • Metaxas
  • Koryzis

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Royal Hellenic Air Force

Places: Greece, Albania, Korce

More episodes of History of the Second World War

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the History of the Second World War podcast page.