By: Young Young, Cecil, Ramsey,and michael

Operation 25 & Operation Marita

Background on invasion of yugoslavia❖ Operation 25, more commonly known as the Invasion of Yugoslavia or the

April War, was an attack led by the Axis powers on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

❖ Germany invaded Yugoslavia on April 6, 1941 for the purpose of incapacitating the Yugoslav government and its military system.

Map of the InvasionMMd

Operation 25 Operation marita

The Yugoslavia invasion Explanation❖ The Germans had tried to convince Yugoslavia to join the Axis powers, and the

fact that Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary had already joined the Axis convinced Yugoslavia’s prince to do so in March of 1941.

❖ However, a large portion of the military and the general population opposed the move. Therefore, Peter, the constitutional heir, replaced the prince regent of the army, which angered Hitler and encouraged him to attack Yugoslavia.

❖ Despite Hungary being a part of the Axis, it signed a peace treaty with Yugoslavia. Some Hungarians supported Hitler’s invasion, while the others felt that Hungary should not breach its treaty with Yugoslavia.

Yugoslavia Invasion Part 2❖ Teleki, the Hungarian Prime Minister, tried to ensure that no Axis troops

involved in the Invasion could move through Hungary. When Teleki realized that he could not succeed, he committed suicide instead of joining the troops.

❖ Miklos Horthy, a Hungarian regent who favored the invasion of Yugoslavia, claimed that the treaty would be invalid if the country no longer existed, so he ordered Hungarian troops to assist the Germans once Croatia became independent from Yugoslavia.

❖ The Germans launched their land invasion from Hungary on April 6. The Hungarian troops moved into Yugoslavia a few days later. The Italians also launched an attack on Yugoslavia.

❖

Yugoslavia Invasion Part 3❖ In response, the Yugoslavs dispersed the aircraft throughout the country in an

attempt to protect its air force. However, the lack of resources at the airfields and the poor weather conditions hindered the air force’s capabilities. While the air force did manage to counteract the German bombing missions, it was quickly outnumbered and the Yugoslavs moved their remaining aircraft to Greece.

General Timeline of the Invasion of Yugoslavia❖ October 28, 1940: An Italian army consisting of 70,000 soldiers invade Greece.❖ November 10, 1940: The Greek resistance force, combined with the RAF

effort, repels the Italian invasion force. ❖ March 25, 1941: Prince Paul of Yugoslavia signs the Tripartite Pact.❖ March 27, 1941: Prince Paul is forcibly removed from power by a coup led by

Bora Mirkovic and Dusan Simonovic. ❖ April 8, 1941: Germans bomb the capital of Yugoslavia, Belgrade, resulting in

over 300,000 casualties.❖ April 14, 1941: German army destroys Yugoslav forces at Monistat Gap,

clearing the path to Greece.

Timeline of the Invasion of Yugoslavia (cont) ❖ April 17, 1941: Yugoslav leadership surrenders to the Germans.❖ April 20, 1941: The Greek Army surrenders to the Germans and Italians.❖ April 27, 1941: Axis forces occupy Athens, officially declaring the end of Greek

resistance.

Result of the Invasion of Yugoslavia ❖ The Axis Powers gained Yugoslav territory.❖ Parts of Yugoslavia were annexed by neighboring Axis countries, whereas in

other areas “puppet states” such as the Independent State of Croatia were formed.

Background on Operation Marita

❖ Operation Marita was a World War II German military operation which initiated the German invasion of Greece.

❖ It was a direct consequence of Mussolini’s untimely decision to invade Greece.

❖ The Greek army pushed the Italian forces back to their initial positions and the Greco-Italian war delayed at a costly stalemate. Therefore, Adolf Hitler was forced to intervene to rescue his friends.

Operation Marita explanation

❖ When Operation Marıta began on 6 April, the bulk of the Greek Army was on the Greek border with Albania, then a protectorate of Italy, from which the Italian troops had attacked. German troops invaded from Bulgaria, creating a second front.

❖ The Greek army found itself outnumbered in its effort to defend against both Italian and German troops. As a result, the Bulgarian defensive line did not receive adequate troop reinforcements and was quickly overrun by the Germans, who then outflanked the Greek forces at the Albanian border, forcing their surrender.

Review questions 1. Who led the Invasion of Yugoslavia?2. How did Hungary view the Invasion of Yugoslavia? Did they support the

invasion?3. How did Yugoslavia respond to the invasion?4. Why did the Greek Army surrender during Operation Marita?

Works cited● Alex, Dan. "Invasion of the Balkans Timeline." Invasion of the Balkans Timeline. N.p., 19 Mar. 2015. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.

● "History Wars Weapons." History Wars Weapons. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.● "Invasion of Yugoslavia (April 6, 1941) Summary – WWII German Attack." Totally History Invasion of Yugoslavia

Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.● "Part Three." The German Campaign In The Balkans (Spring 1941): Part III. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.● "World War II: Battle of Greece." About.com Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.