Yugoslavia and Greece 1940–41

The Axis' aerial assault in the Balkans

Pier Paolo Battistelli, Basilio Di Martino, Graham Turner (Illustrator)

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English

Osprey
01 January 2025

History; 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000; Second World War; Air forces & warfare

Series: Air Campaign

A new illustrated history of the German and Italian air campaigns in the invasions of Greece and Yugoslavia, the last full-scale Axis air offensives before Operation Barbarossa.

The Greece campaign was launched by Italy in October 1940, the first large-scale campaign of the Italian Air Force outside North Africa, and its last major solo effort. With the German involvement in April 1941, and with the invasion of Yugoslavia, the Balkans saw the last large-scale Axis air campaign in Europe before the invasion of the USSR. It was also the campaign that saw expeditionary units of the RAF fighting alongside the Greeks – most famously, the handful of Hurricanes that fought to the end from makeshift olive-grove airfields, among them the Hurricane ace and future novelist Roald Dahl.

In this book, renowned historian Pier Paolo Battistelli and air power expert Basilio di Martino explain how this unique campaign was fought. They highlight elements such as the Italians’ development of air-to-ground support while carrying out, for the first and only time, an airborne operation, and how the Germans refined their tactics from the 1940 campaign in the West, while now also playing a major anti-shipping role.

Illustrated throughout with rare photos, superb original paintings, maps and 3D diagrams, this is an expert account of the air war over the eastern Mediterranean.

By: Pier Paolo Battistelli, Basilio Di Martino
Illustrated by: Graham Turner (Illustrator)
Imprint: Osprey
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 248mm, Width: 184mm,
ISBN: 9781472859242
ISBN 10: 1472859243
Series: Air Campaign
Pages: 96
Publication Date: 01 January 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

General Basilio Di Martino is a renowned historian and a former Italian Air Force officer. He served at the Flight Test Centre, the Air Staff Logistic Department and the Air Force Logistic Command. He is the author of several histories on the Italian Air Force and on World War I. Pier Paolo Battistelli is an established military history author, who has acted as a consultant for the Italian Army Historical Branch and the British Army. He has an MA in history and a PhD in military history.

Reviews for Yugoslavia and Greece 1940–41: The Axis' aerial assault in the Balkans

The sheer range of aircraft should delight any air enthusiast, with the range of difficulties (on both sides) being enough to provide a most challenging strategic, operational and tactical wargame environment. * Miniature Wargames *