The Fall of Crete

Date for Invasion

Oct 22, 1940

Benito Mussolini sets the date of the invasion of Greece to October 28, 1940. He had decided to attack Greece without informing his ally Germany, as they had a history of starting wars without sharing advance information with Italy.

Greece's Response

Oct 28, 1940

The Greek leader Ioannis Metaxas rejected the Italian ultimatum. When he realized the Italians were already preparing for an invasion he said "Then, it's war". 85,000 Italian troops crossed the border from Albania, outnumbering the 30,000-strong Greek Army.