Any Good Books on Greek Operations?

[Tzar007]

Anybody has good books to suggest that covers the Grece invasion and battles during WWII (with more specific operational details and good maps) ?

I started reading Alan Clark's Crete book, but I don't have anything for Greece [:)]

[Bil H]

Start here: Essential Reading

I'm sure Golf33 wil be along shortly with a full list of every conceivable book written about the Greek Campaign. [;)]

Bil

[Tzar007]

Thanks Bil H, I should have searched a bit more to find this [:)]

[Burkowski]

Tzar.

Not detailed ops like Marita, but great for a great, quick (less than 200 p.) big picture read of the lead up to and of the Greek campaign, I recommend Charles Cruickshank's Greece 1940-1941 . Pretty much ends at the threshhold of Crete. It is U. of Delaware Press, 1976 and can be had interlibrary from lots of places... more political than anything else, but will definitely put you in the proper mood, whichever side you play...

Regards,

Burkowski

[Golf33]

Buckley, Christopher. Greece and Crete 1941. London: HMSO, 1952. Pretty good.

Detweiler, Donald S. (ed). World War II German Military Studies. New York: Garland, 1979. Contains an article on Marita which is good for outline information but lacks detail.

Farndale, Gen Sir Martin. The Years of Defeat Europe and North Africa 1939-1941. London: Brassey's, 1996. A general history of British field artillery with some notes on AA and AT artillery.

Horner, David. The Gunners. Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 1995.
Some detail on Australian and to a much lesser extent NZ and UK arty. Snippets on organisation & equipment but nothing concise or complete.

Kaltenegger, Roland. Deutsche Gebirgsjäger. Stuttgart: Motorbuch, 1977.
Excellent information about Greek border defences – lists strongpoints with manning and no. of MG of each.

Lehmann, Rudolf. Die Leibstandarte vol I. Winnipeg: J.J. Fedorowicz, 1987.
Contains several transcripts of orders, sitreps etc. Excellent.

Long, Gavin. Greece, Crete, and Syria. Canberra: AWM, 1953. Australian official history, a bit hard to follow and lacks detail in some areas.

Lucas, James. Alpine Elite. New York: Jane’s, 1980. Some brief information about minor engagements in Greece.

NZ in the Second World War official histories. http://www.nzetc.org/etexts/WH2-27Ba/index.html
Simply outstanding and probably the best resource for detailed information on battles involving NZ troops. Well-organised and easy to follow.

Routledge, Brig N.W. Anti-Aircraft Artillery 1914-1955. London: Brassey's, 1994.
General history of British AA artillery.

Terzakis, Angelos. The Greek Epic 1940-1941. Greek Army Press, 1990. A bit hard to follow as place names aren't consistent with other sources (possibly local name variations?). A good read in the 'heroic' style.

Weingartner, James. Hitler's Guard. Illinois: Southern Illinois University, 1974.
Outline history of LSSAH. Relies on German sources.

Defence of Greece Website. http://www.geocities.com/ww2greece/
Only available online source for detailed Greek data so far.

Regards
33

[stall84]

Check the following link, these guys have good prices too

http://www.scholarsbookshelf.com/listin ... =0&x=9&y=4

[Arjuna]

stall84,

Thanks for the link.[:)]

[Rooster]

Stumbled across this site - it's chocked full of really detailed info... good reading in advance of the game launch.

http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-WH2Gree.html


Woops! Didn't see it above... good show there Golf.

Hmmmm.... well... click here>>>>> http://www.news.com.au/story/0%2C10117% ... %2C00.html

or here...

http://www.attackchi.org.au/kits.htm

[JohnOs]

The book that I'm reading right now, is "Crete" by D. M. Davin. Its the officail History of New Zealand in the Second World War 1939-45.

JohnO

[JeffroK]

Both the Australian & Enzed Official Histories are available online

http://www.awm.gov.au/histories/chapter.asp?volume=18

http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/NewZ ... index.html

[bugbear]

Hello!

YES, there are several excellent articles and books available although they might prove difficult to find in some countries. The following focus on Malta operations BUT that is the biggest interest for me in COTA because that part of the game has been "untested" by history, so to speak--- And, to date, there has been minimal published on the Malta situation. . .

Moreover, Malta's strategic importance impacted Hitler's Greece operations. Particularly, the Beaufort Torpedo Bomber from Malta's allied airfields could drop presents on Axis shipping lines and airports that were facilitating support of Hitler's Greece operations. Additionally, the Swordfish Torpedo Bomber with less range and often supported by fighter support groups would also interdict Rommel's supply lines while screwing up GeneralFeldmarschal Kesselring's overall plans in the Mediterranean. Studying Greece without Malta is like watching "half a movie."

Three are:

"The Magazine of Warfare & History: Military Chronicles" Volume 1 No. 2 Spring 2006. Article entitled: "Axis plans for invasion: Malta:Operation C3/Herkules"

AND

"Malta at War" edited by Mark Vella.

"Operazione C3" by Mariano Gabriele.

[pvthudson01]

Here is some good Wiki info on Battle of Crete
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Crete

[Banquet]

I just bought Crete by Antony Beevor.. only had time for the first few pages but it looks like it'll be a good read.

[wodin]

Grenadiers by Kurt Meyer has a small section on Greece.

Well worth a read.

[iaidoka2]

Hitler's Mediterranean Gamble is useful if you want a description in the context of the whole Mediterranean theatre. Its by Douglas Porch. Highly recommend it (it covers the early days in Nth Africa right up to the invasion through Italy, Southern France etc).

[panda124c]

If you can find it, "The Gods Were Neutral" by Robert Crisp
British tank comander in Greece.

I believe the correct term is "a complete lash up" [:D]

[jhdeerslayer]

Ten Days to Destiny: The Battle for Crete, 1941 (Paperback)
by G. C. Kiriakopoulos

Good read but biased towards the Allies and in particular Greeks/Cretans

[pvthudson01]

Not a book but here is a good website about NZ in Crete
 
http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/war/crete-battle1-3

[sanch]

There's the old classic, "Panzer Battles", by F.W. von Mellenthein (sp?). It covers much more than the Greek campaign, but does describe the Greek campaign, and in particular, the Tempe Gorge. The author was on the staff of the Panzer Division forcing the gorge, so has a first-hand point of view.

[bobwalt]

F.W. von Melenthin's (looked it up)  book is a classic and a must read for anybody interested in tactics.  It is interesting to note that General Schwarzkopf (Looked it up- my spelling is terrible) said he kept it by his bedside to use as a reference.  Another interesting source (although I may get some debate on this is the game from AH Air Assault on Crete.  It also came with a copy of the invasion of Malta and, of course, we do not want to forget the game from HPS that also has the invasion of Malta.
 
Bob