Mussolini wants his victory in Albania
In the autumn of 1940, Mussolini launched Italy into an invasion of Greece that he believed would be easy. The disaster was immediate: the Greeks counter-attacked and drove the Italian divisions far back into Albania. 6 months later, the Duce broods over this humiliation and wants a resounding revenge — before Hitler comes to 'settle' his Balkan problem for him.
On 2 March 1941, he installs himself in Tirana to personally oversee a great spring offensive, the Operazione Primavera. Italian radio announces that he will lead the attack himself. On 9 March, 11 divisions surge forward against the Greek positions entrenched in mountainous terrain, supported by artillery, aircraft and the .
But the Greeks hold. The frontal assaults shatter day after day on ridges like Height 731, which barely changes hands despite appalling losses. By 14 March, the chief of staff, General , comes to tell the Duce what the terrain is already screaming: the offensive has failed.
Mussolini, present on the spot, must decide the fate of his operation.
Albania, March 1941, Mussolini broods over his failed offensive against Greece: should he break off the attack his generals judge lost?
Mussolini pressed on with the assaults despite the acknowledged failure: he dug in. Refusing to admit defeat before the Greeks, he ordered the assaults resumed, and they followed one another daily until 24 March without the slightest gain. The toll was crushing: more than 11,800 Italian dead and wounded against around 1,200 killed on the Greek side. The Duce ended by acknowledging himself that the result of the offensive was 'nil'. The humiliation was total: Italy proved incapable of defeating Greece by its own means. From now on it would be Germany that settled the question — Operation Marita, launched on 6 April, would crush Greece in a few weeks and relegate the Italian army definitively to the rank of junior partner in the Balkans.
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