The First Victory: Greece in the Second World War

by George C. Blytas



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From Chapter 10: Greece, Winter of 1940

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Humor was a great antidote to war weariness. One of the jokes circulating in Greece those days had Mussolini and Ciano on the famous balcony of the Palazzo Venezzia discussing the difference between an ‘incident’ and an ‘accident.’ From the safety of the room behind the two, an officer volunteered to clarify the difference. Said he: ‘Your excellencies, if the balcony on which you now stand were to suddenly collapse, that would be an incident.  If it does not, that would be an accident.’


Some of the exploits of the Italian navy offered opportunity for humor also. Two such incidents made the rounds in January 1941. The first was reported by the police of the island of Amorgos:

In the morning of January 7, two Italian destroyers and a torpedo boat approached the islet of Kynaros, off the coast of Amorgos, and landed about 200 marines. The Italians strafed the deserted shore with machinegun fire for 30 minutes, and searched the only two houses on the islet. A shepherd and his son who were on Kynaros at the time hid in a cave until the invaders departed. The island is under the jurisdiction of the Command of Cyclades and it is inhabited by the five-member family of the shepherd in question. Fortunately, his wife and daughters were shopping in Amorgos.

From Chapter 6: A Fleeting Truce, A Lasting Battle

In France, at the Italian border areas, French humor found the opportunity to express itself at the expense of Italy.  Two signs were posted in full view of the Italian side. One of the signs, posted at the location Vedimiglia, read:

DEAR TOURIST,
IF YOU WANT TO VISIT ITALY
ENLIST IN THE GREEK ARMY

The other sign, on the French side of the border at the Riviera, read:

ATTENTION GREEK SOLDIERS
YOU HAVE NOW ENTERED FRENCH TERRITORY.         
PLEASE STOP 

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© 2008 by George Blytas

Sources:
Kotzias, Kostas, G., Ellas, O Polemos kai E Doxa tis, [Greece the War and her Glory], New York: Atlantis Edition, 1943, 161-162. (Chapter 10)

Gilbert, Martin, A History of the Twentieth Century, Volume One: 1900-1933, New York: William Morrow, 1997, 143. (Chapter 6)