For educational purposes
The Campaign began with the Italian invasion of Greece on 28 October 1940, then in the early months of 1941 Germany invaded Greece, Yugoslavia, and Crete, by deploying troops to Romania and Bulgaria and attacking Greece from the east.
In August 1943 the Romanians changed sides, thereafter, events moved swiftly the Russians soon captured the vital Ploesti oil fields, a huge loss to the German war effort, and within days the Soviets captured Bucharest.
A nervous Bulgaria sued for peace with the Allies, but the Russians pushed on into Sofia, despite German delaying tactics, Hungary fell next.
In Yugoslavia the Germans held grimly on to Belgrade until October, By late November, the Germans were in full retreat into Austria and Hungary.
The bloody mop-up fighting was left to the Soviets and lasted until the end of the war.
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