User blog:4th of Augustball/Happy OXI Day everyone!!!

I make this blog post in celebration of Greek Prime Minister, Ioannis Metaxas's rejection of the Fascist Italian Ultimatum that sought to allow Fascist Italy occupy Greece. In doing so, Ioannis Metaxas entered Greece into WW2 which would see Greece defend their homeland against the Axis powers and delivering the Allied Powers their first conventional military victory against the Axis powers. Despite Italy being the superior military power, the Greek military managed to push out the invading Italian force from the Greek mainland and conduct a successful invasion into Italian occupied Albania which would see the Greek forces annex North Epirus.

After this victory, the Nazi German army would have to make a detour into the Balkans as to combat against the Greek nation. In doing so the Nazi German army had to put a halt to their plans of Operation Barbarossa which would result in the Nazi German army attempting to invade the Soviet Union during winter. Eventually Greece would have to surrender to the combined forces of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Bulgaria in 1941.

In memory of the Greeks who fought and died during WW2 I shall present a few quotes from the leaders and people of the world during WW2 who have recognised the sacrifice that Greek people made for the Allied powers.

"Hence we will not say that the Greeks fought like heroes but that heroes fight like Greeks" - Winston Churchill

" I am unable to give the proper breadth of gratitude I feel for the heroic resistance of the people and the leaders of Greece" - Charles de Gaulle

" For the sake of historical truth I must verify that only the Greeks, of all the adversaries who confronted us, fought with bold courage and highest disregard of death" - Adolf Hitler

" The war with Greece proves that nothing is firm in the military and that suprises always await us" - Benito Mussolini

" I am sorry because I am getting old and I shall not live long to thank the Greek people, whose resistance decided WW2" - Joseph Stalin

" You fought unarmed and won, small against big. We owe you gratitude, because you gave us time to defend ourselves. As Russians and as people we thank you. - Moscow Radio Station

"Your soldiers instead of fleeing frantically, as they did in France and Poland, were actually shooting at us from their positions!" - A German officer of the Luftwaffe declaring to Greek LtGen. Dedes, commander of Greece’s Eastern Macedonia division that the Greek Army was the only one in which the Nazi Stuka dive bomber fighter planes did not cause panic.

Happy Ohi Day everyone! Long Live Greece!