Here is a good read cover to cover which draws you in from page one. The story is of the Italian attack on Greece, the repulsion of this attack and the Greek advance throwing the Italians back through Albania. The subsequent small support by the Allies and the major attack by the Germans is told in not quite the same detail.
The political and military aspects, air land and sea, are covered, all as it should be, with a strong Greek emphasis. This is a book about people and most interesting is how the author brings out the characters of some participants and shows what bearing this had on events. The narrative is enriched with quotations and journal entries from the highest politicians to the lowliest soldiers. There are five useful maps and a set of interesting photographs.
The author intended to bring out the ‘actual atmosphere of the defence and fall of Greece’ in this he has succeeded abundantly.
We highly recommend this book to all levels of interest.

Read the full review here

Clash of Steel

Carr puts the reader into the heat of battle with immense verve, while marshalling the vertiginous torrent of facts and propaganda into clear and orderly prose which is always a pleasure to read. He has evidently visited many of the scenes he describes, which lends physical immediacy to his narrative, and he has studied the Greek and Italian sources with care.

Anglo-Hellenic Review

This is an enjoyable read from John Carr. The book tells the stunning but tragic story of the Greek defence against the naked aggression of the Italians.  Things progress very well for the Greeks and they manage to chuck the invaders out of their country into occupied Albania. Unfortunately though, they need support from the British and the growing signs of this can only upset the apple cart. The Germans are in the wings awaiting their moment. We don’t have very long to wait.

This book, quite rightly, is about the Greeks and what they did to defend their country. We see how the army liked to attack, but didn’t like sitting about and really hated retreating. Unfortunately they get to do all three. There is a long look into the Greek psyche and the honest admission that crippling doubt spread like a cancer once the army had finished walloping the Italians.

Solid straightforward history works for me every time. Perhaps that old rascal Alan Clark would have been more honest if he’d looked in Mussolini’s army for his lions and donkeys instead of the Western Front of WW1. While the incompetence of the Italian top brass is often on a borderline epic scale, make no mistake there was heroism a plenty from the ordinary rank and file right up to a good many battalion commanders. They were betrayed by their leaders because the Muppets calling the shots from Rome were a pantomime show of the worst sort.

www.warhistoryonline.com