Italy: Commemorative Medal for the men of the 9th Italian Army (Italian and Albanian units) during the Campaign against Greece and Yugoslavia. Scarce silver version.
Condition: Very Fine
Italy invaded Greece on 28 October 1940 from the Italian occupied Albania. By Apr. 1941 the Hellenic Army had repelled the attack and had pushed the Italians deep inside the Albanian territory. The Italian 9th Army participated in the unsuccessful Italian "Spring Offensive" in March 1941. Trying to prevent the imminent Italian defeat, Germany attacked Greece and Yugoslavia, from Bulgaria, on 6 Apr. 1941 & forced the continental Greek Forces to capitulate 3 weeks later. The 9th Army was the main Italian Unit that entered Greece, following the German invasion which forced the Hellenic Army to fall back from Albania in order to avoid its encirclement by the advancing German forces.
