The 1941 campaign in Greece is not often covered by military historians, so it is refreshing to find this book covering this campaign. The author is not a full-time military historian and has focused his attention on the role of the New Zealand forces during the Second World War. As such, he is well qualified to write about the campaign in Greece as it involved Australian, New Zealand and British formations and units.

There are eleven chapters in the book, plus six appendices. The first two cover the political strategic issues that led to British and Commonwealth involvement in Greece. The political aspects are in many ways one of the most fascinating elements of the British deployment to Greece, as the Prime Minister and government swung backwards and forwards between being involved and not. This was a period in the Middle East where British and Commonwealth forces were severely stretched with several competing demands for limited resources. Chapter three covers the German strategic considerations in launching their invasions of Yugoslavia and Greece, with the next chapter explaining the rapid collapse of the former country.

Chapters five to ten inclusive are about the campaign in Greece itself and the eventual evacuation of British and Commonwealth forces from Greece. The last chapter provides a retrospective review of the German operation and while it was successful, the concept of Blitzkrieg was being overtaken by the events of war, and the economic and personnel dominance of the U.K., U.S.A. and U.S.S.R. combined. Greece was not the end of Blitzkrieg, as the invasion of the U.S.S.R. followed shortly afterwards using this form of warfare, but one can argue it was the beginning of the end.

The six appendices explain the composition of the opposing forces, the commanders on both sides, the movement of British and Commonwealth forces to Greece, British tank losses, the embarkations from Greece and casualties. There are sixteen pages of photographs in the centre of the book that add some additional context to the book. There are several maps in the book located within their relevant chapters.

My best recommendation about this book is that I have been using it as part of my research since I received it, which is why my review has been delayed. It is well-researched and written and should interest a wide range of military historians because of its subject areas. ( )