Because of the threat to Greece as a result of the Italian occupation of Albania in 1939, the safety of Greece was guaranteed by French and British forces. Despite this assurance Greece was attacked in October of 1940. The Greek forces were surprisingly affective against the invading Italians. They drove the Italians out of the country and almost out of Albania in December.

April, 1941, German troops invaded Greece and forced them to retreat. Greece was forced to sign an armistice on April 23, and the Germans entered Athens four days later. Greece suffered enormously from the invasion. Famine and inflation struck in 1943.

Many organized resistance groups were formed to fight the Germans with guerrilla warfare. The largest group was said to have any where from 60-90% of the population involved. The German armies withdrew from Greece in 1944, and Greece formed a new government.

In 1937 Yugoslavia and Italy signed a non-aggression pact between the two countries. But, after the Germans invaded Poland in 1939 the Yugoslav government decided to become neutral again. German forces invaded Yugoslavia on April 6, 1941. King Peter and the government fled on April 12, and the overwhelmingly outnumbered Yugoslav forces surrendered one week later. Italy and Germany divided Yugoslavia up between themselves. Italy got the southern region and Germany obtained the northern region.