On April 6, 1941. from the territory of Bulgaria, the Third Reich begins operations "Aufmarsch 25" and "Marita". This is the simultaneous attack on Yugoslavia and Greece.
In a matter of days, the two Balkan countries capitulate, the Neuilly shackles are torn apart with the help of German weapons. On April 20, Easter, the Bulgarian Army was welcomed as a liberator in the White Sea Thrace, Vardar Macedonia and the Western Suburbs, and Pirot, Vranja, Skopje, Veles, Ohrid, Bitola, Kukush, Syar, Dedeagach - again free and Bulgarian.
To this day, legends are told that in 1941 in some of the liberated villages and towns there was no fruit harvest - the blossoms of the trees were spread on the roads along which the Bulgarian army passed.
The German invasion of Greece, known by the code name Operation Marita (in German: Unternehmen Marita), was part of World War II, which took place in the continental part of Greece and the southern part of Albania. German military operations began on April 6, 1941 with the entry of German troops into Greece through Bulgaria. The combined Greek and Commonwealth forces fought fierce battles, but ultimately the Greek and British troops were defeated. Athens fell on 27 April. However, the British managed to evacuate about 50,000 soldiers. The Greek campaign ended in a quick German victory with the fall of Kalamata in the Peloponnese.
On 13 April 1941, Hitler issued his Directive No. 27, outlining the future of Greek policy. He ended jurisdiction over the Balkans with his Directive No. 31, issued on 9 June.
The mainland of Greece was divided between Germany, Italy and Bulgaria. German forces occupied the strategically important areas, namely Athens, Thessaloniki and Central Macedonia, as well as several islands in the Aegean Sea, including the island of Crete. They also occupied Lerin, which was claimed by Bulgaria and Italy. In late April and early May, in accordance with its commitments under the agreements with Germany, the Bulgarian Army entered Western Thrace without encountering resistance and occupied the area between the Struma River and the demarcation line passing through Dedeagach and Svilengrad west of the Maritsa River. The rest of Greece remained in Italy. Italian troops began occupying the Ionian Sea and the islands in the Aegean Sea on 28 April. On 2 June they occupied the Peloponnese, Thessaly on 8 June, and on 12 June they occupied most of Athens.