Victor Emmanuel III was King of Italy from 29 July 1900 until his abdication on 9 May 1946. He also reigned as Emperor of Ethiopia (1936–1941) and King of the Albanians (1939–1943). During his reign of nearly 46 years,which began after the assassination of his father Umberto I,the Kingdom of Italy became involved in two world wars. His reign also encompassed the birth,rise,and fall of Italian Fascism and its regime.
George II was King of Greece from September 1922 to March 1924 and from November 1935 to his death in April 1947.
Ioannis Metaxas was a Greek military officer and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Greece from 1936 until his death in 1941. He governed constitutionally for the first four months of his tenure,and thereafter as the strongman of the 4th of August Regime following his appointment by King George II.
Ohi Day or Oxi Day is celebrated throughout Greece,Cyprus and the Greek communities around the world on 28 October each year. Ohi Day commemorates the rejection by Greek prime minister Ioannis Metaxas of the ultimatum made by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini on 28 October 1940 and the subsequent Hellenic counterattack against the invading Italian forces at the mountains of Pindus during the Greco-Italian War and Greek Resistance during the Axis occupation.
The German invasion of Greece,also known as the Battle of Greece or Operation Marita,was the attack of Greece by Italy and Germany during World War II. The Italian invasion in October 1940,which is usually known as the Greco-Italian War,was followed by the German invasion in April 1941. German landings on the island of Crete came after Allied forces had been defeated in mainland Greece. These battles were part of the greater Balkans Campaign of the Axis powers and their associates.
The Corfu Incident was a 1923 diplomatic and military crisis between Greece and Italy. It was triggered when an Italian general heading a commission to resolve a border dispute between Albania and Greece was murdered in Greek territory along with members of his staff. In response,Benito Mussolini issued an ultimatum to Greece and,when it was not accepted in whole,dispatched forces to bombard and occupy Corfu. Mussolini defied the League of Nations and stated Italy would leave if it arbitrated in the crisis,and the Conference of Ambassadors instead eventually tendered an agreement favouring Italy. This was an early demonstration of the League's weakness when dealing with larger powers.
The Greco-Italian War,also called the Italo-Greek War,Italian Campaign in Greece, and the War of '40 in Greece,took place between the kingdoms of Italy and Greece from 28 October 1940 to 23 April 1941. This local war began the Balkans Campaign of World War II between the Axis powers and the Allies and eventually turned into the Battle of Greece with British and German involvement. On 10 June 1940,Italy declared war on France and the United Kingdom. By September 1940,the Italians had invaded France,British Somaliland and Egypt. This was followed by a hostile press campaign in Italy against Greece,accused of being a British ally. A number of provocations culminated in the sinking of the Greek light cruiser Elli by the Italians on 15 August. On 28 October,Mussolini issued an ultimatum to Greece demanding the cession of Greek territory,which the Prime Minister of Greece,Ioannis Metaxas,rejected.
Ioannis Kolettis was a Greek politician who played a significant role in Greek affairs from the Greek War of Independence through the early years of the Greek Kingdom,including as Minister to France and serving twice as Prime Minister.
Andreas Metaxas was a Greek politician,fighter of the Greek War of Independence and diplomat from Cephalonia. He was prime minister of Greece from 3 September 1843 to 16 February 1844. Some military leaders of the revolution (Makriyannis) gave him the ironic nickname of "Conte Lalas'" due to his injury during the Battle of Lalas.
The 4th of August Regime,commonly also known as the Metaxas regime,was a totalitarian regime under the leadership of General Ioannis Metaxas that ruled the Kingdom of Greece from 1936 to 1941. On 4 August 1936,Metaxas,with the support of King George II,suspended the Greek parliament and went on to preside over a conservative,staunchly anti-communist government. The regime took inspiration in its symbolism and rhetoric from Fascist Italy,but retained close links to Britain and the French Third Republic,rather than the Axis powers. Lacking a popular base,after Metaxas' death in January 1941 the regime hinged entirely on the King. Although Greece was occupied following the German invasion of Greece in April 1941 and the Greek government was forced into exile in the British-controlled Kingdom of Egypt,several prominent figures of the regime,notably the notorious security chief Konstantinos Maniadakis,survived for several months in cabinet until the King was forced to dismiss them in a compromise with the representatives of the old democratic political establishment.
Vittorio Emanuele Orlando was an Italian statesman,who served as the Prime Minister of Italy from October 1917 to June 1919. Orlando is best known for representing Italy in the 1919 Paris Peace Conference with his foreign minister Sidney Sonnino. He was also known as "Premier of Victory" for defeating the Central Powers along with the Entente in World War I. He was also member and president of the Constitutional Assembly that changed the Italian form of government into a Republic. Aside from his prominent political role,Orlando was a professor of law and is known for his writings on legal and judicial issues,which number over a hundred works.
The Axis leaders of World War II were important political and military figures during World War II. The Axis was established with the signing of the Tripartite Pact in 1940 and pursued a strongly militarist and nationalist ideology;with a policy of anti-communism. During the early phase of the war,puppet governments were established in their occupied nations. When the war ended,many of them faced trial for war crimes. The chief leaders were Adolf Hitler of Nazi Germany,Benito Mussolini of Fascist Italy,and Hirohito of Imperial Japan. Unlike what happened with the Allies,there was never a joint meeting of the main Axis heads of government,although Mussolini and Hitler did meet on a regular basis.
Selim Rauf Sarper was a Turkish diplomat and politician. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs between 1960–1962.
Carlo Geloso,was an Italian general during the Second World War. In 1939,he assumed command of the Italian forces in Albania. In 1940,he served as commander of the 11th Army during the Greco-Italian War. He was the commander of the Italian occupation forces in Greece from 1941 to 1943. After Italy joined the Allies,he became a German prisoner-of-war. After the German surrender,he was briefly imprisoned by the Soviets but was released in 1946.
The Greek government-in-exile was formed in 1941,in the aftermath of the Battle of Greece and the subsequent occupation of Greece by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. The government-in-exile was based in Cairo,Egypt,and hence it is also referred to as the "Cairo Government". It was the internationally recognised government during the years of the Axis occupation of Greece.
Guelfo Zamboni (1896–1994) was an Italian diplomat who saved hundreds of Jews during the Holocaust.
Lambros Koromilas was a Greek economist and diplomat,and one of the leading figures in the Macedonian Struggle during his tenure as Greek Consul-General to Thessaloniki in 1904–1907. He also served as Finance Minister in 1910–1912 and Foreign Minister before and during the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913.
The Franco-Italian Armistice,or Armistice of Villa Incisa,signed on 24 June 1940,in effect from 25 June,ended the brief Italian invasion of France during the Second World War.
Božidar Purić was a Serbian and Yugoslav politician and diplomat. Between 1928 and 1934 he was a chargéd'affaires in the Embassy of Kingdom of Yugoslavia in the United States. and its ambassador in France since 1935. During the World War II,Purićwas the prime minister of the Yugoslav government-in-exile between 10 August 1943 and 1 June 1944.
Comando Supremo was the highest command echelon of the Italian armed forces between June 1941 and May 1945. Its predecessor,the Stato Maggiore Generale,was a purely advisory body with no direct control of the several branches of the armed forces and with very little staff. Created amidst the exigencies of World War II,Comando Supremo was a large organization with several departments and operational command of the armed forces on the active fronts. At the end of the war,it was reduced to a purely advisory role again.
Italy 
