Which country in ww2 kicke the most......

Greece, during WWII, was the only country

that was forced to confront the armies of

four countries simultaneously:

Albania

Italy

Germany

Bulgaria

Duration of resistance (in days):

Greece  219

Norway  61

France  43 (superpower at the time)

Poland  30

Belgium  18

Holland  4

Yugoslavia  3

Czechoslavakia  0

Luxemburg  0

Denmark  0 

Total Greek losses caused by occupying power

Albanians  1,165

Italians  8,000 

Bulgarians  25,000

Germans  50,000

Total losses in population percentages

Greece  10%

Soviet Union  2.8%

Holland  2.2%

France  2%

Poland  1.8%

Yugoslavia  1.7%

Belgium  1.5%

And here's what other prominent figures had to say about her..

Quotes on/about the Greeks

�For the sake of historical truth I must verify that

only the Greeks, of all the adversaries who confronted

us, fought with bold courage and highest disregard of death..� 

(Adolf Hitler � speech delivered to Reichstag on 4, May 1941)

�The word heroism I am afraid does not render

the least of those acts of self-sacrifice of the Greeks,

which were the defining factor in the victorious outcome

of the common struggle of the nations, during WWII,

for the human freedom and dignity.  If it were not for

the bravery of the Greeks and their courage,

the outcome of WWII would be undetermined.� 

�Until now we used to say that the Greeks fight like heroes. 

Now we shall say:  The heroes fight like Greeks.� 

 

(Winston Churchill � speech BBC first days of Greco-Italian war)

 

 

�I am sorry because I am getting old and I shall not

live long to thank the Greek people, whose resistance

decided WWII�.

 

(Joseph Stalin � speech Moscow radio station

31 Jan, 1943 after victory of Stalingrad and capitulation

of German 6^th Army Field Marshal Von Paulus).

 

 

�If the Russian people managed to raise resistance

at the doors of Moscow to halt and reverse the

German torrent, they owe it to the Greek people,

who delayed the German divisions during the time

they could bring us to our knees.� 

 

(George Constantinovich Zhoukov � Field Marshal

of Soviet Army � a note from his memoirs)

 

 

�Regardless of what future historians shall say,

what we can say now, is that Greece gave Mussolini

an unforgettable lesson, that she was the motive

for the revolution in Yugoslavia, that she held the

Germans in the mainland and in Crete for six weeks,

that she upset the chronological order of all German

High Command�s plans and thus brought a general

reversal of the entire course of the war and we won.�

 

(Sir Robert Antony Eden � Minister of War and the

Exterior of Britain 1940-45, Prime Minister of Britain

1955-57 � speech from British parliament 24, Sept 1942).

 

 

 

 

�It would not be an exaggeration to say that Greece

upset the plans of Germany in their entirety forcing her

to postpone the attack on Russia for six weeks. 

We wonder what would have been Soviet Union�s

position without Greece.�

 

(Sir Harold Leofric George Alexander � British field Marshal

during WWII � speech from British parliament 28, Oct 1941)

 

 

�I am unable to give the proper breadth of gratitude I feel

for the heroic resistance of the people and the leaders of Greece�.

 

(Charles De Gaul � speech French parliament after end of WWII)

 

 

 

Maurice Schumann � Minister of the exterior of France

1969-73, member of French Academy 1974:

 

�Greece is the symbol of the tortured, bloodied but live

Europe.  Never a defeat was so honourable for those who

suffered it�.

 

(From a message of his he addressed from BBC of London

to the enslaved peoples of Europe 28, April 1941, the day

Hitler occupied Athens after a 6 month war against Mussolini

and 6 weeks against Hitler).

 

 

�You fight unarmed and won, small against big. 

We owe you gratitude, because you gave us time to

defend ourselves.  As Russians and as people we thank you�.

 

(Moscow radio station when Hitler attacked USSR).

 

 

�The war with Greece proved that nothing is firm in the

military and that surprises always await us�. 

 

(Benito Mussolini 10, May 1941 speech)

 

 

�On the 28^th October, 1940, Greece was given a deadline

of 3 hours to decide on war or peace, but even if  3 days

or 3 weeks or 3 years were given, the response would have

been the same.  The Greeks taught dignity throughout the centuries. 

When the entire world had lost all hope, the Greek people dared to

question the invincibility of the German monster raising against it the

proud spirit of freedom�.

 

(Franklin D Roosevelt � US President 1933-45)

 

 

 

�The heroic struggle of the Greek people�

Against Germany�s attack, after she so thunderously

defeated the Italians in their attempt to invade

the Greek soil, filled the hearts of the American people

with enthusiasm and moved their compassion�.

(Roosevelt)

 

 

 

On 10 April 1941, after the Greek capitulation to Germany,

the northern forts of Greece surrendered.

 

The Germans express their admirations to Greek soldiers,

declared that they were honoured and proud to have as

their adversary such an army and request that the Greek

Commandant inspect the German army in a demonstration

of honour and recognition.

 

The German flag was raised only after the complete withdrawal

of the Greek army.

 

A German officer of the air force declared to the commander

of the Eastern Macedonia division group, Lieutenant

General Dedes, that the Greek Army was the first army on

which the Stuka fighter planes did not cause panic.

�Your soldiers�, he said. �Instead of fleeing frantically, as they did

in France and Poland, were shooting at us from their positions�.

 

 

�Only  we�..never counted the enemy in battle�.  (Aeschylus)

 

 

So after all that.. beats me why Greece was left off the list/poll !!

 

Also, like to add that it makes no difference to me if they were talking about Papua New Guineans.. I'd still be paying homage.  Just a bonus

it happens to be about my people.

 

The above also implicates yet another trait (fearlessness, bravery etc)

that bind the modern Greeks with their ancestors.  So a big up yours

to those who like to disassociate the two.

 

Not only did they sacrifice themselves for their country and for freedom, but also for the love of their fellow man (be them of Greek or non Greek

origin)..

 

And I'll give but one example.

My auntie who was living at Crete at the time, who was only

13 years of age mind you.. sacrificed her life to save two

English soldiers.. she hid them in an in-ground wine vat and

camouflaged the opening with foliage and the like.. and then

she also hid her boss' gun (knowing the Germans were about

to inspect the premises) under her skirt, unbeknownst to her at

the time, that the gun wasn't loaded after all.

 

If that ain't ballsy, don't know what is.