Greece

Greece was a small, poor nation on the periphery of the Balkans. Like many nations in the area, Greece won its independence fighting the Ottoman Empire, and the Greeks were considered to be good soldiers. With only minuscule Turkish, Bulgarian, and Albanian minorities, Greece had no real internal ethnic strife, and the legacy of ancient Greek culture gave the Greeks a strong sense of national identity. It was this nation that Italy invaded with minimal forces, looking for a quick and easy victory. Greece naturally resisted fiercely, and thus began the events that led to the German conquest of the Balkans and the subsequent bitter guerrilla wars there.

The Greek Army, although small in real numbers, was large for a nation its size, as Greece had several real and potential enemies. To the east was Turkey, successor to the Ottoman Empire. Both countries maintained rival claims on one another, and Greek-Turkish relations were usually poor. Bulgaria lay to the northeast, and Bulgaria sought to regain lands lost to Greece in the Second Balkan War and First World War. The fortified Metaxas Line guarded Greece from direct attack from Bulgaria and Turkey. Italian possessions hemmed in Greece on two sides. In the southeastern Aegean, Italy owned the Dodecanese, Greek-inhabited islands taken from the Ottoman Empire in 1912. In the northwest, Italy had conquered Albania in April 1939 and thereby stationed Italian forces on the borders of Greece.

The core of the Greek Army consisted of its infantry divisions. Typically based on three infantry regiments and an artillery regiment, regiments were swapped around based on the fortunes of war, and a division at times could have two or four infantry regiments. Other infantry regiments were independent or organized into brigades. Most Greek infantry units qualify through their organization and abilities as mountain infantry, even if they officially were termed infantry. Two regiments, the 39th and 42nd, contained Greece's crack mountaineers.

The mainland Greek border was divided into a number of border defense sectors, which controlled detached infantry battalions and other defense troops. While these headquarters were more area commands than operational field HQs, they provided a convenient place to account for all the small independent static battalions, machine gun units, and so on.

The two combat engineer brigades are composite units, consisting of numerous small engineering units. The brigades' names were selected based on the two Greek field armies in 1941, the Army of Epirus and the Army of Macedonia.

The Greeks had no armored forces, but they did start the war with one motorized regiment. It was organized from the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, and for a time was called the Mechanized Cavalry Regiment. Despite its origins and name, it was in effect a weak motorized infantry regiment, having neither horses nor "mechanized cavalry" (light armored) vehicles. It later lost even a nominal connection to the cavalry when it was incorporated into the 19th Mechanized Division (191st, 192nd, and 193rd Mechanized Regiments). Again, "mechanized" meant the division was motorized.

Each Greek corps area had a cavalry regiment, and two other regiments, the 1st and 3rd, comprised the Greek cavalry brigade. Later in the war, a new 2nd Cavalry Regiment was raised and added to the brigade to form a full cavalry division.

The Greeks had barely enough artillery for their army. All five corps areas each had a regular artillery regiment, and four corps areas had heavy artillery regiments. There was one army-level independent regiment. There was also one army-level motorized artillery battalion, but I factored this into the otherwise weak motorized regiment. Each division had an artillery regiment. The 12th and 13th Divisions were equipped with obsolete 75mm guns and accordingly have their strengths lowered. As the war progressed, new divisions were raised with a reduced artillery allotment and hence are weaker than the older divisions. Various brigades and regiments incorporated artillery elements, and these show up as supported units in the game.

The Greek 3rd Brigade was disbanded during the campaign to provide replacements to other units. In the game, I have this unit being withdrawn and the replacements showing up separately. I did this for convenience, but it's unlikely that players can find a way around the withdrawal and thus get the replacements for free.

Greece lacked the resources to build modern military aircraft at home or to purchase many from foreign sources. As a consequence, the Greek Air Force was quite small. The P.24F unit is built around 25 Polish PZL P.24F fighters, together with small numbers of P.24As, P.24Gs, French MB.151s, and Czech B.534s. The mixed bomber unit mainly represents British Battle I, British Blenheim IV, and French Po.633 bombers. The Greeks also have small numbers of French Po.25A, German Hs.125A, and ancient French Bre.XIX bombers still operational.

Yugoslavia

The Yugoslav order of battle underwent the biggest revision between Marita-Merkur and Balkan Front. The MM OB was good, but it presented a snapshot of the Yugoslav Army rather than an Europa-wide view. It depicted the Yugoslav organization -- actual and planned -- as of early April 1941. In particular, the Yugoslav divisions had detached numerous infantry and artillery formations into various odreds. An odred was like an American task force or a German Kampfgruppe: it was a temporary tactical formation, which could be quickly formed from various assets and then dispersed when its task was done. Europa doesn't depict task forces of other nations, showing instead the formal organization of the armies, and it was time to do the same for the Yugoslavs. The odreds, shown as brigades, are gone, and their units are folded back into the divisions and independent regiments in the game.

The MM OB also showed the Yugoslavs at full strength, with the rules having Yugoslav units deserting and surrendering to the Germans. The actual situation was somewhat different. The Germans caught the Yugoslavs in the process of mobilizing their army and smashed many units before most of their personnel reported for duty. The research for MM simply wasn't detailed enough to depict Yugoslav mobilization, on which few good sources are available. Thanks to the painstaking efforts of Roger Clewley, BF can depict the mobilization.

Yugoslav mobilization also depicts the severe ethnic tensions inside Yugoslavia; the disaffected groups mobilize slower than the others. Yugoslavia, whose name means "land of the southern Slavs," was created at the end of World War I from the victorious Allied countries of Serbia and Montenegro, together with the southern Slavic regions of the defunct empire of Austro-Hungary. The Serbs were not only on the winning side, but they also were the largest ethnic group in the country and often ran things for their own benefit. The Serbs and the Montenegrins, a small group arrayed with the Serbs, followed the Eastern Orthodox branch of Christianity.

To the south of Serbia proper lay Kosovo province and Macedonia, both part of Serbia before World War I. Kosovo was a national symbol for Serbia, where the Serbs fought against the Ottoman Empire. The Serbs were a small minority in Kosovo, however, and the great part of the population was Albanian. The Albanians were not Slavic at all and mostly followed the Muslim religion. While renown as good fighters, they couldn't be fully counted on. The Macedonians were Slavs and Orthodox and claimed by Bulgaria. In the First Balkan War (1912-13), an alliance of Balkan countries defeated the Ottoman Empire and annexed former Ottoman territory.

Macedonia was to go to Bulgaria and Albania to Serbia. Unfortunately, Italy upset this arrangement by setting Albania up as a nominally independent country, dominated by guess who. The Second Balkan War(1913) ensued and redivided the spoils of the first. Bulgaria lost Macedonia to Serbia, as well as other significant territory to its other neighbors. Thereafter, Bulgaria looked to regain Macedonia and intermittently supported anti-Serbian nationalist and terrorist groups in Macedonia. While by no means all Macedonians supported union with Bulgaria, they did not have great loyalties to Serbia, either.

As if this wasn't enough, the former Austrian lands brought their own problems, especially Croatia. The Croats were Slavs -- in fact, they spoke a dialect of Serbo-Croatian (no prizes for guessing who spoke the other dialect!). The Croats were Roman Catholic, however, with many ties to German-dominated central Europe rather than eastern Europe. As the second largest nationality in the country, they deeply resented Serbian domination and wanted a true federal nation or independence.

Northwest of Croatia lay the small province of Slovenia. The Slovenes were yet another Slav group, Roman Catholic like the Croats. Ruled by German lords for about a thousand years, the Slovenes retained their ethnic identity while getting along fairly well with the Germans. Industrious and prosperous, they had fairly good relations but little loyalty to the rest of the country. Slovenia also had a German minority.

Wedged between Croatia and Serbia was Bosnia (technically, Bosnia-Hercegovina). The Bosnians spoke Serbo-Croatian and were mixed in religion. Many were Muslims, whose ancestors converted to that religion when the Ottoman Empire conquered the area.

The Vojvodina (which means "the dukedom"), between Serbia and Hungary, had a Serbian majority. It also held significant Hungarian and German minorities, and neither group was particularly pleased to be part of Yugoslavia. The Yugoslav government often regarded its Hungarian population with suspicion, as Hungary was nearby and unfriendly. The Vojvodina per se isn't shown on the maps, as it was divided into two main parts. The Backa (which also incorporates the small Baranja) included the bulk of the Hungarian population and was annexed by Hungary in 1941. East of the Backa was the Yugoslav Banat, bounded by the Tisa and Danube Rivers and the Romania border. This area remained part of Serbia in 1941, although the Volksdeutsch there mostly ignored the Serbian puppet government and ran the area as they pleased.

As you can see, Yugoslavia was a maze of feuding ethnic groups, cultures, and religions. When the call to arms went out, many groups had little interest in the survival of the country and mobilized very slowly. Given time, the Serbs could have sorted out their problems, clamped down, and formed an effective army. The Germans didn't give them the time, overrunning the country in full blitzkrieg fashion.

The ratings of Yugoslav units also reflect the ethnic problems of the country. The 5-6 infantry divisions are manned by Serbs and Montenegrins. The 4-5-6 infantry divisions are Bosnian, or mixed formations of Serbs and other groups. Albanian, Macedonian, and Slovenian-dominated divisions are 4-6. The Croats comprise the 3-4-6 infantry divisions and the 3-2-8 cavalry division. Yugoslavia had no corps organization, allowing small armies to control divisions directly. The Yugoslav army markers show the formally-organized armies, based on the pre-war army districts. In April 1941, a 3rd Territorial Army existed distinct from the 3rd Army, but this seems to be a less formal organization and I skipped giving it a marker.

Yugoslav infantry divisions were organized on three infantry regiments. Operationally, they often divided into two task forces, so I show these divisions breaking down into two brigades rather than three regiments. Rounding out the regular infantry were four independent regiments, a Guards brigade of two regiments, two "fortress" brigades (shown as static) totaling three regiments, and two mountain regiments.

Yugoslav infantry divisions were both numbered and named, with the names being by far the most important identifier. Balkan Front shows both forms of identification on the counters. Numerous reserve infantry regiments and border guard regiments guarded the Yugoslav frontiers; these are shown as independent units. I don't know the number of one reserve regiment. It's with the regiments on the Albanian border: 334, 335, 337, and 385. I guessed and numbered it 336. The Banat border regiment is a composite unit of independent border battalions located in the Banat. The cavalry divisions contain eight cavalry regiments (the 3rd only had two) plus a few weak motorized and bicycle battalions. Seven more regiments were independent, and two Guards regiments formed a Guards brigade.

Each division had its own artillery regiment, as did each fortress and Guards brigade. In addition, there were a number of independent artillery regiments and battalions. I have factored all the independent battalions into the regiments. Yugoslavia had few tanks, and most of these were either obsolescent or outright obsolete. The two tanks battalions contain the Yugoslav armor, with the 1-0-5 battalion containing French tanks of World War I vintage.

The Yugoslav air force was in better shape than the tank force, although it too had a number of obsolescent models in front-line service. It was quickly overwhelmed by the technically and numerically superior Luftwaffe.

Bulgaria

Unlike Yugoslavia, Bulgaria was not beset by severe ethnic problems. While about a tenth of the population were Turkish Muslims, the rest were Eastern Orthodox ethnic Bulgarians. Bulgaria's history -- winning its independence from the Ottoman Empire -- and its Turkish minority caused Bulgaria to deeply mistrust its neighbor, Turkey. Compounding this mistrust was Bulgaria's desire to annex the remaining European region of Turkey.

Bulgaria's relations with its other neighbors were also poor. Bulgaria was defeated in the Second Balkan War and First World War, losing Macedonia to Serbia (later Yugoslavia) and its Aegean coast to Greece. Although Bulgaria and Yugoslavia sporadically tried to improve relations, Bulgaria sought to regain its lost territories, particularly Macedonia. Bulgaria also claimed the Dobrudja region from Romania, poisoning relations between these two states. (Bulgaria gained part of the Dobrudja in 1940 and even retained it after the war -- the only Axis nation that managed to gain territory from the war.) As Germany was hated and feared by its neighbors after World War I, Bulgaria was the odd man out in the Balkans. When the Axis dominated in the Balkans in 1941, Bulgaria was quick to grab land from its pro-Allied neighbors.

Balkan Front includes about half the Bulgarian Army. The other half, located in the eastern portion of the country, is assumed to be guarding against a possible Turkish intervention. Although Turkey and Greece had notoriously poor relations, both mistrusted the intentions of the Axis toward their territorial integrity. Thus, the Axis could not count on Turkey, with its large army, standing by while Greece was dismembered. Even Germany watched for this possibility and stationed an entire panzer division near the Turkish-Bulgarian border.

The quality of the Bulgarian Army was mixed. The Bulgarians were regarded as good fighters -- Bulgaria occasionally touted itself as the "Prussia of the Balkans" -- but its army was severely restricted following World War I. It escaped from the treaty restrictions only in the late 1930s, and Bulgaria lacked the wealth or resources to build a large, modern army. Also, the Bulgarians often did not maintain divisional integrity, moving regiments from division to division. This hindered the divisions from integrating their elements fully, making them less powerful than they could be.

Although Bulgaria did not fight on the front lines when Germany overran Yugoslavia and Greece, elements of the Bulgarian Army followed behind the German forces and occupied Yugoslav Macedonia and Greek Thrace. In addition, Bulgaria formed a wave of new divisions to garrison the occupied territories. Although officially organized and in place in the period shown in the game, in actuality they were in the process of formation and were not operational except for minimal security tasks. Balkan Front accordingly does not include these units.

Bulgarian infantry divisions usually contained three infantry regiments and one artillery regiment, although some divisions had four infantry regiments. On paper, Bulgaria maintained two cavalry divisions, each with two brigades, but in practice the brigades operated independently. The Bulgarian tank battalion had 50-60 tanks, mostly LT-35s received in 1940 from Germany, plus some Italian L3/33s and British Vickers 6-ton tanks. The battalion expanded to a regiment in 1941 when Germany supplied 40 ex-French R.35s and a handful more LT-35s.

The Bulgarian Air Force was tiny, as Bulgaria lacked the means to purchase advanced aircraft or to build its own. The B.534 unit contains ex-Czech fighters, and the mixed bomber unit consists of ex-Czech SB-2 and MB.200 bombers.

Hungary

Hungary usually isn't considered a Balkan nation, although its history caused it to be involved in Balkan affairs. At the end of World War I, the empire of Austria-Hungary was broken up. Not only did Hungary become an independent country, but non-Hungarian ethnic regions were detached from Hungary and given to the new nations of Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Yugoslavia. In all cases, the new borders were drawn so that very few non-Hungarians were left in Hungary. This meant, however, that sizable Hungarian populations were included in the new nations. These countries often repressed their Hungarian minorities, giving Hungary a pretext for doing what it wanted to do anyway -- regain its lost territory.

The Hungarian Army was organized on a brigade basis during the period covered by the game. An infantry brigade was effectively a division, having two infantry regiments and one artillery regiment, and indeed later in the war the brigades were redesignated divisions. For consistency and proper use in Europa, I show them as divisions from the outset.

Romania

Romania started the war as a pro-Allied country, interested in maintaining the international status quo. On the winning side in World War I, Romania gained the Transylvania region from Hungary, as well as the province of Bessarabia from Russia, when that empire collapsed into civil war. Hungary and Russia's successor, the Soviet Union, thereafter sought to regain these lands. To the south, Bulgaria also laid claim to the Dobrudja, a Romanian territory lying between the Danube River and Black Sea. Any change to the international order meant trouble for Romania.

In 1940, Germany upset the international order. France surrendered to Germany, and British power on continental Europe was eclipsed. The Soviet Union quickly seized its chance and took Bessarabia, reorganizing it as the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic, and the adjoining province of Northern Bukovina, incorporating it into the Ukraine. In the aftermath of this, Hungary and Bulgaria pressed their claims. Bulgaria obtained part of the Dobrudja.

To maintain stability in the region, Germany arranged that Hungary would receive part of Transylvania. In return, Romania would survive as a nation with its remaining territory, if it joined the Axis. Romania joined.

Romania had good relations with Yugoslavia. The former Hungarian province of the Banat had been split between the two countries, but neither was interested in gaining the rest of the region from the other. Although German forces could and did invade Yugoslavia from Romanian soil, Romanian forces did not participate.

Italy

Italy suffered from a major problem in the Balkan campaign and in other campaigns: unrealistic expectations. The Italian government, often motivated by political or prestige considerations, would embark on international adventures without considering the military, political, or geographical realities of the situation. All these factors led them to launch an ill-prepared invasion of Greece, which quickly collapsed in the face of Greek resistance and counterattacks:

• The Italians overestimated the abilities of their forces. Italian divisions usually contained two combat regiments instead of three, and hence were intrinsically weaker than the divisions of other nations.
• They underestimated Greece. The Italians hoped that Greek resistance would collapse quickly, allowing them an easy conquest. Greece, although poor, was a united and proud country, and resisted the threat to its existence fiercely.
• They ignored geography. The only invasion route from Albania ran through a broad mountainous belt, and the Italians attacked in late autumn, at the end of the good weather season. Both factors were guaranteed to slow offensive operations and magnify resistance.

The Soviet Union made a similar set of mistakes when it attacked Finland in late 1939, and suffered embarrassing reverses until its numbers prevailed over the small Finnish forces. Italy attacked without even the advantage of numbers and became mired in a dismal campaign until Germany finally intervened.

Italian divisions were both numbered and named. Often, they were referred to by name alone. Balkan Front shows both forms of identification on the counters. Italian infantry divisions were organized around two infantry regiments and one artillery regiment. These binary divisions thus were inherently weaker than the trinary divisions of other countries. Most infantry had little training for mountain warfare and fared poorly in Greece and Albania.

Many infantry divisions had an attached fascist militia "legion," comprised of Italian blackshirts (Camicie Nere, CCNN). While on paper the legion was the equivalent of a regiment, in practice the blackshirts were of little value. (Fascist nations usually set up armed political forces rival to their regular armed forces, often with different unit names and officer ranks than the regulars. For example, the Italian CCNN called its regiments legions, hearkening back to traditions of the Roman Empire. German Nazis originally had the SA, until Hitler dismantled it, whereupon the SS grew to take its place. Other fascist countries had similar organizations.

Typically, these forces substituted ideology and political fervor for sound military training, and they fared poorly in the field. Even the SS, which gained a reputation for military ability, was very inefficient in the early war years.)

In addition to the foot divisions, the Italians had three autotransportable divisions. These formations had a higher allotment of trucks than did the other infantry divisions, although not enough to fully motorized all elements. In the game, these divisions (the 9th, 10th, and 52nd) have higher movement ratings than the rest of the infantry.

The Italian alpine divisions had two alpine regiments and one artillery regiment each. Well-trained and motivated, they performed better than most of the regular infantry. The Italians had three celere divisions, shown in the game as cavalry. Each had three cavalry regiments, one bersaglieri regiment, and an artillery regiment.

The Italians had three armored divisions, of which two fought in the Balkans. Each had a tank regiment, a bersaglieri regiment, and an artillery regiment. Many Italian tanks were not highly capable compared to German or British tanks, and the 131st Centauro Division is shown as a light armored formation because of this.

The Italians fielded some non-divisional alpine, infantry, and cavalry forces. The most important of these were the bersaglieri. A bersaglieri regiment typically had excellent personnel, and used bicycles, motorcycles, or trucks for transport. The independent bersaglieri in this game are motorcycle troops. I show the Zara bersaglieri battalion as motorized infantry, although one of my researchers claims it was a bicycle unit instead. He may be right, but it isn't certain either way.

Italian artillery forces were usually good to excellent. Although the quality of the equipment varied, the artillerymen were well-trained and capable.

The four Albanian brigades are composite units consisting of various regiments and battalions of Albanians raised by the Italians.

The Italian Air Force suffered from having obsolescent equipment. The Italian industry had trouble building powerful engines -- a problem not solved until Italy began importing and producing under license German engines. Even worse, the Italians drew the wrong conclusions from air combat in the Spanish Civil War. They built fighters emphasizing maneuverability at the expense of firepower and speed. As World War II proved, speed and firepower were the two crucial factors for fighters.

The mixed fighter unit contains Ro.43, Ro.44, CR.32, and CR.42 aircraft, while the mixed bomber unit has SM.79 and SM.81 bombers.

Germany

Italy presented Germany with an unpleasant situation in the Balkans. By invading Greece, the Italians brought the war to a region the Germans wanted to keep stable. Hungary and Romania had already joined their fortunes to Germany, and Yugoslavia was dominated economically, sending its raw materials and agricultural products to Germany in exchange for manufactured goods. Not only did the Italians bring the war to the Balkans, their failure at arms kept the war there. If Germany ignored the situation, the British could establish themselves in Greece and cause problems throughout the Balkans, disrupting Germany's plans.

Germany's plans were big, and they didn't include unrest on the southeastern flank. Instead, Germany planned to attack and conquer the Soviet Union. This required tremendous resources, and Germany couldn't afford to risk problems arising elsewhere. When the winter and spring weather cleared in April 1941, the German blitzkrieg quickly struck down Greece and Yugoslavia, chasing the British off the continent once again. In May, German airborne forces conquered -- with heavy losses -- the island of Crete, removing Britain's last outpost in the Aegean and the Balkans. The invasion of the USSR could start, with no threats on its flanks.

German panzer divisions were well-balanced combined arms forces, consisting of a panzer regiment, two motorized infantry regiments, and an artillery regiment. No enemy division in the Balkans could match their speed or striking power.

German Army motorized divisions contained two motorized infantry regiments and one artillery regiment.

German infantry divisions had three infantry regiments and one artillery regiment. One of these divisions, the 73rd, had undergone extensive training and reequipping for mountain warfare, from 1 Dec. 1940 to 6 Feb. 1941 while stationed in France. Hence, I show it as a mountain division. The 22nd was an air landing division. It missed out on the invasion of Greece, as it was guarding the vital oil fields in Romania. Had the Crete campaign lasted longer, the 22nd likely would have been sent there. The 164th was a Lehr unit, receiving this designation effective 16 Jan. 1940. Lehr designated special units used to instruct troops on improving their combat proficiency, and Lehr units typically were highly skilled. The 164th normally would rate 7-6, and I have bumped it to 8-6 due to its Lehr status.

German light infantry divisions consisted of two infantry regiments and an artillery regiment. They were organized to operate in broken terrain. Note: These units became famed as Jager divisions during the war. At this time the Germans termed them light infantry, not adopting the Jager designation until 1942.

The four static divisions each had two regiments of second-rate infantry, as well as minimal artillery assets. These were raised in 1941 and sent in as occupation forces. Other occupation forces are factored into the 395th OFK (Oberfeldkommando), which is represented as a divisional grouping.

The 538th Border Division controlled the border regiments that guarded Germany's border with Yugoslavia.

The 188th Reserve Mountain Division was a training formation in Austria used against Yugoslavia, taking important border crossings and towns in Slovenia.

The 1st Cavalry Division had four cavalry regiments and an artillery regiment. While it was not sent to the Balkans historically, it was suited for operations in the rough terrain there. I have included it in the forces the Axis player may call on, at a victory point cost, and send to the Balkans. (The Germans moved it to Vienna by mid-April 1941, so it easily could have deployed into the Balkans if needed.)

In the course of research, Shelby Stanton discovered that the Grossdeutschland regiment bore an unusual title during this period of the war: Grossdeutschland Leibregiment der deutschen Volkes(Greater Germany Life Regiment of the German People). Later in the war, it becomes a division and its name is simply Grossdeutschland.

The independent artillery regiments match those in Fire in the East, for the sake of uniformity. In actuality, the Germans would attach and detach artillery battalions in the regiments as the combat situation required. In the Balkans, there were a few more artillery battalions than the Fire in the East regimental strengths accounted for. I have factored these into an available Arko headquarters, the 128th.

The Germans have their usual collection of small, supporting forces. Of these, three deserve notice:

• The Sudost construction regiment is a composite unit of miscellaneous construction forces. Sudost (Southeast) is the name of the German theater for the Balkans.
• The 658th Engineer Battalion was specially trained and organized for operations in the mountains.
• The III/800 Battalion consisted of German Brandenburger troops. Speaking various Balkan languages, its soldiers were used for special operations. In this campaign, its main function falls somewhat outside the scope of the Europa rules: to prevent defeated Yugoslav units from retreating to the mountains and becoming partisans. You can approximate its role through its ZOC ability, which lets it help surround units, and the optional bridge rule also lets it engage in another Brandenburger speciality: taking bridges. The success of this unit in the Balkans directly led to Germany fielding an expanded Brandenburg contingent against the Soviet Union.

The SS had two formations in the Balkans. The Das Reich Division had three motorized infantry regiments and one artillery regiment, all lavishly equipped and supported. Its military training and competence was somewhat low in comparison to its manpower and equipment -- an equivalent but competent Army division would rate 10-10 or even 11-10 instead of its 9-10. The Leibstandarte-SS Adolf Hitler was a special motorized formation the size of a small division. While not officially called a division until later in the war, it qualifies as a divisional grouping.

Luftwaffe ground forces consist of General Goring forces, antiaircraft units, and the XI Flieger Korps. The two Goring units were guarding the Ploesti oil fields in Romania, but they could have quickly reached Yugoslavia and Greece if needed. The combat AA consists of independent light and heavy battalions, which I've factored into available Flak regimental headquarters. The XI Flieger Korps controlled the Luftwaffe airborne forces, the 7th Parachute Division and the Sturm Air Landing Regiment, as well as the transports to carry these forces.

The Luftwaffe air forces show the massive -- for Balkan operations -- air element assigned to the conquest of Yugoslavia and Greece. Europa veterans will notice that some familiar models sport new ratings. With Balkan Front, Paul Dunigan and I took the opportunity to thoroughly reexamine and revise the air unit ratings.

British Empire

Britain faced a daunting situation in the period covered in this game. Until Italy invaded Greece, it was the only unconquered nation still opposing the Axis, as its friends and allies (Poland, Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France) had all fallen victim to German arms. Poorly prepared for war, British industry was still gearing up for war and couldn't yet match the demand for all the tanks, equipment, and aircraft the British needed. Most British forces were in Britain, guarding against a possible German invasion of the island in 1941. The few forces that could be spared were fighting the Italians in Egypt, Libya and East Africa.

When the Italians invaded Greece, the British helped the Greeks to the extent they could, for political reasons. They could cause trouble for the Axis in the Balkans, which they did, but they lacked the forces to protect Greece from a German invasion. As it was, they stripped crucial forces from North Africa in order to send a token force to Greece. The 2nd New Zealander and 6th Australian Divisions had no possibility of defeating the German 12th Army, but they might have stopped Rommel had they stayed in North Africa. In the end, the British forces were chased out of Greece and forced off of Crete, losing many men and almost all their equipment in the process. The New Zealander and Australian divisions each had three infantry brigades plus divisional artillery the equivalent of a brigade. (British brigades typically were the same as other nations' regiments.)

The 1st Armoured Brigade consists of the brigade itself plus supporting arms from the 2nd Armoured Division.

Layforce represents a grouping of British commando units that were available in the theater. The British considered using Layforce for amphibious operations in the Dodecanese Islands, but decided against risking the fledgling commandos there.

MNBDO 1, the 1st Marine Naval Base Defence Organization, is a collection of Royal Marine defense troops and antiaircraft forces.

Like the British Army, the Royal Air Force had little to spare for Greece. The British had some Blenheim IF and IVF models, fighter variants of the Blenheim I and IV bombers, in Greece, but not in sufficient numbers to warrant a counter. The mixed fighter unit represents miscellaneous RAF and Fleet Air Arm fighters, including Gladiators, Fulmars, and Sea Gladiators.

The Wellington IC, I fervently hope, has finally hit upon its final Europa rating (Well 1C, 4NB3 2-9/28). The Wellington was a workhorse bomber for the RAF and could be configured for a variety of missions, from carrying a huge bomb load a short distance to hauling a small load a long ways. Previous Europa games optimized the rating of the "Wimpey" for its typical mission in the campaign under study. This produced a confusing array of ratings from game to game. Paul Dunigan and I have worked out the new ratings, which should be adequate to cover the aircraft across the range of its capabilities.

THE END

I've had my say -- now it's your turn. Play the game, study it, and have fun. Let me know how you like it. May all your cardboard armies win bloodless battles!

More Balkan Front Designer's Notes

Dedication and Acknowledgements
Maps and Counters
Rules
Orders of Battle
Q&A
Errata Sheet