Perilous Commitments: Britain's Involvement in Greece and Crete 1940-41 [Hardcover]

Matthew Willingham (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 30, 2005

This book is concerned with the British military intervention in Greece and the subsequent defense of, and evacuation from Crete, outlining a comprehensive appraisal of events and is the first definitive guide to the whole Grecian conflict in World War II. The decision to defend Greece was a contentious one and the motives behind sending British forces to Greece are carefully explored. The political rhetoric concerning intervention in Greece is unravelled where Churchill, Eden and Wavell all played a fundamental part in the final decision. The battle for Crete quickly followed the evacuation of Greece when German paratroops descended, and this battle encapsulated the Allied spirit of resistance; Hitler had experienced a number of easy victories until the stubborn defence of Crete. Also covered is a study of the repercussions of the Allied retreat and the conditions under German occupation.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Achieved a Degree in History using Britain's involvement in Greece and Crete as the focus of his dissertation. This is his first book published by Spellmount.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 294 pages
• Publisher: Spellmount (September 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1862272360
• ISBN-13: 978-1862272361
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,596,213 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Overview of a Little Understood Battle, April 26, 2006

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Perilous Commitments: Britain's Involvement in Greece and Crete 1940-41 (Hardcover)

Here is America relatively little is known about the battles the British fought in Greece. We know that for some strange reason Churchill took away some of the divisions that were needed to fight Rommel and sent them to Greece. After the defeat in Greece they went to Crete where they got hit pretty hard by the Germans and were forced to leave there as well. But why did Churchill make such an appearantly stupid decision? There is a feeling that this was just another example of his ill-founded thoughts about that area being the 'soft underbelly of Europe.'

As this book points out, the story is far more complex than that. In the early stages of the war Britain sent diplomats around the circumferance of Germany and entered into treaties and other agreements in an attempt to stop German expansion. One of these was to guarantee Greek independance. I like the title of the book 'Perilous Commitments.' These comitments were indeed perilous.

Needless to say this didn't stop either Hitler or Mussolini. Mussolini wanted fame, glory, territory, and military victories. He sent forces into Greece for an easy victory. It didn't work out that way. The Greeks defeated the Italians, and then the Germans came in.

The British forces were kicked out of Greece, consolidated on Crete and fought a particularly and vicious battle before being withdrawn back to Egypt.

This book has the most detailed story of the reasons for the battles and the details of the battle. It fills in a little known area of the titantic struggle that was World War II.