The Axis attack begann on 28th October 1940,when Italian troops attacked and overran the Greek Border Guards outposts in Hepirus and west Macedonia,after the Italian Amassador on Greece,Gracci,essentially blackmailed the Greek Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas by requesting his permission on the deploying of Italian troops into Greece's territory.Initially,Italian Army made big gains,but Greek troops forestalled their offensive and even launched a counter-offensive on November 1940,overthrowing the Italians and capturing several ground into the Italian-occupied Albania. The situation worsened with the arrival of British troops on February 1941,so the Germans were forced to attack Yugoslavia and Greece,causing the collapse of both countries