in 1940, greece was invaded by italy, but defeated the invasion. this was the first victory of an allied country against an axis power. after this, hitler decided to attack greece sooner than he had planned. germany invaded on 6 april 1940 and captured greece's second-largest city of thessaloniki on 9 april, while athens was captured on 27 april. most fighting ended with the battle of crete. greece suffered major damages in the war.