1940

The Greek artillery in Albania

The Greek soldier makes the cover of Life (Dec. 16, 1940)

Events

January

• January 5: Greek boxer, Anton Christoforidis, marks his US debut by defeating Willie Pavlovich in Madison Square Garden, New York.

June

• June 2: With Kleanthis Vikelidis in its roster, Aris is defeated by Panathinaikos (3-1) at the Leoforos Stadium at the final of the Greek Football Cup. The match is played during wartime, on the eve of the allies’ evacuation of Dunkirk.

October

• October 28: Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas replied with the single-word reply "no", when Mussolini demanded occupation rights to strategic Greek sites. Greece officially entered World War II.

November

• November 1: Lieutenant Alexandros Diakos becomes the first Greek officer to die in World War II.
• November 2: The Italian Air Force bombs Ioannina causing civilian casualties.
• November 3: The first Greek units cross the Albanian border in pursuit of the Italian army.
• November 9: After the complete failure of the invasion of Greece by the Italian military, Mussolini replaces General Sebastiano Visconti Prasca with General Ubaldo Soddu, his former Vice-Minister of War.
• November 22: The Greek army on the counter-offensive enters Korytsa in World War II
• November 24: The Greek army "liberates" the town of Moschopolis (known in Albanian as Voskopoja and in Aromanian as Moscopole) of Northern Epirus (Albania) during the counter-offensive operations against the Italians in WWII
• November 27: The Battle of Pogradec commences.
• November 30: The Greek Army enters Pogradec.

December

• December 3: The Greek army liberates Premeti.
• December 5: Colonel Mardochaios Frizis (Μαρδοχαίος Φριζής) is killed near Premeti during the Greek-Italian confrontation. He is the first high ranking officer to fall in battle in World War II.
• December 6: The Greek army liberates Agioi Saranda.
• December 8: The Greek army liberates Argyrokastro.
• December 22: The Greek army liberates Chimara.
• December 22: The Submarine Papanikolis, under the command of Lt.Cdr. Miltiades Iatridis, sinks the Italian sailing vessel Antonietta by ramming in the Adriatic.
• December 24: Submarine RHS Papanikolis, under Lt.Cdr. Miltiades Iatridis, torpedoes and sinks the Italian merchant ship Firenze (3952 BRT) in the Adriatic, off Saseno Island
• December 29: As the situation on the Albanian Front gets worse for the Italian forces, Mussolini replaces General Ubaldo Soddu with General Ugo Cavallero.
• December 29: Submarine RHS Proteus, under Lt.Cdr. Michail Hadjikonstantis, sinks the Italian merchant ship Sardegna in the Adriatic but is sunk itself by Italian war ships.
• December 31: Submarine RHS Katsonis, under Lt.Cdr. Athanasios Spanidis, sinks the Italian merchant ship Quinto in the Adriatic

Births

February

• February 29: His All-Holiness Patriarch Bartholomew I.

March

• March 4: Giorgos Koinousis, songwriter, singer

May

• May 7: Harry Klynn, comedian

June

• June 2: Former King Constantine II of Greece.
• June 2: Dimos Maglaras, athlete

July

• July 4: Anna Fonsou, actress
• July 26: Tolis Voskopoulos, singer

September

• September 7: Sotiris Moustakas, actor

October

• October 28: Poly Panou, popular singer

Unknown

• Spiros Arion, wrestler
• Stelios Skevofilakas, footballer
• Christos Zanteroglou, footballer

Deaths

February

• February 1: Zacharias Papantoniou, writer, poet.

March

• March 26: Spiros Loues, 1896 Olympic Games Marathon winner.

November

• November 1: Lt Alexandros Diakos, first Greek officer to fall in battle in WWII
• Date Unknown: Dimitris Pierrakos, footballer killed in the Battle of Pogradec

December

• December 5: Colonel Mardohaios Frizis, first high ranking officer to fall in battle in World War II.