Diggers and Greeks

Much has been written about the ill-fated Australian campaigns in Greece and Crete during World War II, but this book is the first account from the perspective of the Greeks. This compelling history combines details of the campaigns, as well as responses from Greeks and Cretans to the Allied forces on their soil. While miscommunication between the Greek General Staff and the Allied forces was frequent, this study reveals that situation on the ground was far more complex: the personal relations that developed between Australian soldiers and Greek civilians and soldiers were sometimes hostile but in other cases developed into friendships that lasted decades after the war had finished. Elucidating why the campaigns on mainland Greece and Crete compelled people to behave in altruistic ways—even when it meant placing themselves in danger—this insightful chronicle proves that it is possible to form successful relations with people of a completely different culture in conflict situations, and that those relationships are important to the well-being of all involved.

Much has been written about the ill-fated Australian campaigns in Greece and Crete during World War II, but this book is the first account from the perspective of the Greeks. This compelling history combines details of the campaigns, as well as responses from Greeks and Cretans to the Allied forces on their soil. While miscommunication between the Greek General Staff and the Allied forces was frequent, this study reveals that situation on the ground was far more complex: the personal relations that developed between Australian soldiers and Greek civilians and soldiers were sometimes hostile but in other cases developed into friendships that lasted decades after the war had finished. Elucidating why the campaigns on mainland Greece and Crete compelled people to behave in altruistic ways—even when it meant placing themselves in danger—this insightful chronicle proves that it is possible to form successful relations with people of a completely different culture in conflict situations, and that those relationships are important to the well-being of all involved.

Maria Hill is a historian, an educational consultant, and the first Greek-Australian to write about the Australian campaigns in Greece and Crete. She is a visiting fellow at the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra, Australia, and the coauthor of Contested Spaces: The Historiography of the Arab-Israeli Conflict.