{"podcast":{"title":"History of the Second World War","slug":"history-of-the-second-world-war-121541","podcast_index_feed_id":121541,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/ADV9720598643","website_url":"historyofthesecondworldwar.com","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/21bf4060-5dd8-11ec-9e7b-cf638f607a7e/image/a0bffe858b2be3f366512de624384db7.jpg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"Wesley Livesay","episode_count":358,"summary":"History of the Second World War is a weekly podcast which will cover World War 2, beginning with the tumultuous years after the First World War, continuing into the descent into war during the 1930s, through the war years, and then into the post war aftermath.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-23T14:21:21.272414+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/history-of-the-second-world-war-121541"},"episode":{"title":"249: Greece Pt. 1 - Plans and Preparations","slug":"249-greece-pt-1-plans-and-preparations","published_at":"2026-02-23T06:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/history-of-the-second-world-war-121541/249-greece-pt-1-plans-and-preparations","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/history-of-the-second-world-war-121541","url":"https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/op3.dev/e/rss.pdrl.fm/45c474/tracking.swap.fm/track/YfZO4tERxneauNcW9Fgn/mgln.ai/e/211/traffic.megaphone.fm/ARML1898864100.mp3?updated=1771809321","audio_url":"https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/op3.dev/e/rss.pdrl.fm/45c474/tracking.swap.fm/track/YfZO4tERxneauNcW9Fgn/mgln.ai/e/211/traffic.megaphone.fm/ARML1898864100.mp3?updated=1771809321","summary":"In October 1940, Mussolini launched an invasion of Greece from Albania, determined to secure Italian expansion in the Balkans before any peace could be negotiated. This episode examines the lead-up to the Italo-Greek War, beginning with Greece under the Metaxas dictatorship and its efforts to build up military strength despite limited industrial capacity. We explore Italy's decision to target Greece after delays in North Africa, the flawed assumptions Italian leaders held about Greek willingness to fight, and the fabricated provocations used to justify the invasion. When the Italian ultimatum was delivered at 3AM on October 28th, Metaxas famously rejected it, and Greece mobilized with unexpected unity as political divisions evaporated overnight. The episode follows the opening days of the invasion, hampered by torrential rains and mountainous terrain, culminating in the Battle of Kalpaki on November 2nd where Greek artillery devastated Italian tank attacks. By November 8th, the Italian offensive had completely stalled, forcing a major reorganization and change of command that set the stage for further failures to come. Contact advertising@airwavemedia.com to advertise on History of the Second World War. History of the Second World War is part of the Airwave Media podcast network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ⁠⁠⁠megaphone.f⁠m Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices","meta_description":"In October 1940, Mussolini launched an invasion of Greece from Albania, determined to secure Italian expansion in the Balkans before any peace could be ne…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1655,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/history-of-the-second-world-war-121541/episodes/249-greece-pt-1-plans-and-preparations/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/history-of-the-second-world-war-121541/249-greece-pt-1-plans-and-preparations.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}