The purpose of this study is to describe the German campaigns in the Balkans and the seizure of Crete within the framework of Hitler'Des military policy during the second year of World War II. The study is the first of a series dealing with large-scale German military opera tions in Eastern Europe; other historical studies such as Germany and Finland Allies and Enemies in World War II, The Axis Cam paign in Russia, 1941-45: A Strategic Survey, and German Army GroXip Operations in Russia will follow."The German Campaigns in the Balkans" is written from the Ger man point of view and is based mainly on original German records and postwar military writings by Dr. Helmut Greiner, General Burkhart H. Mueller-Hillebrand, and the late General Hans von Greiffenberg. The lessons and conclusions following each narrative have been drawn from the same German sources. (These records and manuscripts are listed in appendix III.) Material taken from U.S. and Allied sources has been integrated into the text, but specific cross references have been made only in those instances where these sources deviate from the German documents.The work of preparing this study in English, which consisted of translating basic German records and manuscripts, performing addi tional research, expanding and then rewriting the narratives with an eye for continuity and factual data, was done chiefly by Mr. George E. Blau of the Foreign Studies Branch, Special Studies Division, Office of the Chief of Military History. In the process of presenting the material, every effort has been made to give a balanced account of German strategy and operations in the Balkans during the spring of 1941.