Greece at War

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The Greco-Italian War was a conflict between Italy and Greece from October 28, 1940 to April 6, 1941. It marked the beginning of the Balkans Campaign of World War II.
The song is "Παιδιά της Ελλάδος Παιδιά" (Paidia tis Ellados Paidia), roughly translated into English as "Ye children of Greece". It became our national song in the winter of 1940 & a reminder of our struggle against the Italian invaders. It goes like this (a free translation by me):
"Wondering in the streets,
the mothers seek their children,
who vouched for victory,
when they left them
at the train station.

Yet, for those who are gone,
and have found glory,
mourning is inappropriate
let us be joyful for them.

Chorus:
Ye, children of Greece,
who fight a harsh war
on the mountains,
we pray to the sweet Virgin,
for your safe return.

I say to the women who love
and wake at their thought
and breathe a sigh,
that the bitterness of parting
and the quiver
are incompatible with the honest Greek women.

Ye girls of Zalongon*,
city-girls or village-girls
though we might hurt,
let us say with pride like the Souli women

Chorus:
Ye, children of Greece,
who fight a harsh war
on the mountains,
we pray to the sweet Virgin,
for your safe return.

With the victory laurels,
we're waiting for your return,
children".
*During our war of independence in 1821, near a mountain called Zalongon in Epirus, a Greek village was attacked by the Turks. The Turkish soldiers slew every male they could find. The women and children to avoid their fate (slavery), they joined hands, they danced their last dance and fell of the edge of a cliff on the mountain of Zalongon. There's a song named "the dance of Zalongon" written to honour these women who threw their kids of the edge of the cliff and then leaped to their own deaths and goes like this:
"Have joy and health, ill-fated world. Have joy and health, mountains and streams. But just as the fish can't live on sand, the women of Souli can't live without freedom".

Channel: People & Blogs
Uploaded: October 28, 2006 at 5:38 pm
Author: apmoy70

Length: 00:04:27
Rating: 4.82
Views: 85138

Tags: Greece Italy War October 1940 WW2

Video Comments:
parabat7 (January 2, 2009 at 10:23 am)
Not quite sir,

The Germans kept a professional force until the middle of the Belgo-Dutch-France campaign - roughly May 30 1940. The British in WW2 did not conscript until February 1940. The USA did not draft until end January 1942.
By the of WW2 conscripts but unlike WW1 most countries delayed conscription as long as tey could.
paokole2 (December 27, 2008 at 12:40 pm)
Germans + Italians + Greeks = Best Friends, let's forget the bad past :)
Stopfoolinplz (December 27, 2008 at 4:11 am)
Xaxaxa Ainte re mlk Zis pou kaneis kai comment noumero!xaxaxaxaxaxaxa

by the way what Koxakis said is right,plus Italy
would have engaged in war no matter what,if the werent sinking Elli they would bombard an island or town or something like that anyway.Moussolini was decided for war with Greece and nothing else,something that Greek Army officers were aware off.Thats why they builded and kept such a solid,heroic defense.
MolossianZagori (December 26, 2008 at 3:01 pm)
My father said the Italians provided him with food and medicine when they arrived. Go figure!
greekkolindros (December 24, 2008 at 4:09 pm)
ZHTO H ELLADA
giannis116 (December 17, 2008 at 2:48 pm)
The Greeks didn't fighting like lions..
the lions are fighting like Greeks..
starbucks3954 (December 3, 2008 at 10:49 am)
Not true of course.
kerberosdoggie (November 30, 2008 at 1:46 am)
Ameroffsky,

Douglas Porch ? Now there's a neatral author :))

Your theory and his) sounds like the excuses the Arabs give when they get their asses whipped by Israel :))) LOL

Mwahahahahahahahahaha !!!!!!!!

PS

Hezbollah SUCKZ !!!!!
ameroffsky (December 7, 2008 at 10:24 am)
I agree that hezbollah sucks, but who whipped who's ass last time(2006)?

I believe nay I know that hezbollah imposed a new equation fighting Israel to a standstill
I also know that Israel has NOT recovered from the psychological impact of the 2006 war when for once it could not impose the terms it wanted
Israel has always failed to grasp Lebanon's complexity. That's why this little country so small yet so tempestuous proved to be the theatre of Israel's greatest failures: 1985 2000 and 2006
kerberosdoggie (November 30, 2008 at 1:39 am)
Haha, ameroffsky ! Your theory sounds like the Arabs against Israel ! LOL

At least the Greeks fought back ! :))))

Mwahahahahahahaha !!!!!!