 The Greek campaign ended with a complete German and Italian victory . The British did not have the military resources to carry out big simultaneous operations in North Africa and the Balkans . Moreover , even had they been able to block the Axis advance , they would have been unable to exploit the situation by a counter @-@ thrust across the Balkans . The British came very near to holding Crete and perhaps other islands that would have provided air support for naval operations throughout the eastern Mediterranean . 
