 After the Allies ' defeat , the decision to send British forces into Greece faced fierce criticism in Britain . Field Marshal Alan Brooke , Chief of the Imperial General Staff during World War II , considered intervention in Greece to be " a definite strategic blunder " , as it denied Wavell the necessary reserves to complete the conquest of Italian Libya , or to withstand Erwin Rommel 's Afrika Korps March offensive . It prolonged the North African Campaign , which might have been concluded during 1941 . 
