title: A Broken Frame

text: Writing in "Smash Hits", Peter Silverton observed that "A Broken Frame", in contrast to the group's early post-Clarke singles which he thought showed "a lack of purpose", "makes a virtue of their tinkly-bonk whimsy". In contrast, "Melody Maker" wrote that, although "ambitious and bold", ""A Broken Frame" – as its name suggests – marks the end of a beautiful dream", a comment on the departure of main songwriter Clarke. Reviewer Steve Sutherland considered the songs "daft aspirations to art", the album's musical and thematic "larcenies" sounding like "puerile infatuations papering over anonymity". At the same time, Sutherland acknowledged that the group's increasing complexity "sounds less the result of exterior persuasion than an understandable, natural development", although he finally concluded that Depeche Mode remain (in contrast to Clarke's new group Yazoo) "essentially vacuous".


title: A Broken Frame

text: The comments of "Noise!" magazine's "DH" (most likely "Noise!" contributor Dave Henderson) showed greater prescience. "DH" said that the album "falls together well and shows we can expect a lot more from the clean cut quartet", adding "[a]t times it reaches high points far exceeding their first album."


title: A Broken Frame

text: In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Ned Raggett described "A Broken Frame" as "a notably more ambitious effort than the pure pop/disco of the band's debut", with much of the album "forsaking earlier sprightliness... for more melancholy reflections about love gone wrong". He added: "More complex arrangements and juxtaposed sounds, such as the sparkle of breaking glass in 'Leave in Silence', help give this underrated album even more of an intriguing, unexpected edge."


title: A Broken Frame

text: In 1990, while promoting their album "Violator", songwriter Martin Gore lamented parts of the album, saying, "I regret all that sickly boy-next-door stuff of the early days... musically "A Broken Frame" was a mish-mash".


title: A Broken Frame

text: Despite being a photograph, the cover artwork is intended to resemble a painting. It depicts a woman cutting grain in an East Anglian field, near Duxford in Cambridgeshire. It was taken by Brian Griffin (who had previously taken the cover photograph for "Speak & Spell" and press photos for the band) using a mixture of natural and artificial lighting. Griffin cited as inspirations the socialist realism of Soviet Russia, especially the work of Kazimir Malevich, and German Romanticism. Griffin has displayed on his website a gallery of alternative images from the same shoot. Later releases of the album on vinyl (2007) and compact disc (2009) feature slightly different takes of the shot. It was also featured on the cover of "Life"s 1990 edition of "World's Best Photographs 1980–1990".


title: A Broken Frame

text: The tour began in October 1982 in Chippenham, England. The jaunt eventually reached 12 countries, which included the group's first shows in Asia, before wrapping up with a one-off festival appearance in Schüttorf, West Germany, in May 1983. A tour in support of the act's subsequent studio release, "Construction Time Again", followed in September.


title: A Broken Frame

text: Selected tracks from the 25 October 1982 show at the Hammersmith Odeon in London have been published on the "Get the Balance Right!", "Everything Counts" and "Love, in Itself" limited-edition 12-inch singles.


title: A Broken Frame

text: In 2015, Greek synth-pop duo Marsheaux released a complete cover version of "A Broken Frame" on Undo Records. While the reviewer for "Release Magazine" wrote that this version was not "anything essential" but well done, other reviews were more detailed. "The Electricity Club" found influences of And One in the cover of "The Sun & the Rainfall" and concluded that Marsheaux had "used unconventional sounds and vocals to make this record their own". Reviews from Germany noted that Marsheaux had elaborated on the assets and downsides of the original release. According to "Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung", the kitschy sides of the early Depeche Mode album were deliberately uncovered in tracks like "The Meaning of Love", while the "Sonic Seducer" lauded Marsheaux's darker and slower interpretation of this song.


title: John Buscema

text: John Buscema (; ; born Giovanni Natale Buscema, December 11, 1927 – January 10, 2002) was an American comic book artist and one of the mainstays of Marvel Comics during its 1960s and 1970s ascendancy into an industry leader and its subsequent expansion to a major pop-culture conglomerate. His younger brother Sal Buscema is also a comic book artist.


title: John Buscema

text: Buscema is best known for his run on the series "The Avengers" and "The Silver Surfer", and for over 200 stories featuring the sword-and-sorcery hero Conan the Barbarian. In addition, he pencilled at least one issue of nearly every major Marvel title, including long runs on two of the company's top magazines, "Fantastic Four" and "Thor".


title: John Buscema

text: Born in Brooklyn, New York City, from Sicilian parents who emigrated from Pozzallo, Ragusa, John Buscema showed an interest in drawing at an early age, copying comic strips such as "Popeye". In his teens, he developed an interest in both superhero comic books and such adventure comic strips as Hal Foster's "Tarzan" and "Prince Valiant", Burne Hogarth's "Tarzan", Alex Raymond's "Flash Gordon", and Milton Caniff's "Terry and the Pirates". He showed an interest in commercial illustration of the period, by such artists as N. C. Wyeth, Norman Rockwell, Dean Cornwell, Coby Whitmore, Albert Dorne, and Robert Fawcett.


title: John Buscema

text: Buscema graduated from Manhattan's High School of Music and Art. He took night lessons at Pratt Institute as well as life drawing classes at the Brooklyn Museum. While training as a boxer, he began painting portraits of boxers and sold some cartoons to "The Hobo News". Seeking work as a commercial illustrator while doing various odd jobs, Buscema found himself instead entering the comic book field in 1948, landing a staff job under editor-in-chief and art director Stan Lee at Timely Comics, the forerunner of Marvel Comics. The Timely "bullpen", as the staff was called, included such fellow staffers as established veterans Syd Shores, Carl Burgos, Mike Sekowsky, George Klein, and Marty Nodell. Fellow newcomer Gene Colan, hired roughly two months earlier, recalled that "... John never seemed very happy in comics ... there always seemed to be something else he really wanted to do."


title: John Buscema

text: His first recorded credit is penciling the four-page story "Till Crime Do You Part" in Timely's "Lawbreakers Always Lose" #3 (Aug. 1948). He contributed to the "real-life" dramatic series "True Adventures" and "Man Comics" (the premiere issue of which sported one of Buscema's earliest recorded comic book covers), as well as to "Cowboy Romances", "Two-Gun Western" (for which he drew at least one story of the continuing character the Apache Kid), "Lorna the Jungle Queen", and "Strange Tales". Until the bullpen was dissolved a year-and-a-half later, as comic books in general and superhero comics in particular continued their post-war fade in popularity, Buscema penciled and inked in a variety of genres, including crime fiction and romance fiction.


title: John Buscema

text: Buscema married in 1953. He continued to freelance for Timely, by now known as Atlas Comics, as well as for the publishers Ace Comics, Hillman Periodicals, Our Publications/Orbit, Quality Comics, St. John Publications, and Ziff-Davis.


title: John Buscema

text: Buscema's mid-1950s work includes Dell Comics' "Roy Rogers Comics" #74–91 (Feb. 1954 – July 1955) and subsequent "Roy Rogers and Trigger" #92–97 and #104–108 (Aug. 1955 – Jan. 1956 & Aug.–Dec. 1956); and the Charlton Comics series "Ramar of the Jungle" and "Nature Boy" — the latter, Buscema's first superhero work, with a character created by himself and Superman co-creator Jerry Siegel.


title: John Buscema

text: Buscema next produced a series of Western, war, and sword and sandal film adaptations for Dell's "Four Color" series. Buscema recalled, "I did a bunch of their movie books ... that was a lot of fun. I worked from stills on those, except for "The Vikings". ... I think one of the best books I ever did was "Sinbad the Sailor"."


title: John Buscema

text: He drew at least one issue of the radio, film, and TV character the Cisco Kid for Dell in 1957, as well as one- to eight-page biographies of every U.S. president through Dwight Eisenhower for that company's one-shot "Life Stories of American Presidents".


title: John Buscema

text: During a late 1950s downturn in the comics industry, Buscema drew occasional mystery, fantasy, and science-fiction stories for Atlas Comics' "Tales to Astonish", "Tales of Suspense", and "Strange Worlds", and American Comics Group's "Adventures into the Unknown", and "Forbidden Worlds" before leaving comics to do freelance commercial art. He began a freelance position for the New York City advertising firm the Chaite Agency, which employed such commercial artists as Bob Peak and Frank McCarthy.


title: John Buscema

text: Buscema spent approximately eight years in the commercial-art field, freelancing for the Chaite Agency and the studio Triad, doing a variety of assignments: layouts, storyboards, illustrations, paperback book covers, etc. in a variety of media. Buscema called this time "quite a learning period for me in my own development of techniques".


title: John Buscema

text: He returned to comic books in 1966 as a regular freelance penciller for Marvel Comics, debuting over Jack Kirby layouts on the "Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D." story in "Strange Tales" #150 (Nov. 1966), followed by three "Hulk" stories in "Tales to Astonish" #85–87 (Nov. 1966 – Jan. 1967). He then settled in as regular penciller of "The Avengers", which would become one of his signature series, with #41 (June 1967). "Avengers" #49–50, featuring Hercules and inked by Buscema, are two of his "best-looking [issues] of that period", said comics historian and one-time Marvel editor-in-chief Roy Thomas, who wrote those issues. Thomas and Buscema introduced new versions of the Black Knight and the Vision during their collaboration on "The Avengers".


title: John Buscema

text: In order to adapt to the Marvel Comics style of superhero adventure, Buscema "synthesized the essence of [Jack] Kirby's supercharged action figures, harrowing perspectives, monolithic structures, mega-force explosions, and mythological planetscapes into a formula that he instantly integrated into his own superbly crafted vision," wrote comics artist and historian Jim Steranko. "The process brought Buscema's art to life in a way that it had never been before. Anatomically balanced figures of Herculean proportions stalked, stormed, sprawled, and savaged their way across Marvel's universe like none had previously".


title: John Buscema

text: Buscema would pencil an average of two comics a month in collaboration with such inkers as George Klein, Frank Giacoia, Dan Adkins, Joe Sinnott, his younger brother Sal Buscema, Tom Palmer, and, occasionally, Marvel production manager and sometime inker-cartoonist John Verpoorten. John Buscema named Frank Giacoia, Sal Buscema, and Tom Palmer as his favorite inkers.


title: John Buscema

text: Among Buscema's works during this period fans and historians call the Silver Age of comic books are "The Avengers" #41–62 (June 1967 – March 1969) and "The Avengers Annual" #2 (Sept. 1968); the first eight issues of "The Sub-Mariner" (May–Dec. 1968); "The Amazing Spider-Man" #72–73, 76–81, 84–85 (ranging from June 1969 – June 1970 providing layouts finished by either John Romita Sr. or Jim Mooney), and two issues he himself finished over Romita layouts. Buscema drew the first appearance of the Prowler in "The Amazing Spider-Man" #78 (Nov. 1969).


title: John Buscema

text: In August 1968, Buscema and Stan Lee launched a new title, "The Silver Surfer". That series about a philosophical alien roaming the world trying to understand both the divinity and the savagery of humanity was a personal favorite of Marvel editor-in-chief Stan Lee, who scripted. Buscema penciled 17 of its 18 issues — the first seven as a 25¢ "giant-size" title at a time when comics typically cost 12¢. "Beautifully drawn by John Buscema, this comic book represented an attempt to upgrade the medium with a serious character of whom Lee had grown very fond," assessed comics historian Les Daniels. Roy Thomas said Buscema considered "Silver Surfer" #4 (Feb. 1969), featuring a battle between the Silver Surfer and Thor, "as the highpoint of his Marvel work". Characters Buscema co-created in "The Silver Surfer" include the long-running arch-demon Mephisto in issue #3 (Dec. 1968).


title: John Buscema

text: Toward the end of the decade, Buscema drew some fill-in issues of superhero series and returned to familiar 1950s genres with a spate of supernatural mystery stories in "Chamber of Darkness" and "Tower of Shadows", and romance tales in "My Love" and "Our Love". He then returned to his signature series "The Avengers" for 11 issues inked by Tom Palmer.


title: John Buscema

text: The creative team of Roy Thomas and John Buscema introduced new characters such as Arkon in "The Avengers" #75 (April 1970), Red Wolf in #80 (Sept. 1970), and the Squadron Supreme in #85 (Feb. 1971). With Jack Kirby's departure from Marvel in 1970, Buscema succeeded him on both of Kirby's titles: "Fantastic Four" (penciling issues #107–141, following John Romita Sr.) and "Thor" (#182–259). He additionally launched the feature "Black Widow" in "Amazing Adventures" vol. 2, #1 (Aug. 1970).


title: John Buscema

text: Marvel editor-in-chief Stan Lee, who collaborated with Buscema on many stories up to this time, wrote,


title: John Buscema

text: Buscema began penciling "Conan the Barbarian" with #25 (April 1973) following Barry Smith's celebrated run, and debuted as the Conan artist of the black-and-white comics-magazine omnibus "Savage Sword of Conan" with issue #1 (Aug. 1974). He would eventually contribute to more than 100 issues of each title, giving him one of the most prolific runs for an artist on a single character. He additionally drew the "Conan" Sunday and daily syndicated newspaper comic strip upon its premiere in 1978, and even contributed some storyboard illustrations for the 1982 Conan movie, as well as painting four covers for the Conan magazines. In 2010, Comics Bulletin ranked Buscema's work on "Conan the Barbarian" seventh on its list of the "Top 10 1970s Marvels".


title: John Buscema

text: For about ten years, he would produce an average three to four books' worth of pencils a month, such as "Nova" (1976) and "Ms. Marvel" (1977). In addition to his regular assignments he would pencil covers and fill-in issues of titles including "Captain America", "Captain Britain" (Marvel UK), "Daredevil", "The Frankenstein Monster", "Howard the Duck", "Master of Kung Fu", "Red Sonja" and "Warlock". He also drew a story for the science-fiction anthology "Worlds Unknown".


title: John Buscema

text: Buscema contributed as well to Marvel's black-and-white comics magazines, including the features "Ka-Zar" in "Savage Tales" #1 (May 1971) and "Bloodstone" in "Rampaging Hulk" #1 (Jan. 1977), and "Doc Savage" #1 and 3 (Aug. 1975, Jan. 1976). Other magazine work ran the gamut from horror ("Dracula Lives!", "Monsters Unleashed", "Tales of the Zombie") to humor ("Crazy", "Pizzaz").


title: John Buscema

text: Buscema left the "Thor" title for a time to launch the Marvel version of the Edgar Rice Burroughs character Tarzan in 1977. Other licensed projects include a 72-page "The Wizard of Oz" movie adaptation in an oversized "Treasury Edition" format with DeZuniga inking. For Power Records, which produced children's book-and-record sets, Buscema drew "Star Trek" and Conan the Barbarian comics. He contributed some superhero drawings for "Pro", the NFL official magazine (1970), and penciled some chapters of the first issue of "Marvel Comics Super Special" featuring the rock group Kiss (1977).


title: John Buscema

text: In 1978, small-press publisher Sal Quartuccio released "The Art of John Buscema", a retrospective that included an interview, previously unpublished sketches and drawings, and a cover that was also sold as a poster.


title: John Buscema

text: Buscema capped off the decade penciling writer Doug Moench's three-issue Weirdworld epic-fantasy tale "Warriors of the Shadow Realm" in "Marvel Super Special" #11–13 (June-Oct. 1979). Pacific Comics released an accompanying portfolio of six signed, colored plates from the story.


title: John Buscema

text: In the mid-1970s, Buscema ran the John Buscema Art School, which advertised for students in the pages of many Marvel titles. Stan Lee made appearances as a guest lecturer at Buscema's school, and some of the school's graduates (including Bob Hall and Bruce Patterson) went on to become professional cartoonists. Buscema later said that teaching the class was "very gratifying" but that having to make the 60-mile drive after a day's work was too exhausting, and ultimately forced him to give it up. Buscema then collaborated with Lee on the book "How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way" (Marvel Fireside Books, 1978), a primer on comic book art and storytelling based on the comic art classes Buscema had given a few years prior, and has remained in print for over 25 years, in its 33rd printing as of 2007.


title: John Buscema

text: After drawing the first issue of "The Savage She-Hulk" (Feb. 1980), Buscema abandoned regular superhero work in order to spearhead art duties on all three Conan titles. The popularity of the character spurred the release of a Conan movie in 1982; Buscema provided pencils and inks for a 48-page movie adaptation.


title: John Buscema

text: He continued to tackle other high-profile projects such as a Silver Surfer story for "Epic Illustrated" #1 (Spring 1980), a King Arthur story in "Marvel Preview" #22 (Summer 1980), the St. Francis of Assisi biography "Francis, Brother of the Universe" (1980), the second "Superman and Spider-Man" team-up (1981), and an adaptation of the 1981 movie "Raiders of the Lost Ark".


title: John Buscema

text: He left "King Conan" in 1982 after nine issues, although he remained with Marvel's Robert E. Howard franchise with a revival of the "Kull" series for 10 issues, and left "The Savage Sword of Conan" in 1984 with #101 with a series of stories that he plotted himself. After pencilling the "Conan the Destroyer" movie adaptation in 1984 and the "Conan of the Isles" graphic novel in 1987, he left "Conan the Barbarian" with #190 in 1987, ending a 14-year association with the character.


title: John Buscema

text: After nearly five years away from superheroes, except for the first two issues of the X-Men-related, four-issue miniseries "Magik" (Dec. 1983 – March 1984), Buscema returned to familiar ground as regular penciller on "The Avengers" from #255–300 (May 1985 – Feb. 1989). He was regular penciller on "Fantastic Four" for its 300th issue, during a 15-issue stint from #296–309 (Nov. 1986 – Dec. 1987). Additionally, he fit in the three-issue film adaptation "Labyrinth" (Nov. 1986 – Jan. 1987) and the four-issue miniseries "Mephisto" (April–July 1987), starring a character he created with Stan Lee in "The Silver Surfer".


title: John Buscema

text: Buscema reteamed with Lee on the Silver Surfer himself with the 1988 graphic novel "Silver Surfer: Judgment Day", self-inked and done entirely as full-page panels. That year he and inker Klaus Janson drew a Wolverine solo feature in the biweekly anthology "Marvel Comics Presents", followed by self-inked Wolverine series in that title. He pencilled the first 14 issues (Nov. 1988 – mid-Nov. 1989) of the first Wolverine ongoing series, self-inked on #7-8. Bill Sienkiewicz, who inked the last five issues of that run, recalled Buscema's pencil work as "the sturdiest foundation an inker or an embellisher could possibly hope to build on, and their beauty was not in their attention to fastidiously rendered minutiae, but instead were marvels of deceptive simplicity. Each page an example of grace, elegance and power."


title: John Buscema

text: Buscema began his sixth decade in the field by joining Roy Thomas for a return to "The Savage Sword of Conan" with #191 (Nov. 1991) for a 20-issue run. "Conan the Rogue", a graphic novel Buscema plotted, pencilled, inked, and colored over a period of five years in his spare time appeared that same year. He both penciled and inked the graphic novel "" (Nov. 1993).


title: John Buscema

text: Buscema returned to crime fiction with "The Punisher War Zone" #23–30 (Jan.–Aug. 1994, self-inking #26–29), that title's 1993 summer annual, and the 1994 graphic novel "A Man Named Frank", a parallel-universe Punisher Western tale. He pencilled the Punisher portions of 1994's "Archie Meets the Punisher" team-up. No longer attached to a regular series after his "Punisher" run, he penciled and inked "The Avengers Annual" #23 (1994) and five more black-and-white Conan adventures, serving as that Marvel franchise's final artist on "The Savage Sword of Conan" with #235 (July 1995) and on the short-lived spin-off "Conan the Savage" with #10 (May 1996). Through 1999, he penciled a variety of superhero comics; both penciled and inked a black-and-white short story for "Shadows and Light" (1998); and made a final return to Conan with the "Death Covered in Gold" three-issue miniseries (1999).


title: John Buscema

text: Buscema worked with DC Comics for the first time in 2000, initially doing both pencils and inks on a "Batman Black and White" short story in "" #7 (Sept. 2000). He reunited with Stan Lee on the 2001 one-shot "Just Imagine Stan Lee and John Buscema Creating Superman".


title: John Buscema

text: He finished the pencils on 2003's "Superman: Blood of my Ancestors", begun by Gil Kane, who had since died, and had just signed on for a five-issue miniseries with Roy Thomas, "JLA: Barbarians", though he died after finishing the first issue.


title: John Buscema

text: An 11 x 17-inch lithograph print of the late 1960s/early 1970s Avengers, penciled by Buscema and painted in watercolor by Alex Ross for the publisher Dynamic Forces, was Buscema's last professional work.


title: John Buscema

text: Buscema's passion for drawing was such that he continued to draw and sketch in his spare time, often on the back of comic book art pages, and these images form a considerable body of work in their own right. His brother Sal Buscema recalled,


title: John Buscema

text: Buscema, who lived in Port Jefferson, New York, on Long Island, at the time of his death, was married to Dolores Buscema, with whom he had a son, John Jr., and a daughter, Dianne. His granddaughter Stephanie Buscema is a freelance illustrator and cartoonist, who started out as an inker for her grandfather.


title: John Buscema

text: Buscema was diagnosed with stomach cancer, and died on January 10, 2002, at the age of 74. He was cremated with an artist's pen in his hand.


title: R/antiwork

text: r/antiwork is a subreddit associated with contemporary labor movements, critique of work, and the anti-work movement. The forum's slogan reads: "Unemployment for all, not just the rich!" Posts on the forum commonly describe employees' negative experiences at work, dissatisfaction with working conditions, and unionization. Various actions that have been promoted on the subreddit include a consumer boycott of Black Friday as well as the submission of fake jobs applications to the Kellogg Company after the company announced plans to replace 1,400 striking workers during the 2021 Kellogg's strike. The popularity of r/antiwork increased in 2020 and 2021, and the subreddit gained 900,000 subscribers in 2021 alone, accumulating nearly 1,700,000 subscribers by the end of the year. It is often associated with other ideologically similar subreddits such as r/latestagecapitalism. r/antiwork has been compared to the Occupy Wall Street movement due to the subreddit's intellectual foundations and decentralized ethos"."


title: R/antiwork

text: The subreddit was originally founded as a forum for discussion of anti-work ideology within post-left anarchism. However, following its rapid growth, the subreddit has come to represent a broader tent of left-wing politics centered on discussion of working conditions and labor activism. On January 25, 2022, one of the subreddit's moderators, Doreen Ford, participated in an interview with Fox News anchor Jesse Watters. The interview was overwhelmingly criticized on Reddit and other social media platforms, which prompted the subreddit to shut down temporarily.


title: R/antiwork

text: r/antiwork was created in 2013 as a forum for discussion of anti-work thought within post-left anarchism. Its early years were shaped by Doreen Ford, a moderator on the subreddit since 2013. In 2014, Ford was writing a blog called AbolishWork.com. Until 2017, Ford worked at a series of retail jobs for a decade, which she described as "miserable". In 2017, Ford quit working in retail to work with animals, mainly dogs, on the advice of her grandmother. As of 2021, she earns a living through dog walking, pet sitting, and through crowdfunding on her Patreon.


title: R/antiwork

text: r/antiwork began growing rapidly during the COVID-19 pandemic as millions of people were laid off from their jobs or made to work reduced hours. Remote workers began sharing various mouse jiggler strategies to combat bossware intended to monitor the productivity of employees.


title: R/antiwork

text: In 2019, the number of subscribers was 13,000, which increased to 100,000 in early 2020. The subreddit's popularity increased after people began posting text messages of employees giving notice to their employers that they no longer wanted their jobs. In November 2021 the subscriber number exceeded one million. By December 2021 that number had grown to 1.4 million, and in January 2022 it was over 1.7 million. On January 26, r/antiwork was the subreddit with the highest increase of traffic that was not one of Reddit's "default" front page subreddits.


title: R/antiwork

text: In 2021, members of r/antiwork called for "Blackout Black Friday." While originally a general strike on Black Friday, it morphed into a consumer boycott. In December 2021, various members posted images of anti-work manifestos which had printed from receipt printers and referred readers to r/antiwork. Some Reddit users suggested that the printouts were fake, but the founder of cybersecurity firm GreyNoise told "Vice" that network traffic suggested they were being printed remotely to printers that were "misconfigured to be exposed to the internet".


title: R/antiwork

text: In October 2021, r/antiwork went viral after a warehouse worker posted a screenshot of a text they sent to their supervisor announcing that they would quit their job, which resulted in "an avalanche of quitting texts from other users."


title: R/antiwork

text: In November 2021, the most popular post on r/antiwork encouraged people to turn a McDonald's strike happening in the United States at the time into a larger general strike demanding that McDonald's pay its employees $25 an hour. The person who made the post then created and shared an anti-work sign with the slogan "McDonald's Employment Boycott" above an image of a worker swinging a hammer. People began printing out the sign and taping it up in fast food restaurants.


title: R/antiwork

text: On December 9, 2021, after Kellogg's announced plans to hire new permanent workers to replace 1,400 striking workers, a thread on r/antiwork urged members to submit fake applications for the new positions in order to overwhelm the company's hiring system. , the thread had more than 62,000 upvotes; the director of communications for the union representing the striking workers described it as "phenomenal". Members reported having submitted fake applications and that the application site had crashed repeatedly; a spokesperson for Kellogg's denied that the website had crashed, telling "Business Insider" that the hiring process was "fully operational". The initiative spread to other social media platforms.


title: R/antiwork

text: On January 25, 2022, Ford participated in an interview with Fox News anchor Jesse Watters. The interview received an overwhelmingly negative reception from members of the subreddit. Members of the subreddit questioned why Ford felt she had the authority to represent the anti-work movement. r/antiwork briefly went private the following day, and subreddit moderators said it was a temporary measure to prevent disruption from other subreddits. Noah Berlatsky, writing for "The Independent", stated that the Fox News segment became "a publicity disaster for r/antiwork" and that r/antiwork became "widely ridiculed". Oliver Whang, writing for "The New York Times", noted: "Theories started to bounce around about some outside corporate mastermind controlling the moderators, trying to turn the community against itself." Ford told Whang: "I had good intentions, but, yeah, that only does so much." Ford received harassment online, including graphic threats and people insulting her appearance. According to Nielsen Media Research, around 3.6 million viewers watched Watters' show on the day of the interview.


title: R/antiwork

text: The subreddit r/workreform, whose motto was "Food, Healthcare, and Homes: for ALL WAGES", was started on January 26, and some members of r/antiwork migrated over. Within 24 hours, the subreddit had gained more than 400,000 members. The new subreddit's growth eventually slowed to about 450,000 members and has grown steadily since.


title: R/antiwork

text: On January 27, subreddit moderator Kimezukae posted a statement on the subreddit saying that "We're going in the short-term future not accept any media interviews and we will ask the community on feedback regarding whether we will accept an interview or what kind of media outlets are outright banned". The statement also said that Ford would be removed as a moderator of the subreddit and that Kimezukae had done interviews with three major international media outlets that have not been published yet, including one with "The New York Times". According to "Vice", "Since the Fox News interview, however, the main topic of conversation on the subreddit has been the interview itself, who 'owns' the subreddit, the drama associated with the fallout from the interview, brigading from other subreddits, and censorship of posts about the Fox News interview." After r/antiwork was reopened to the public, all traces of Doreen's account had been erased from the subreddit. Within a few days, posts about abusive bosses dominated the subreddit's content again and the subreddit has grown steadily since. Later, a post titled "Americas transgender wage gap" was pinned to the top of the subreddit.


title: R/antiwork

text: In May 2022, in response to a leaked U.S. Supreme Court draft decision to overturn "Roe v. Wade", members of r/antiwork promoted the idea of a general strike against a possible ruling by the Supreme Court that would overturn "Roe". However, a subreddit moderator criticized attempts to organize a general strike through social media posts as being "unproductive."


title: R/antiwork

text: r/antiwork uses the slogan "Unemployment for all, not just the rich!" Members of the subreddit are known as "idlers" in reference to the Protestant work ethic. Posts commonly criticize hustle culture and share stories of employees' negative experiences at their jobs, including unfair treatment by employers and poor working conditions, as well as poor pay. Other posts express members' happiness after quitting their jobs, a trend which began on the subreddit in 2020 and has been linked to the Great Resignation in 2021. According to subreddit moderator rockcellist, the most common issues raised by members of the subreddit include "stagnation of wages, overworking, being expected to be on call on and off the clock." According to "Vice", members frequently discuss ways "to slack off, cheat, sabotage, and steal from their employers in act[s] of defiance". The subreddit's most popular posts are screenshots of resignation letters and text messages, which became so popular that the subreddit's moderators restricted these posts to only Sundays. Open discussion of worker salaries is encouraged, as is union organization.


title: R/antiwork

text: The subreddit includes a digital library of books, texts, and podcasts including David Graeber's "Bullshit Jobs", Bob Black's "The Abolition of Work", Karl Marx's "Wage Labour and Capital", Bertrand Russell's "In Praise of Idleness", Paul Lafargue's "The Right to be Lazy", Devon Price's "Laziness Does Not Exist", Kathi Weeks' "The Problem with Work", David Frayne's "The Refusal of Work" and Herman Melville's "Bartleby, the Scrivener," as well as a collection of anti-work quotes, a soundtrack that includes "9 to 5", and an FAQ page.


title: R/antiwork

text: Members of r/antiwork hold varying views on work. The majority support a change in what is conceptualized as "work," while some advocate for the abolition of work altogether, and others are opposed to meaningless work or to work in a capitalist system. As membership in the subreddit increased, some longtime left-wing members have objected to the perceived liberal, moderate, reformist, and pro-capitalist ideologies of newcomers.


title: R/antiwork

text: In November 2021, Ford told "The Independent" that "The main goal of the anti-work movement is just to abolish work, but what that ends up looking like is very different, depending on who you ask," noting that members of r/antiwork include "people who are anarchists, people who are Communists, people who are social Democrats, people who like Bernie, people who like Andrew Yang" and concluding that "there's lots of different kinds of leftists." In December 2021, moderator rockcellist told "Quartz" that "There’s no particular political ideology that any of us follow" and that the posts on the subreddit reflect "how every individual views their labor, their contributions to society, how they're compensated." In January 2022, Brian O'Conner of the BBC wrote that the subreddit is "a community still rooted in direct action, but whose focus has both softened and broadened into a wider dialogue on working conditions as its popularity has grown."


title: R/antiwork

text: An internal survey of 1,592 subreddit members found that 33.4% identified as socialists, 33.2% identified as social democrats and progressives, 16.1% identified as anarchists, and 14.4% did not identify as left-wing. The survey found that most members were male and live in North America. The survey also found that 50% of members still work full-time.


title: R/antiwork

text: In January 2020, the r/antiwork subreddit had about 70,000 members. In February 2021, 235,000 people were members of r/antiwork, more than double the number of members from March 2020. "Huck" attributed the subreddit's growth in membership to the COVID-19 pandemic and related events including a rise in union busting as well as increased acceptance of mutual aid networks and the four-day workweek. , the subreddit had more than 1,400,000 members, a 279 per cent increase from 2020 with a gain of more than 900,000 members in 2021. According to Reddit, r/antiwork was one of the 15 fastest-growing subreddits .


title: R/antiwork

text: In 2021, opinion pieces in "The New York Times", "The Guardian", and "Vice" expressed solidarity with r/antiwork.


title: R/antiwork

text: In a November 2021 research note, Goldman Sachs cited the subreddit and broader anti-work movement as factors that could lead to a long term decrease in labor force participation.


title: R/antiwork

text: In a January 2022 article, Douglas Blair of "The Daily Signal", an American conservative news website, called the subreddit's ideology "Marxist" and "vapid and bereft of logic". In a January 2022 article, Bryce Olivas of "Socialist Revolution", a publication of the International Marxist Tendency (IMT), generally praised r/antiwork, but criticized the subreddit for its "lack of a class-struggle perspective."


title: Bikaner

text: Bikaner () is a city in the northwest of the state of Rajasthan, India. It is located northwest of the state capital, Jaipur. Bikaner city is the administrative headquarters of Bikaner District and Bikaner division.


title: Bikaner

text: Formerly the capital of the princely state of Bikaner, the city was founded by Rao Bika in 1488 CE and from its small origins it has developed into the fourth largest city in Rajasthan. The Ganges Canal, completed in 1928, and the Indira Gandhi Canal, completed in 1987, facilitated its development.


title: Bikaner

text: Prior to the mid 15th century, the region that is now Bikaner was a barren wilderness called Jangladesh.


title: Bikaner

text: Rao Bika established the city of Bikaner in 1488. He was the first son of Maharaja Rao Jodha of the Rathore clan, the founder of Jodhpur and conquered the largely arid country in the north of Rajasthan. As the first son of Jodha he wanted to have his own kingdom, not inheriting Jodhpur from his father or the title of Maharaja. He therefore decided to build his own kingdom in what is now the state of Bikaner in the area of Jangladesh. Though it was in the Thar Desert, Bikaner was considered an oasis on the trade route between Central Asia and the Gujarat coast as it had adequate spring water. Bika's name was attached to the city he built and to the state of Bikaner ("the settlement of Bika") that he established. Bika built a fort in 1478, which is now in ruins, and a hundred years later a new fort was built about 1.5 km from the city centre, known as the Junagarh Fort.


title: Bikaner

text: Around a century after Rao Bika founded Bikaner, the state's fortunes flourished under the sixth Raja, Rai Singhji, who ruled from 1571 to 1611. During the Mughal Empire's rule in the country, Raja Rai Singh accepted the suzerainty of the Mughals and held a high rank as an army general at the court of the Emperor Akbar and his son the Emperor Jahangir. Rai Singh's successful military exploits, which involved winning half of Mewar kingdom for the Empire, won him accolades and rewards from the Mughal emperors. He was given the jagirs (lands) of Gujarat and Burhanpur. With the large revenue earned from these jagirs, he built the Chintamani Durg (Junagarh fort) on a plain which has an average elevation of . He was an expert in arts and architecture, and the knowledge he acquired during his visits abroad is amply reflected in the numerous monuments he built at the Junagarh fort.


title: Bikaner

text: Maharaja Karan Singh, who ruled from 1631 to 1639, under the suzerainty of the Mughals, built the Karan Mahal palace. Later rulers added more floors and decorations to this Mahal. Anup Singh, who ruled from 1669 to 1698, made substantial additions to the fort complex, with new palaces and the Zenana quarter, a royal dwelling for women and children. He refurbished the Karan Mahal with a Diwan-i-Am (public audience hall) and called it the Anup Mahal. Maharaja Gaj Singh, who ruled from 1746 to 1787 refurbished the Chandra Mahal (the Moon Palace).


title: Bikaner

text: During the 18th century, there was an internecine war between the rulers of Bikaner and Jodhpur and also amongst other thakurs, which was put down by British troops.


title: Bikaner

text: Following Maharaja Gaj Singh, Maharaja Surat Singh ruled from 1787 to 1828 and lavishly decorated the audience hall (see illustration) with glass and lively paintwork. Under a treaty of paramountcy signed in 1818, during Maharaja Surat Singh's reign, Bikaner came under the suzerainty of the British, after which the Maharajas of Bikaner invested heavily in refurbishing Junagarh fort.


title: Bikaner

text: Dungar Singh, who reigned from 1872 to 1887, built the Badal Mahal, the 'weather palace', so named in view of a painting of clouds and falling rain, a rare event in arid Bikaner.


title: Bikaner

text: General Maharaja Ganga Singh, who ruled from 1887 to 1943, was the best-known of the Rajasthan princes and was a favourite of the British Viceroys of India. He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India, served as a member of the Imperial War Cabinet, represented India at the Imperial Conferences during the First World War and the British Empire at the Versailles Peace Conference. His contribution to the building activity in Junagarh involved separate halls for public and private audiences in the Ganga Mahal and a durbar hall for formal functions. He also built the Ganga Niwas Palace, which has towers at the entrance patio. This palace was designed by Sir Samuel Swinton Jacob, the third of the new palaces built in Bikaner. He named the building Lalgarh Palace in honour of his father and moved his main residence there from Junagarh Fort in 1902. The hall where he held his Golden Jubilee (in 1938) as Bikaner's ruler is now a museum.


title: Bikaner

text: Ganga Singh's son, Lieutenant-General Sir Sadul Singh, the Yuvaraja of Bikaner, succeeded his father as Maharaja in 1943, but acceded his state to the Union of India in 1949. Maharaja Sadul Singh died in 1950, being succeeded in the title by his son, Karni Singh (1924-1988). The Royal Family still lives in a suite in Lalgarh Palace, which they have converted into a heritage hotel.


title: Bikaner

text: Bikaner is situated in the middle of the Thar desert and has a hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification "BWh") with very little rainfall and extreme temperatures. In summer temperatures can exceed 48 °C, and during the winter they may dip below freezing.


title: Bikaner

text: The climate in Bikaner is characterized by significant variations in temperature. In the summer season it is very hot when the temperatures lie in the range of . In the winter, it is fairly cold with temperatures lying in the range of . Annual rainfall is in the range of . The highest ever temerature recorded is on 19 May 2016 and lowest ever recorded is on 26 January 1964.


title: Bikaner

text: the population of Bikaner city was 644,406 placing it in the top 70 major cities of India and 5th in Rajasthan. The female to male ratio in the city was 904/1,000. The literacy rate in the city was about 79%, male literacy being 87% and female literacy being 71%.


title: Bikaner

text: Majority of the population of the city follows Hinduism, with followers of Islam a large minority. The city has a substantial followers of Jainism.


title: Bikaner

text: Bikaner railway station is a major railway junction in the North Western Railway zone of Indian Railways. The first railway link to Bikaner was established on 9 December 1891 as part of Jodhpur State Railway and it has undergone many administrative modifications since then.


title: Bikaner

text: Today Bikaner Railway Station is efficiently well connected to National Capital Delhi and Rajasthan State's capital Jaipur along with major Indian cities like Jodhpur, Sri Ganganagar, Rewari, Howrah, Kolkata, Mumbai, Kanpur, Agra, Allahabad, Surat, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Pathankot, Bhatinda, Amritsar, Haridwar, Jammu, Chandigarh, Pune, Hisar, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Guwahati, Puri, Coimbatore, Thiruvananthapuram, Bhubaneswar, Bilaspur, Indore, Jalandhar, Baroda, Ratangarh, Jaisalmer, Barmer, Alwar, Nagaur, etc.


title: Bikaner

text: Bikaner is well served with roads and is linked directly to Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Sri Ganganagar, Jodhpur, Alwar, Rewari, Narnaul, Ludhiana, Bhatinda, Ambala, Panipat, Surat, Ahmedabad, Ajmer, Haridwar, Jaisalmer, Bhilwara, Churu, Sikar and many other cities.


title: Bikaner

text: Central Bus Stand is the main bus station in Bikaner. It connects Bikaner to other cities in Rajasthan and nearby states via road.


title: Bikaner

text: Bikaner has Domestic Civil Airport Nal Airport which is located 15 km west of the city. Regular flights to Jaipur JAI and Delhi DEL commenced in 2017-18 under UDAN scheme of Narendra Modi Govt.


title: Bikaner

text: The city is most famous for its savoury snack Bikaneri bhujia which is sold all over the world and also have geographical indication (GI) tag to keep its originality intact. Other special food items for which Bikaner is well known are "Bajre ki Roti" (Chapati made up of Pearl millet flour), Dal baati Churma, Ghevar, Halvas, Papads/Papadum, Rasgulla, Gulab Jamun, Kachori and Samosa.


title: Bikaner

text: The Junagarh Fort was built around 1594 CE by Raja Rai Singh. The fort was originally called "Chintamani". It is one of the few major forts in Rajasthan which was not built on hilly terrain. The modern city of Bikaner has developed around the fort. The fort is studded with temples, grand palaces and huge pavilions and walls. In 1961, a museum was set up by Maharaja Karni Singh. Its temples and palaces are preserved as museums and provide insight into the grandiose living style of the past Maharanas of Rajasthan.


title: Bikaner

text: The Laxmi Niwas Palace is a former residential palace built by Maharajah Ganga Singh, the ruler of the former state of Bikaner. It was designed by the British architect, Samuel Swinton Jacob in the year 1902. The style of architecture is Indo-Saracenic. It is now a luxury Heritage hotel owned by the royal family of Bikaner.


title: Bikaner

text: Rao Bikaji's first fort, 'Bikaji Ki Tekri' built in 1478 is now in ruins. A hundred years later a new fort was built about 1.5 km from the city centre, named Junagarh Fort.


title: Bikaner

text: The Karni Mata (करणी माता) Temple or the Rat Temple of Rajasthan is situated around 30 km away from the Bikaner city and is dedicated to goddess Karni Mata, a famous mystic of her times, believed to be an incarnation of goddess Durga. The locals will be quick to point out that the creatures running around in the temple are not rats, they are "kaaba". Kaabas are believed to be reincarnations of humans who had been devotees of Karni Mata, and the brevity of human life did not sufficiently satisfy their devotion.


title: Bikaner

text: The shrine of Karni Mata can be found in the town of Deshnoke 30 km south from Bikaner on the road to Jodhpur. Karni Mata is worshiped as an incarnation of Goddess Durga.


title: Bikaner

text: The Mukam Temple, also known as Mukti Dham Mukam, is located near Nokha. The Mukam is a holy place of 29 rules of followers of Bishnois. Bishnoi sect was founded by Guru Jambeshwar. Bishnois are quite protective of nature. Mukam Temple is the place where the soul of guru Jambeshwar lies.


title: Bikaner

text: Built by Maharaja Rao Lunkaran, Shri Laxminath Temple is one of the oldest temples in Bikaner and just 4 kilometres away from the famous Junagarh Fort. Lord Vishnu and Goddess Laxmi, grace the sacred sanctum of the temple. The most exquisite artwork inside the temple apart from the shrines is the doorway which is embellished in silver work. Festivals like Janmashtmi, Nirjala Ekadashi, Rama Navami, Diwali and Gita Jayanti are majorly celebrated at the temple.


title: Bikaner

text: Bhandasar Jain Temple is known for its beautiful leaf paintings, frescoes and ornamented mirror work. This temple was constructed by Bhandasa Oswal in the 15th century. This temple is constructed using red sandstone with beautiful paintings on walls and pillars of the sanctum and mandapa. The temple is dedicated to the 5th Tirthankara sumatinatha. The temple consist of "garbhagriha", "antarala", "mahamandapa", and "ardhamandapa".


title: Bikaner

text: A variety of wild animals including various birds, mammals and reptiles are found in Bikaner's Semi-Arid climate. Initiatives are being taken to bring back the number of vultures which have dwindled at a staggering rate before. There are around 600 resident vultures at Jorbeer. The region is host to another 1200 migratory vultures. Local varieties include Egyptian and King Vultures. The most common migratory vulture is Eurasian Griffon coming from Spain and Turkey. Other migratory vultures include Cinereous and Himalayan Griffons.


title: Bikaner

text: National Research Centre on Camels was established in 1984 in Bikaner by the Central Government under Indian Council of Agricultural Research at the outskirts of Bikaner city to promote research and development related to camels such as effective breeding, utilisation of camel milk. Scientists engage with all stakeholders like Camel herders, traders via collaborative programmes and significant growth had been made. A camel museum is available to apprise them of the developmental and research aspects of the camel in the desert ecosystem. Maharaja Ganga Singh of the Indian State of Bikaner founded Bikaner Camel Corps around 1890 and became a part of the BSF in Independent India.


title: Bikaner

text: The Rajasthan government has decided to set up its first cow sanctuary in Bikaner. It has a dedicated Ministry of Cow Husbandry. The sanctuary is likely to be set up near Amarpura village, about 70 km from Bikaner.


title: Bikaner

text: Educational Institutes located in Bikaner are Sardar Patel Medical College, Government Engineering College Bikaner, Government Polytechnic College Bikaner, Maharaja Ganga Singh University, Rajasthan University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Swami Keshwanand Rajasthan Agricultural University, and Bikaner Technical University.


title: Bikaner

text: International Camel Festival is held every year in January. Organised by the Department of Tourism, Art and Culture, the city celebrates the festival in honour of the "Ship of the Desert – The Camel".


title: Bikaner

text: Beautifully adorned camels and performances by artists from different regions are the key attraction for both domestic and foreign tourists. The event includes spectacular camel performances like "Camel dances", "Camel races", "Neck shaking Camel rides".


title: Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

text: Mortal Kombat: Armageddon is a 2006 fighting video game and it is the seventh main installment in the "Mortal Kombat" franchise and a sequel to 2004's "". The PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions were released in October 2006, with a Wii version released on May 29, 2007 in North America. The Xbox version was not released in PAL territories. Chronologically the final chapter in the original "Mortal Kombat" storyline, it features virtually every character from the previous games. Players select one of them and battle a selection of the other fighters to determine the fate of the "Mortal Kombat" universe.


title: Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

text: The gameplay retains many of the same elements from the previous "Mortal Kombat" titles "" and "", including characters' multiple fighting styles. Instead of the prescripted Fatalities of the previous games, players can now create their own Fatality from a series of gory attacks. They can also design a custom character using the "Kreate a Fighter" mode. The game also includes the story-based Konquest mode from "Deception", now casting the player as the warrior Taven, who must defeat his evil brother Daegon. Succeeding its predecessor "Puzzle Kombat" is a new mini game called "Motor Kombat", a cartoonish driving game influenced by "Mario Kart".


title: Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

text: The game was well-received, particularly for the large number of playable characters and the Konquest mode. However, reviewers criticized the use of the same engine from the previous two games as well as the similar play styles between characters. Reaction to the game's custom Fatality feature was also mixed.


title: Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

text: "Armageddon" is the final "Mortal Kombat" game for sixth generation consoles and the first for seventh generation consoles with its release for the Wii. The next game in the series, which features an alternate timeline, was released exclusively on seventh generation consoles, the crossover title "Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe". The main storyline of the series was later revisited in the 2011 "Mortal Kombat" reboot, the first production from the newly-formed NetherRealm Studios.


title: Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

text: Each character possesses two fighting styles (instead of the three previously available in "Deadly Alliance" and "Deception"), one hand-to-hand and one weapon. Some of the larger bosses, like Onaga, have only one fighting style available. Other characters, such as Smoke and Mokap, do not have a weapon style, but a second unarmed style.


title: Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

text: Also new to the series is the ability to create a Fatality. These custom fatalities are a constant series of commands that players input until the Fatality ends. This method of performing Fatalities replaces the character-specific Fatalities of previous "Mortal Kombat" games, where gamers would simply enter one input and view the Fatality cinematically. As the player adds each input, less time is allowed for further inputs and some moves cannot be repeated. There are eleven levels that can be achieved with Kreate a Fatality, the lowest being a basic Fatality and the highest an "Ultimate Fatality". The greater the number of inputs for the Fatality, the more koins (the in-game currency) are given to the player.


title: Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

text: The Konquest mode in "Armageddon" is a combination of the same mode seen in "Deception" with elements borrowed from the spin-off adventure title "". The storyline centers on Taven and Daegon, two brothers who were put in suspended animation because their mother Delia (a sorceress) and their father Argus (the Edenian protector god) foresaw a cataclysmic event brought about by the "Mortal Kombat" fighters. Their awakening leads into the Konquest mode, which in turn leads into the game's standard play.


title: Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

text: Taven is the main hero that the player controls in Konquest, while Daegon, his brother, is the primary antagonist, plotting with villains such as Shinnok and the Red Dragon Clan in order to destroy both his brother and Blaze to attain full godhood for himself. Certain weapons are available at times in Konquest mode, which appear to handle very much like those found in "Shaolin Monks". Various relics can be collected, one for each Kombatant (except Taven, Chameleon, the two fighters that the player can create in the PS2 version, and additionally Khameleon in the Wii version), throughout this mode. Konquest unlocks characters' alternate costumes and other rewards in the rest of the game, while successfully completing the Konquest entirely will unlock Taven for arcade play. Meat, Daegon, and Blaze can be unlocked by collecting enough relics.


title: Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

text: In addition to the choice of over 60 characters, "Armageddon" gives players the ability to design and use new fighters in the game. From the number of options, there are potentially thousands of different kombinations available. During production, the game offered at least 14 different character classes, which include Humans, Tarkatans, Mercenaries, Black Dragon Members, Ninjas, Retro Ninjas, etc. However, after the game's release, only one preset was available to the two genders, Sorcerer to Male, and Tarkatan to Female. Although the clothing of each class is still available, it must be individually unlocked, and cannot be preset. All these presets can be unlocked by unlocking each piece of clothing that makes up that class. The preset will then appear under the preset menu.


title: Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

text: Players can give their character a unique fighting style, by changing their stance/win pose animation and assigning different (already named) attacks to the buttons on their controller. There is a range of swords and axes (the only weapons available) and special moves to choose from. Most moves and costume items need to be purchased with Koins earned in the game's other modes, though some moves and items are available for free from the beginning. The fighters can also be given their own storyline. If a player uses their creation to finish a single-player game, they will see the ending that the player designed for them, although the ending will cut off after roughly twelve lines or if the last line consists of one word. They can also be used in multiplayer games and online, using the PlayStation 2's online capability or Xbox Live, although the online service for both versions has since been terminated. The ending that the game shows is the same text that the player inputs as the fighter's biography.


title: Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

text: The minigame in "Mortal Kombat: Armageddon" is named "Motor Kombat". True to the name, Ed Boon compared it to "Mario Kart" in the September 2006 issue of "Official Xbox Magazine". Each of the characters has a customized go-kart, as well as their own special moves. The Motor Kombat characters keep their cartoonish "super deformed" style that was introduced in "Deception"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s "Puzzle Kombat" mode. It also includes style-based fatalities for characters, and death traps. The cars are based on the characters' looks and personalities - for instance, Baraka's car has blades on the front bumper as an homage to Baraka's forearm blades and Scorpion's car is powered by a fire-breathing skull as an homage to his "Toasty" Fatality.


title: Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

text: "Motor Kombat" features online play, as well as offline support for up to four players (two players in the PS2 version) with a split-screen display. In the game, players can knock their opponents into various deathtraps on the courses, like rolling pins, stones, crushers, slippery snow caves filled with stalagmites, and endless pits. The character roster for "Motor Kombat" is Scorpion, Sub-Zero, Bo' Rai Cho, Jax, Baraka, Raiden, Kitana, Mileena, Cyrax and Johnny Cage.


title: Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

text: In Edenia, the sorceress Delia has a vision of the future where the forces of good and evil will engage in a final battle of Mortal Kombat that threatens to end all realms. In an effort to spare the Realms, Delia’s husband Argus (a God) constructs a pyramid where the battle will take place and has his sons, Taven and Daegon, put into dormant states in caverns. Delia instructs her Elemental, Blaze, to signal their dragons to awaken them just before final battle commences.


title: Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

text: In the future, Taven is awakened by his dragon Orin in Earthrealm and is told that he and Daegon will be competing against each other in their quest. Wishing to speak with his father, Taven teleports to his father’s temple and fights several members of the Black Dragon as well as mysterious warriors in red only to find it deserted. He eventually finds a message left to him and Daegon by Argus stating that they will be competing to take his place as an Elder God by defeating Blaze and that he has left weapons for each of them. When Taven finds both weapons are missing, he is suddenly stunned unconscious by Sektor. Despite being imprisoned on a Tekunin warship, Taven manages to free himself and defeat Sektor before escaping back to Orin’s portal.


title: Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

text: Taven then travels to his mother's temple in the mountains where she has left armor for Daegon and himself. Upon reaching the Temple, Taven finds that it has been occupied by the Lin Kuei and is forced to fight through their assassins including Frost and their Grand Master Sub-Zero. Upon defeating the latter, Taven retrieves his armor and is soon attacked by Dark Lin-Kuei. Alongside Sub-Zero, Taven defeats the attackers after fighting both Smoke and Noob Saibot. With Taven’s assistance, Sub-Zero reveals the identity of the mysterious warriors attacking him as the Red Dragon and that they are based out of Charred Mountain.


title: Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

text: Upon traveling through the portal, Taven is forced to fight Fujin when the latter warns him to return to Edenia. Taven reluctantly defeats the wind god and proceeds to the Red Dragon stronghold and finds Daegon, who is now much older. Despite being reunited, Daegon reveals himself as the leader of the Red Dragon and his intention to kill Taven in order to kill Blaze first. Taven then fights several enemies and eventually finds Daegon’s dragon Caro, who had been imprisoned and experimented on. Upon being freed, Caro reveals that he had accidentally awoken Daegon earlier than planned which resulted in Daegon seeking out and murdering Argus and Delia upon learning the true nature of the competition. Hoping to atone for his mistake, Caro informs Taven that Daegon has gone to the Netherrealm and stays behind to destroy the Red Dragon stronghold.


title: Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

text: Arriving in the Netherrealm, Taven repels an ambush by Drahmin before noticing Shinnok being attacked by Li Mei. Believing that he is still an Elder God, Taven comes to Shinnok’s defense and is later tasked to help reclaim his Spire in exchange for answers of Daegon’s whereabouts. After Taven defeats Havik, Sheeva, and Kintaro, Shinnok reclaims his throne and informs Taven that Daegon has returned to Earthrealm and transports him there. However, it is revealed that Shinnok is actually assisting Daegon and has informed other warriors of the contests prize in order to eliminate all the competitors.


title: Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

text: Upon returning to Orin’s cave, Taven finds him mortally wounded from an attack by Quan Chi. On the verge of death, Orin keeps Quan Chi’s portal open to prevent Taven from remaining trapped in the cave with him. Vowing revenge, Taven goes through the portal and arrives at Shao Khan’s palace in Outworld. After reaching the palace dungeons, Taven fights and defeats Mileena and comes across a captive Shujinko who informs him of a meeting taking place in Shao Kahn’s throne room. After fighting through Goro and Reiko, Taven reaches the meeting between Quan Chi, Shang Tsung, Onaga, and Shao Khan where they agree to an alliance to take possession of the contests prize before transporting themselves to Argus’s pyramid. Before he can follow however, Taven is confronted by Raiden who reveals he has made a deal with Shao Khan to assist him in exchange for Earthrealm’s independence. Shocked at Raiden’s betrayal, Taven defeats him before taking Quan Chi’s portal to Edenia.


title: Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

text: Once through the portal, Taven fights and defeats Scorpion before being confronted by Daegon. Before they can fight however, they are interrupted by Blaze who informs them that the competition has been corrupted and that they’re fighting in the wrong place. Transported to the edge of the crater, Taven and Daegon engage in a final battle. Although Taven ultimately kills Daegon, he becomes disillusioned with the quest and refuses to go further until Blaze reveals the true nature of the quest.


title: Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

text: With all the fighters engaged in Mortal Kombat in the crater, Blaze reveals that it will be the epicenter of the apocalypse unless the quest is fulfilled. With their respective armors being the catalysts for ending Armageddon, only Taven and Daegon are meant to defeat Blaze with one of two outcomes occurring depending on which brother completed the quest first and will either destroy all the warriors or strip them of powers and abilities.


title: Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

text: In the non-canon ending, after fighting his way to the top of the pyramid, Taven confronts Blaze. Taven manages to defeat Blaze and becomes an Elder God. However, neither outcome occurs and instead the fighters power are increased. Taven vows to use his status as Elder God to find another solution to prevent Armageddon.


title: Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

text: In the canon ending, Shao Kahn defeats and kills Blaze, granting him godlike powers and allowing him to overpower the only remaining kombatant: Raiden. On the verge of death, Raiden uses his amulet to send a cryptic message to his past self: "He must win."


title: Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

text: The PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions of "Armageddon" contain 62 fighters (as well as two extra slots for user created characters), the most of any "Mortal Kombat" or tournament fighter game to date. Only two characters, Daegon and Taven, are new to the series, while Sareena makes her playable debut on non-portable consoles, and Meat makes his debut as a legitimate character. The Wii version contains all the original characters from both the original versions, as well as exclusive character Khameleon from the Nintendo 64 port of "Mortal Kombat Trilogy", increasing the roster to 63.


title: Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

text: Playable characters in bold are returning characters with new designs or characters entirely new to the series. The rest of the roster's character models are recycled from "", "" and "".


title: Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

text: "Armageddon" contains every single playable fighter from the six main fighting game installments of the franchise and their upgraded versions, not counting the adventure games like "" and "Shaolin Monks". Khameleon, a secret character from the Nintendo 64 version of "Mortal Kombat Trilogy" (not to be confused with the male Chameleon) was absent from the PlayStation 2 and Xbox versions of "Armageddon", but was added to the character roster of the Wii version due to fan demand.


title: Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

text: The "Krypt" feature in the game's story mode included an unused concept video of Ermac's "MK: Deception" biography, which was intended to be the first of a series of animated bios but no others were created. Only seventeen total characters in "Armageddon" received official still-image biographies.


title: Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

text: The PlayStation 2 version was released in stores on October 11, 2006 while the Xbox version was released on October 16, with a Wii version released on May 29, 2007 in North America. The Xbox version was not released in PAL territories. It was later released as part of the "Mortal Kombat Kollection" on September 29, 2008 for the PlayStation 2.


title: Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

text: A "Premium" edition was released in North America for the PlayStation 2, featuring the following content in a steelbook case: a 60-minute bonus DVD with a "History of Fatalities" documentary and new videos for more than 50 characters, an animation cel of the cover art autographed by creator Ed Boon, and an arcade-perfect version of "Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3" included on the main disc. There are four package design variations, some exclusive to certain stores featuring different character sets or the Mortal Kombat dragon emblem.


title: Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

text: The Wii version of "Armageddon" has a new motion-based control system, along with compatibility with the classic and GameCube controllers. It has a new Endurance Mode, a Wii Remote Training Mode, new menu screens, and Khameleon as a playable character. However, this version does not have online features.


title: Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

text: Reception for "Mortal Kombat: Armageddon" has been generally favorable. The game was often praised for including a complete character roster; IGN stated that "the inclusion of 62 total warriors is a massive achievement," while "Game Informer" said that "nothing really comes close to what Midway has thrown together here." GameSpot praised the Konquest mode, "which was such a low point of "MK: Deception," as one of the relative strengths of "MK: Armageddon"."


title: Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

text: Reception to the Kreate-A-Fatality feature was mixed. While "GameSpot" called it "a disappointing replacement to the classics," "IGN" noted not having set fatalities added variety to gameplay. The reception to the Kreate-A-Fighter mode was also mixed, where some noted limitations yet with others like GameSpy saying they "haven't seen a character creation tool this robust since City of Heroes."


title: Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

text: The game's engine was criticized for being built entirely upon that of the previous 3D "Mortal Kombat" titles. "" went as far as saying the system was not innovative. While many of the gameplay flaws in "" have been fixed (lack of a wake-up game that allows 50/50 attacks upon knocking down an opponent, and the slow jumping system, which prevents players from jumping over most projectiles, infinite combos), new glitches arise with the new Air Kombat and Parry systems. Eurogamer noted that despite the large choice of characters, "much of this number is made up by the huge number of clone characters" and that "so many characters look and play alike."


title: Mortal Kombat: Armageddon

text: The game won the award for Best Fighting Game at the Spike Video Game Awards in 2006. "IGN" named it the Best PS2 Fighting Game. "Official Xbox Magazine" put "Armageddon" as the "Xbox Game of the Year" in a 2006 issue. Gaming Target put the game in its "52 Games We'll Still Be Playing From 2006" selection.


title: German invasion of Greece

text: The German invasion of Greece, also known as the Battle of Greece or Operation Marita (), was the attack of Greece by Italy and Germany during World War II. The Italian invasion in October 1940, which is usually known as the Greco-Italian War, was followed by the German invasion in April 1941. German landings on the island of Crete (May 1941) came after Allied forces had been defeated in mainland Greece. These battles were part of the greater Balkans Campaign of the Axis powers and their associates.


title: German invasion of Greece

text: Following the Italian invasion on 28 October 1940, Greece, with British air and material support, repelled the initial Italian attack and a counter-attack in March 1941. When the German invasion, known as Operation Marita, began on 6 April, the bulk of the Greek Army was on the Greek border with Albania, then a vassal of Italy, from which the Italian troops had attacked. German troops invaded from Bulgaria, creating a second front. Greece received a small reinforcement from British, Australian and New Zealand forces in anticipation of the German attack. The Greek army found itself outnumbered in its effort to defend against both Italian and German troops. As a result, the Metaxas defensive line did not receive adequate troop reinforcements and was quickly overrun by the Germans, who then outflanked the Greek forces at the Albanian border, forcing their surrender. British, Australian and New Zealand forces were overwhelmed and forced to retreat, with the ultimate goal of evacuation. For several days, Allied troops played an important part in containing the German advance on the Thermopylae position, allowing ships to be prepared to evacuate the units defending Greece. The German Army reached the capital, Athens, on 27 April and Greece's southern shore on 30 April, capturing 7,000 British, Australian and New Zealand personnel and ending the battle with a decisive victory. The conquest of Greece was completed with the capture of Crete a month later. Following its fall, Greece was occupied by the military forces of Germany, Italy and Bulgaria.


title: German invasion of Greece

text: Hitler later blamed the failure of his invasion of the Soviet Union on Mussolini's failed conquest of Greece. Andreas Hillgruber has accused Hitler of trying to deflect blame for his country's defeat from himself to his ally, Italy. It nevertheless had serious consequences for the Axis war effort in the North African theatre. Enno von Rintelen, who was the military attaché in Rome, emphasises, from the German point of view, the strategic mistake of not taking Malta.


title: German invasion of Greece

text: At the outbreak of World War II, Ioannis Metaxas—the fascist-style dictator of Greece and former general—sought to maintain a position of neutrality. Greece was subject to increasing pressure from Italy, culminating in the Italian submarine "Delfino" sinking the cruiser "Elli" on 15 August 1940. Italian leader Benito Mussolini was irritated that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler had not consulted him on his war policy and wished to establish his independence. He hoped to match German military success by taking Greece, which he regarded as an easy opponent. On 15 October 1940, Mussolini and his closest advisers finalised their decision. In the early hours of 28 October, Italian Ambassador Emanuele Grazzi presented Metaxas with a three-hour ultimatum, demanding free passage for troops to occupy unspecified "strategic sites" within Greek territory. Metaxas rejected the ultimatum (the refusal is commemorated as Greek national holiday Ohi Day) but even before it expired, Italian troops had invaded Greece through Albania. The principal Italian thrust was directed toward Epirus. Hostilities with the Greek army began at the Battle of Elaia–Kalamas, where they failed to break the defensive line and were forced to halt. Within three weeks, the Greek army launched a counter-offensive, during which it marched into Albanian territory, capturing significant cities such as Korça and Sarandë. Neither a change in Italian command nor the arrival of substantial reinforcements improved the position of the Italian army. On 13 February, General Papagos, the Commander-in-Chief of the Greek army, opened a new offensive, aiming to take Tepelenë and the port of Vlorë with British air support but the Greek divisions encountered stiff resistance, stalling the offensive that practically destroyed the Cretan 5th Division.


title: German invasion of Greece

text: After weeks of inconclusive winter warfare, the Italians launched a counter-offensive on the centre of the front on 9 March 1941, which failed, despite the Italians' superior forces. After one week and 12,000 casualties, Mussolini called off the counter-offensive and left Albania twelve days later.


title: German invasion of Greece

text: Modern analysts believe that the Italian campaign failed because Mussolini and his generals initially allocated insufficient resources to the campaign (an expeditionary force of 55,000 men), failed to reckon with the autumn weather, attacked without the advantage of surprise and without Bulgarian support. Elementary precautions such as issuing winter clothing had not been taken. Mussolini had not considered the warnings of the Italian Commission of War Production, that Italy would not be able to sustain a full year of continuous warfare until 1949.


title: German invasion of Greece

text: During the six-month fight against Italy, the Hellenic army made territorial gains by eliminating Italian salients. Greece did not have a substantial armaments industry and its equipment and ammunition supplies increasingly relied on stocks captured by British forces from defeated Italian armies in North Africa. To man the Albanian battlefront, the Greek command was forced to withdraw forces from Eastern Macedonia and Western Thrace, because Greek forces could not protect Greece's entire border. The Greek command decided to support its success in Albania, regardless of the risk of a German attack from the Bulgarian border.


title: German invasion of Greece

text: Britain was obliged to assist Greece by the Declaration of 13 April 1939, which stated that in the event of a threat to Greek or Romanian independence, "His Majesty's Government would feel themselves bound at once to lend the Greek or Romanian Government... all the support in their power." The first British effort was the deployment of Royal Air Force (RAF) squadrons commanded by Air Commodore John D'Albiac that arrived in November 1940. With Greek government consent, British forces were dispatched to Crete on 31 October to guard Souda Bay, enabling the Greek government to redeploy the 5th Cretan Division to the mainland.


title: German invasion of Greece

text: Hitler decided to intervene on 4 November 1940, four days after British troops arrived at Crete and Lemnos. Although Greece was neutral until the Italian invasion, the British troops that were sent as defensive aid created the possibility of a frontier to the German southern flank. Hitler's principal fear was that British aircraft based in Greece would bomb the Romanian oil fields, which was one of Germany's most important sources of oil. As Hitler was already seriously considering launching an invasion of the Soviet Union the next year, this increased the importance of Romanian oil as once Germany was at war with the Soviet Union, Romania would be the "Reich"'s only source of oil, at least until the Wehrmacht presumably captured the Soviet oil fields in the Caucasus. As the British were indeed contemplating using the Greek air fields to bomb the Romanian oil fields, Hitler's fears that his entire war machine might be paralyzed for a lack of oil should the Ploești oil fields be destroyed were to a certain extent grounded in reality. However, the American historian Gerhard Weinberg noted: "...the enormous difficulties of air attacks on distant oil fields were not understood by either side at this time; it was assumed on both sides that even small air raids could bring about vast fire and destruction". Furthermore, the massive Italian defeats in the Balkans, the Horn of Africa and North Africa had pushed the Fascist regime in Italy to the brink of collapse by late 1940 with Mussolini becoming extremely unpopular with the Italian people. Hitler was convinced that if he did not rescue Mussolini, Fascist Italy would be knocked out of the war in 1941. Weinberg wrote the continuing Italian defeats "...could easily lead to the complete collapse of the whole system Mussolini had established, and this was recognized at the time; it is not hindsight from 1943". If Italy was knocked out of the war, then the British would be able to use the central Mediterranean again, and the governors of the French colonies in Africa loyal to the Vichy regime might switch their loyalties to the French National Committee headed by Charles de Gaulle. As Hitler had plans to ultimately use the French colonies in Africa as bases for the war against Britain, the potential loss of Vichy control over its African empire was seen as a problem by him.


title: German invasion of Greece

text: Furthermore, after Italy entered the war in June 1940, the danger of Axis air and naval attacks had largely closed the central Mediterranean to British shipping except for convoys to Malta, in effect closing the Suez canal as the British were forced to supply their forces in Egypt via the long Cape route around Africa. The British had made liberating Italian East Africa a priority to end the possibility of Italian naval and air attacks on British shipping in the Red Sea, which assumed greater importance because of the dangers posed to British shipping in the central Mediterranean. In turn, the decision by Field Marshal Archibald Wavell to deploy significant forces to the Horn of Africa while defending Egypt lessened the number of Commonwealth forces available to go to Greece. Although the performance of the Italian armed forces had been less than impressive, from the German perspective denying the British access to the central Mediterranean by stationing Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine forces in Italy made it crucial to keep Italy in the war. Hitler ordered his Army General Staff to attack Northern Greece from bases in Romania and Bulgaria in support of his master plan to deprive the British of Mediterranean bases.


title: German invasion of Greece

text: On 12 November, the German Armed Forces High Command issued Directive No. 18, in which they scheduled simultaneous operations against Gibraltar and Greece for the following January. On 17 November 1940, Metaxas proposed a joint offensive in the Balkans to the British government, with Greek strongholds in southern Albania as the operational base. The British were reluctant to discuss Metaxas' proposal, because the troops necessary for implementing the Greek plan would seriously endanger operations in North Africa. In December 1940, German ambitions in the Mediterranean underwent considerable revision when Spain's General Francisco Franco rejected the Gibraltar attack. Consequently, Germany's offensive in southern Europe was restricted to the Greek campaign. The Armed Forces High Command issued Directive No. 20 on 13 December 1940, outlining the Greek campaign under the code designation Operation Marita. The plan was to occupy the northern coast of the Aegean Sea by March 1941 and to seize the entire Greek mainland, if necessary. To attack Greece would require going through Yugoslavia and/or Bulgaria. The Regent of Yugoslavia for the boy king Peter II, Prince Paul was married to a Greek princess and refused the German request for transit rights to invade Greece. King Boris III of Bulgaria had long-standing territorial disputes with Greece, and was more open to granting transit rights to the Wehrmacht in exchange for a promise to have the parts of Greece that he coveted. In January 1941, Bulgaria granted the transit rights to the Wehrmacht.


title: German invasion of Greece

text: During a meeting of British and Greek military and political leaders in Athens on 13 January 1941, General Alexandros Papagos, Commander-in-Chief of the Hellenic Army, asked Britain for nine fully equipped divisions and corresponding air support. The British responded that all they could offer was the immediate dispatch of a token force of less than divisional strength. This offer was rejected by the Greeks, who feared that the arrival of such a contingent would precipitate a German attack without giving them meaningful assistance. British help would be requested if and when German troops crossed the Danube from Romania into Bulgaria. The Greek leader, General Metaxas, did not particularly want British forces on the mainland of Greece as he feared it would lead to a German invasion of his country and during the winter of 1940–41 secretly asked Hitler if he was willing to mediate an end to the Italo-Greek war. The British prime minister, Winston Churchill, strongly supported by the chief of the Imperial General Staff, Sir John Dill, and the Foreign Secretary, Anthony Eden, had hopes of reviving the Salonika front strategy and opening a second front in the Balkans that would tie down German forces and deprive Germany of the Romanian oil. The Australian prime minister, Robert Menzies, arrived in London on 20 February to discuss the deployment of Australian troops from Egypt to Greece, and reluctantly gave his approval on 25 February. Like many other Australians of his generation, Menzies was haunted by the memory of the Battle of Gallipoli, and was highly suspicious of another of Churchill's plans for victory in the Mediterranean. On 9 March, New Zealand's prime minister, Peter Fraser, likewise gave his approval to redeploy the New Zealand division from Egypt to Greece, despite his fears of another Gallipoli. As he put it in a telegram to Churchill, he "could not contemplate the possibility of abandoning the Greeks to their fate" which "would destroy the moral basis of our cause". The weather in the winter of 1940–41 seriously delayed the build-up of German forces in Romania and it was only in February 1941 that the Wehrmacht's Twelfth Army commanded by Field Marshal Wilhelm List joined by the Luftwaffe's "Fliegerkorps" VIII crossed the Danube river into Bulgaria. The lack of bridges on the Danube capable of carrying heavy supplies on the Romanian-Bulgarian frontier forced the Wehrmacht engineers to build the necessary bridges in wintertime, imposing major delays. By 9 March 1941, the 5th and 11th Panzer Divisions were concentrated on the Bulgarian–Turkish border to deter Turkey, Greece's Balkan Pact ally from intervening.


title: German invasion of Greece

text: Under heavy German diplomatic pressure, Prince Paul had Yugoslavia join the Tripartite Pact on 25 March 1941, but with a proviso that Yugoslavia would not grant transit rights to the Wehrmacht to attack Greece. As the Metaxas Line protected the Greek–Bulgarian border, the Wehrmacht generals much preferred the idea of attacking Greece via Yugoslavia instead of Bulgaria. During a hasty meeting of Hitler's staff after the unexpected 27 March Yugoslav coup d'état against the Yugoslav government, orders for the campaign in Yugoslavia were drafted, as well as changes to the plans for Greece. The coup d'état in Belgrade greatly assisted German planning as it allowed the Wehrmacht to plan an invasion of Greece via Yugoslavia. The American historians Allan Millett and Williamson Murray wrote from the Greek perspective, it would have had been better if the Yugoslav coup d'état had not taken place as it would have forced the Wehrmacht to assault the Metaxas Line without the option of outflanking the Metaxas Line by going through Yugoslavia. On 6 April, both Greece and Yugoslavia were to be attacked.


title: German invasion of Greece

text: Little more than a month later, the British reconsidered. Winston Churchill aspired to reestablish a Balkan Front comprising Yugoslavia, Greece and Turkey, and instructed Anthony Eden and Sir John Dill to resume negotiations with the Greek government. A meeting attended by Eden and the Greek leadership, including King George II, Prime Minister Alexandros Koryzis—the successor of Metaxas, who had died on 29 January 1941—and Papagos took place in Athens on 22 February, where it was decided to send an expeditionary force of British and other Commonwealth forces. German troops had been massing in Romania and on 1 March, "Wehrmacht" forces began to move into Bulgaria. At the same time, the Bulgarian Army mobilised and took up positions along the Greek frontier.


title: German invasion of Greece

text: On 2 March, Operation Lustre—the transportation of troops and equipment to Greece—began and 26 troopships arrived at the port of Piraeus. On 3 April, during a meeting of British, Yugoslav and Greek military representatives, the Yugoslavs promised to block the Struma valley in case of a German attack across their territory. During this meeting, Papagos stressed the importance of a joint Greco-Yugoslavian offensive against the Italians, as soon as the Germans launched their offensive. By 24 April more than 62,000 Empire troops (British, Australians, New Zealanders, Palestine Pioneer Corps and Cypriots), had arrived in Greece, comprising the 6th Australian Division, the New Zealand 2nd Division and the British 1st Armoured Brigade. The three formations later became known as 'W' Force, after their commander, Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson. Air Commodore Sir John D'Albiac commanded British air forces in Greece.


title: German invasion of Greece

text: To enter Northern Greece, the German army had to cross the Rhodope Mountains, which offered few river valleys or mountain passes capable of accommodating the movement of large military units. Two invasion courses were located west of Kyustendil; another was along the Yugoslav-Bulgarian border, via the Struma river valley to the south. Greek border fortifications had been adapted for the terrain and a formidable defence system covered the few available roads. The Struma and Nestos rivers cut across the mountain range along the Greek-Bulgarian frontier and both of their valleys were protected by strong fortifications, as part of the larger Metaxas Line. This system of concrete pillboxes and field fortifications, constructed along the Bulgarian border in the late 1930s, was built on principles similar to those of the Maginot Line. Its strength resided mainly in the inaccessibility of the intermediate terrain leading up to the defence positions.


title: German invasion of Greece

text: Greece's mountainous terrain favored a defensive strategy, while the high ranges of the Rhodope, Epirus, Pindus and Olympus mountains offered many defensive opportunities. Air power was required to protect defending ground forces from entrapment in the many defiles. Although an invading force from Albania could be stopped by a relatively small number of troops positioned in the high Pindus mountains, the northeastern part of the country was difficult to defend against an attack from the north.


title: German invasion of Greece

text: Following a March conference in Athens, the British believed that they would combine with Greek forces to occupy the Haliacmon Line—a short front facing north-eastwards along the Vermio Mountains and the lower Haliacmon river. Papagos awaited clarification from the Yugoslav government and later proposed to hold the Metaxas Line—by then a symbol of national security to the Greek populace—and not withdraw divisions from Albania. He argued that to do so would be seen as a concession to the Italians. The strategically important port of Thessaloniki lay practically undefended and transportation of British troops to the city remained dangerous. Papagos proposed to take advantage of the area's terrain and prepare fortifications, while also protecting Thessaloniki.


title: German invasion of Greece

text: General Dill described Papagos' attitude as "unaccommodating and defeatist" and argued that his plan ignored the fact that Greek troops and artillery were capable of only token resistance. The British believed that the Greek rivalry with Bulgaria—the Metaxas Line was designed specifically for war with Bulgaria—as well as their traditionally good terms with the Yugoslavs—left their north-western border largely undefended. Despite their awareness that the line was likely to collapse in the event of a German thrust from the Struma and Axios rivers, the British eventually acceded to the Greek command. On 4 March, Dill accepted the plans for the Metaxas line and on 7 March agreement was ratified by the British Cabinet. The overall command was to be retained by Papagos and the Greek and British commands agreed to fight a delaying action in the north-east. The British did not move their troops, because General Wilson regarded them as too weak to protect such a broad front. Instead, he took a position some west of the Axios, across the Haliacmon Line. The two main objectives in establishing this position were to maintain contact with the Hellenic army in Albania and to deny German access to Central Greece. This had the advantage of requiring a smaller force than other options, while allowing more preparation time, but it meant abandoning nearly the whole of Northern Greece, which was unacceptable to the Greeks for political and psychological reasons. The line's left flank was susceptible to flanking from Germans operating through the Monastir Gap in Yugoslavia. The rapid disintegration of the Yugoslav Army and a German thrust into the rear of the Vermion position was not expected.


title: German invasion of Greece

text: The German strategy was based on using so-called ""blitzkrieg"" methods that had proved successful during the invasions of Western Europe. Their effectiveness was confirmed during the invasion of Yugoslavia. The German command again coupled ground troops and armour with air support and rapidly drove into the territory. Once Thessaloniki was captured, Athens and the port of Piraeus became principal targets. Piraeus, was virtually destroyed by bombing on the night of the 6/7 April. The loss of Piraeus and the Isthmus of Corinth would fatally compromise withdrawal and evacuation of British and Greek forces.


title: German invasion of Greece

text: The Fifth Yugoslav Army took responsibility for the south-eastern border between Kriva Palanka and the Greek border. The Yugoslav troops were not fully mobilised and lacked adequate equipment and weapons. Following the entry of German forces into Bulgaria, the majority of Greek troops were evacuated from Western Thrace. By this time, Greek forces defending the Bulgarian border totalled roughly 70,000 men (sometimes labelled the "Greek Second Army" in English and German sources, although no such formation existed). The remainder of the Greek forces—14 divisions (often erroneously referred to as the "Greek First Army" by foreign sources)—was committed in Albania.


title: German invasion of Greece

text: On 28 March, the Greek Central Macedonia Army Section—comprising the 12th and 20th Infantry Divisions—were put under the command of General Wilson, who established his headquarters to the north-west of Larissa. The New Zealand division took position north of Mount Olympus, while the Australian division blocked the Haliacmon valley up to the Vermion range. The RAF continued to operate from airfields in Central and Southern Greece, but few planes could be diverted to the theatre. The British forces were near to fully motorised, but their equipment was more suited to desert warfare than to Greece's steep mountain roads. They were short of tanks and anti-aircraft guns and the lines of communication across the Mediterranean were vulnerable, because each convoy had to pass close to Axis-held islands in the Aegean; despite the British Royal Navy's domination of the Aegean Sea. These logistical problems were aggravated by the limited availability of shipping and Greek port capacity.


title: German invasion of Greece

text: The German Twelfth Army—under the command of Field Marshal Wilhelm List—was charged with the execution of Operation Marita. His army was composed of six units:


title: German invasion of Greece

text: The German plan of attack was influenced by their army's experiences during the Battle of France. Their strategy was to create a diversion through the campaign in Albania, thus stripping the Hellenic Army of manpower for the defence of their Yugoslavian and Bulgarian borders. By driving armoured wedges through the weakest links of the defence chain, penetrating Allied territory would not require substantial armour behind an infantry advance. Once Southern Yugoslavia was overrun by German armour, the Metaxas Line could be outflanked by highly mobile forces thrusting southward from Yugoslavia. Thus, possession of Monastir and the Axios valley leading to Thessaloniki became essential for such an outflanking maneuver.


title: German invasion of Greece

text: The Yugoslav "coup d'état" led to a sudden change in the plan of attack and confronted the Twelfth Army with a number of difficult problems. According to the 28 March Directive No. 25, the Twelfth Army was to create a mobile task force to attack via Niš toward Belgrade. With only nine days left before their final deployment, every hour became valuable and each fresh assembly of troops took time to mobilise. By the evening of 5 April, the forces intended to enter southern Yugoslavia and Greece had been assembled.


title: German invasion of Greece

text: At dawn on 6 April, the German armies invaded Greece, while the Luftwaffe began an intensive bombardment of Belgrade. The XL Panzer Corps began their assault at 05:30. They pushed across the Bulgarian frontier into Yugoslavia at two separate points. By the evening of 8 April, the 73rd Infantry Division captured Prilep, severing an important rail line between Belgrade and Thessaloniki and isolating Yugoslavia from its allies. On the evening of 9 April, Stumme deployed his forces north of Monastir, in preparation for attack toward Florina. This position threatened to encircle the Greeks in Albania and W Force in the area of Florina, Edessa and Katerini. While weak security detachments covered his rear against a surprise attack from central Yugoslavia, elements of the 9th Panzer Division drove westward to link up with the Italians at the Albanian border.


title: German invasion of Greece

text: The 2nd Panzer Division (XVIII Mountain Corps) entered Yugoslavia from the east on the morning of 6 April and advanced westward through the Strumica Valley. It encountered little resistance, but was delayed by road clearance demolitions, mines and mud. Nevertheless, the division was able to reach the day's objective, the town of Strumica. On 7 April, a Yugoslav counter-attack against the division's northern flank was repelled, and the following day, the division forced its way across the mountains and overran the thinly manned defensive line of the Greek 19th Mechanised Division south of Doiran Lake. Despite many delays along the mountain roads, an armoured advance guard dispatched toward Thessaloniki succeeded in entering the city by the morning of 9 April. Thessaloniki was taken after a long battle with three Greek divisions under the command of General Bakopoulos, and was followed by the surrender of the Greek Eastern Macedonia Army Section, taking effect at 13:00 on 10 April. In the three days it took the Germans to reach Thessaloniki and breach the Metaxas Line, some 60,000 Greek soldiers were taken prisoner.


title: German invasion of Greece

text: In early April 1941, Greek, Yugoslav and British commanders met to set in motion a counteroffensive, that planned to completely destroy the Italian army in Albania in time to counter the German invasion and allow the bulk of the Greek army to take up new positions and protect the border with Yugoslavia and Bulgaria. On 7 April, the Yugoslav 3rd Army in the form of five infantry divisions (13th "Hercegovacka", 15th "Zetska", 25th "Vardarska", 31st "Kosovska" and 12th "Jadranska" Divisions, with the "Jadranska" acting as the reserve), after a false start due to the planting of a bogus order, launched a counteroffensive in northern Albania, advancing from Debar, Prisren and Podgorica towards Elbasan. On 8 April, the Yugoslav vanguard, the "Komski" Cavalry Regiment crossed the treacherous Accursed Mountains and captured the village of Koljegcava in the Valbonë River Valley, and the 31st "Kosovska" Division, supported by Savoia-Marchetti S.79K bombers from the 7th Bomber Regiment of the Royal Yugoslav Air Force (VVKJ), broke through the Italian positions in the Drin River Valley. The "Vardarska" Division, due to the fall of Skopje was forced to halt its operations in Albania. In the meantime, the Western Macedonia Army Section under General Tsolakoglou, comprising the 9th and 13th Greek Divisions, advanced in support of the Royal Yugoslav Army, capturing some 250 Italians on 8 April. The Greeks were tasked with advancing towards Durrës. On 9 April, the Zetska Division advanced towards Shkodër and the Yugoslav cavalry regiment reached the Drin River, but the Kosovska Division had to halt its advance due to the appearance of German units near Prizren. The Yugoslav-Greek offensive was supported by S.79K bombers from the 66th and 81st Bomber Groups of the VVKJ, that attacked airfields and camps around Shkodër, as well as the port of Durrës, and Italian troop concentrations and bridges on the Drin and Buene rivers and Durrës, Tirana and Zara.