Nearly every country was affected in some way by the horrors of World War II, as much as you'd think they were out of harm.
Greece is one such example: a massive Nazi invasion was launched on May 20, 1941 where Allied forces and brave civilians put up a valiant defense.
The defenders of Crete, Greece weren't just trained soldiers with the most modern weaponry. Most were civilians of the town—men, women and children from all walks of life. Even religious members such as priests, monks, and nuns got in on the action!
Weapons were far and few between. Many dug up near-ancient matchlock rifles that were used to defend their homes against the Turks many years earlier. The rest found any blunt or sharp object laying around and fought off many German parachutists.
The most interesting, but brutal, example is of an elderly man that managed to beat a German soldier to death with his walking stick before he could untangle himself from his parachute. Another is a priest and son that stole two old sniper rifles from the local museum and managed to snipe enemies in their landing zones while the son reloaded the other rifle, offering a constant barrage of deadly fire.
Eventually, due to intercommunication and the ability to reinforce, the Germans took Crete after 10 days of fighting, though they certainly didn't get a warm welcome.
