h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Any idea why they wear those silly uniforms?

Becky

Tough fighters, though. When Mussolini invaded, the Greeks turned the Italian army into kleftiko and shishkebab in no seconds nothing. They perfected the art of allowing an Italian column to move into a narrow mountain pass, waiting till it was all there and strung out with limited movemet available, then they'd block both ends of the pass and stomp the trapped and hapless Itis at their leisure. It got so bad Hitler had to step in and bail the Italians out with German support. This brought the British in on Greece's side, and while we lost in the end and Hitler conquered Greece, this sideshow delayed the German invasion of Russia by up to two months. Ultimate result: when the rain and snow set in, the Germans were nowhere near Moscow, and what might have been another Blitzkrieg victory bogged down in a Russian winter and dragged on for four years.

So perhaps the stubborn Greek resistance from those blokes in the silly skirts had a knock-on effect that ultimately lost WW2 for the Germans... (what part of the Greek army that could be evacuated joined the British forces in North Africa)

It is not related to WW2 in any way. What you see in the picture is a member of the Presidential Guard in front of the Greek House of Parliament. The outfit itself, complete with foustanella (that would be the skirt) used to be what was worn by soldiers during the Greek revolution of 1821. I'm guessing it is still donned by the members of the Presidential Guard as reminiscent of just that. I wish I could help more, but I'm not much of a history buff.