But, before launching the major war on Russia, Hitler had to complete the exclusion of Britain from Europe. This meant, in particular, the stopping of the gap opened by Mussolini's unsuccessful adventure in Greece. On 9th January, 1941, Hitler gave orders to discontinue preparations for Undertakings Felix and Sea Lion, to keep undertaking Attila on the agenda -- the Services must be ready to make a sudden swoop on unoccupied France at short notice at any time -- but to press on with undertaking Marita. Three days later he turned his attention to the whole problem of the threat in the eastern Mediterranean, both in the Balkans, where the Italians were being driven back to Albania by the Greeks, and in Africa, where they were being driven back into Tripolitania by the British, with huge losses.