Goebbels wrote: Leader, circumstances force me to use this quickest method to tell you my assessment of the situation and its possible consequences. From the beginning, I thought Yugoslavia was a dangerous factor in the dispute with Greece? ? Therefore, I made every legitimate effort to bring Yugoslavia into our family? ? Unfortunately, this effort was unsuccessful? ? Today's news leaves little doubt that Yugoslavia's foreign policy is about to change.
Therefore, I have arranged all necessary measures militarily? ? Now, I sincerely ask you, Leader, not to take any further actions in Albania in the coming days. I think you must cover the most important pass between Yugoslavia and Albania with all the troops you have. I believe, Leader, that you must use all means at your disposal to reinforce your troops on the Italian-Yugoslav front very quickly. I also believe, Leader, that all actions we take and order to be taken should be kept strictly confidential? Would these measures be worthless if they were known? Leader, if the secret can be kept, I have no doubt that the two of us can achieve no less than what we achieved in Norway a year ago. This is my unshakable belief. Please accept my heartfelt and friendly compliments.
After writing it all, Goebbels breathed a sigh of relief, said goodbye to his wife and children, and rushed to the Propaganda Department, where there was the equipment Goebbels needed. When the telegram was sent, Goebbels said ,; "What a pity. If you had joined the Axis Powers, you would not have ended up like this. It is a pity that you chose to stand with the Soviet Union! But your power is too weak. Even if you try your best, you can only defeat Germany." Do some warm-up exercises!”
Wilhelm II issued Directive No. 25 at the Supreme Command on March 27. The directive stated that: 1. The military coup in Yugoslavia has changed the political situation in the Balkans. Even if Yugoslavia currently expresses its allegiance, it should be regarded as an enemy and crushed as soon as possible.
2. Our intention is to carry out a concentric assault from the Fiomgraz area on the one hand and the Sofia area on the other in the general direction of Belgrade, break into Yugoslavia from the south, and deal a devastating blow to the Yugoslav armed forces. In addition, the southernmost region of Yugoslavia should be cut off from the rest of the region and used as a base for the German and Italian armies to attack Greece in the next step.
For defense and economic reasons, it was important to open the Danube to navigation as soon as possible and seize the Boer copper mines.
Return the Banat region stolen from Yugoslavia after World War I to Hungary and Romania. and Macedonia, and enlist Hungary, Bulgaria and Greece to join the war.
Increasing political tensions within Yugoslavia by giving political guarantees to the Croats.
3. The specific commands are as follows:
1. As soon as the force preparations are sufficient and weather conditions permit, the air force will conduct air strikes day and night to destroy the ground facilities of the Yugoslav aviation force and Belgrade.
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2. All available forces in Bulgaria and Romania can be forwarded to launch an offensive from the Sofia area to the northwest and from the Kirstendil-Golnad Yumaia area to the west, but approximately 1 division must be retained. forces (excluding air defense forces) to defend Romanian oil fields. The border with Turkey was temporarily defended by the Bulgarians. A new German force must be deployed behind it, possibly an armored division, to be used as a support force.
3. Once the required forces are assembled, launch an assault southeastward from the general direction of Graz, Austria. It is up to the Army to decide whether to open the border through Hungarian territory.
Alerts should be stepped up immediately along the border with Yugoslavia.
Before the general offensive begins, important targets should be captured while air strikes on Belgrade. The same should be true on the Bulgarian border.
4. The Air Force should use two attack groups to support the combat operations of the 12th Army and the newly formed assault group in the Graz area, and the main attack direction should be determined based on the progress of the Army's operations. Assembly and operations can be carried out with the help of Hungarian ground facilities.
Consideration should be given to whether to allow the 10th Air Force to launch operations from Italian territory. However, it is necessary to ensure that the convoys to Africa continue to be escorted.
Preparations for the capture of Lemnos should continue, but only I have the authority to issue orders for implementation.
Consideration should be given to providing adequate air defense cover for Graz, Klagenfurt, Villach and Leoben, in addition to Vienna.
First, the Defense Forces High Command reached an agreement in principle with Italy.
The Army should consider establishing a liaison staff with the Italian 2nd Army and the Hungarians.
Authorizes the Air Force to reach an agreement with the headquarters of the relevant countries on the boundaries of the operational areas of the Italian and Hungarian aviation units. Work on storing supplies at aviation ground facilities in Hungary can begin immediately.
I request you, Commander-in-Chief, to report to me through the High Command of the National Defense Forces on the operational implementation plan and issues related thereto.
After General List learned that the Twelfth Army would be the main force to attack Yugoslavia, he immediately stated that the Twelfth Army would need at least half a month to prepare. After research by the Supreme Command, he considered it acceptable to attack Yugoslavia. Preparations for the campaign began in April, and General Weikes of the Second Army was ordered to cooperate with the actions of the Twelfth Army. It was expected to use the Twelfth and Second Army and the First Tank Group (a total of 32 divisions, of which 10 tank division), more than 1,500 aircraft (Seventh Air Force and Eighth Air Force), in addition to these, Goering will dispatch the first ground armored force of the Luftwaffe, the Hermann & Goering Armored Corps, which is also the Hermann & Goering Armored Corps. The first battle after the formation of the Mann & Goering Armored Corps.
Since Ribbentrop was visiting Italy, in order to coordinate the actions between Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Greece, Lin Wei asked the former Foreign Minister Niuret to be responsible for coordinating the actions with these countries. Lin Wei believed that he would serve as Germany's Niulet, who has been the foreign minister for many years, can easily solve this problem. If the coordination is successful, according to preliminary estimates, when the Yugoslav campaign begins, the Axis powers can send at least a total of 80 divisions and 1.3 million troops to fight. According to the territorial size of Yugoslavia, the war will be over in half a month and will not delay the implementation of Operation Barbarossa.
The ideal is beautiful, but the plan still needs to be perfected. Since Germany has decided to poke the powder keg in the Balkans, Lin Wei must ensure that this will not become a place for Germany to get stuck in the quagmire. In order not to let Germany stumble in the process of attacking Yugoslavia, Lin Wei Wei also specially called Heydrich back from the Czech Republic, preparing to discuss the aftermath of Yugoslavia with Heydrich.
On March 31, William II once again held a meeting on Yugoslavia at the Supreme Command. Compared with the usual black in the sea of gray, Lin Wei finally did not have to face the scene of the National Defense Forces again. He sat down. Heydrich, who was beside Lin Wei, also invisibly increased Lin Wei's speaking voice, making Lin Wei more confident when speaking.
At the signal of William II, the meeting began, which was pretty much what Lin Wei had imagined. Whether it was Marshal von Blomberg or General von Brauchitsch, they were discussing issues such as where to attack from and how many troops to send. , Yodel didn’t have much new ideas, and the overall result was good, that is, almost all the generals believed that the war would end within half a month. After occupying Yugoslavia, Italy and Germany would be more closely connected. , have a positive impact on the Barbarossa Action Plan.
To be honest, when Lin Wei heard that the occupation of Yugoslavia would have a positive impact on Operation Barbarossa, he almost fainted from laughter. Positive impact? In Lin Wei's memory, it seems that after Germany occupied Yugoslavia, it did not get even the slightest benefit. Where is the positive impact
"Dear Your Majesty, I have two words to say!" Lin Wei stood up and bowed slightly. After getting permission from William II, Lin Wei said calmly, "First of all, I have to explain that the generals of the National Defense Forces What he said makes sense. As expected, Yugoslavia will be occupied by us in half a month!" Seeing the smiles on the faces of these generals, Lin Wei changed the topic and said, "But the test of war is not during the war. , but what if we occupy Yugoslavia?”
"Lampard, what do you mean?" von Brauchitsch asked, "Do you think Yugoslavia will resist for a long time? Do you think too highly of the Yugoslavs?"
"General von Brauchitsch, when the Austro-Hungarian Empire issued the ultimatum, did anyone expect that Serbia would really dare to go to war with the Austro-Hungarian Empire?" Lin Wei asked with a smile; "Since Serbia dares to do this , Yugoslavia is now much more powerful than Serbia!"
Historically, the Yugoslav War caused many disadvantages to Germany. In Lin Wei's view, the war was simply not worth the gain. In Lin Wei's eyes, Yugoslavia had at least three serious consequences. The first was attrition. First, it was used to attack Yugoslavia. On the ground, the troops mobilized the 2nd and 12th armies and the Kleist Armored Group. Among them, the 46th Armored Corps in the 2nd Army has two armored divisions. The Tenth Army has 10 divisions, including 2 armored divisions. A large amount of air force was invested in it. It should be said that this military operation consumed considerable resources when "Operation Barbarossa" was about to begin. Italy also invested considerable troops. After the operation, in order to maintain the occupied area and suppress the guerrillas, the Germans stationed Army Group E and 13 Italian divisions. At the same time, a small amount of the Italian navy was also contained. The German army can put Army Group E and Italian troops into the Soviet-German battlefield, and the situation of insufficient troops in the early stage of the blitzkrieg will be greatly improved. Objectively speaking, the combat capabilities of these units need to be studied, and there are problems with the equipment and personnel quality of the armored units. However, with the combat capabilities of these troops, they can severely damage 4 to 10 Soviet infantry divisions. In the early stage, the Soviet Union had to deal with this force of more than 200,000 people, at least with the strength of a group army. Even if it cannot contain heavy troops, it can still be used to break through and expand the results of the battle, as a strategic reserve force. and defend the secondary front and maintain occupation of the rear. This would greatly ease the pressure on the German army.
The second was that it had been stuck in a quagmire for a long time and could not get out. The German army repeatedly used a large number of troops to encircle and suppress Tito's guerrillas, but all failed. Among them, there are many elite mountain divisions, armed SS troops, and paratroopers. And these troops suffered a large number of casualties here. It seriously affected the security of Army Group F's rear route, preventing the Italian army from safely using ports on the Adriatic Sea, and restrained a large number of Axis Allied forces. German intelligence agencies have also invested a lot of manpower and material resources in this effort. A high-level headquarters was established in conjunction with Army Groups E and F. Marshal-level figures such as Kleist, Lister, and Weikes successively intervened in the southern region but failed to achieve substantial results.
Third, Germany lost a safe rear base. Yugoslavia was not within the range of Allied air strikes and had rich mineral and human resources and better agricultural production. If there is a decent organization, it can become a good base to support the Eastern Front and African battlefields.
If Yugoslavia can maintain a friendly attitude towards Germany, Germany's conditions will undoubtedly be much more favorable. In this case, Germany can calmly mobilize domestic men to the battlefield, because in addition to France supplying the food Germany needs, Yugoslavia Food can also solve Germany's domestic shortage problem, but now, all this will be in vain.
Since Yugoslavia's resources and food cannot be obtained to serve Germany, what Lin Wei is doing now is not to let Yugoslavia play a role in containing German power.
"What I want to do now is to completely dismember Yugoslavia so that they will never have a chance to unify in the future!" Lin Wei glanced at Heydrich and said, "Generals, please let Heydrich introduce the situation in Yugoslavia. !”
Ahem... Heydrich stood up slowly. I don't know if it was because he had been suppressing anti-German elements in the Czech Republic. Heydrich's eyes made these generals feel very uncomfortable, but Heydrich didn't seem to realize it. At this point, he cleared his throat and said slowly, "Yugoslavia has five ethnic groups--Slovenes, Croats, Serbs, Montenegrins, and Macedonians. Four languages--Slovenian, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian. Three religions--Orthodox, Catholic, and Islam--and two sets of languages--Latin and Cyrillic. This situation reminds me of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the empire's ally during World War I. Whenever various ideological confrontations occur, Moreover, countries with too many ethnic groups and different languages in the country will ultimately avoid the fate of not understanding each other! The reason why Yugoslavia has been able to maintain its current status is because Britain and France have provided a lot of assistance to Yugoslavia in the past twenty years!"
After Heydrich introduced the situation in Yugoslavia, he said, "Based on the national conditions of Yugoslavia, I, Leader Lampard, have studied and formulated a plan on how to directly direct Yugoslavia!" Now Heydrich seems to be a highly skilled man. Doctor, and Yugoslavia was a seriously injured patient, and Heydrich was ready to operate on Yugoslavia. Moreover, Dr. Heydrich's current technology can be said to be the highest in Europe. Oh, maybe Beria in the Soviet Union may challenge Heydrich's status as the first attending physician.
"First, seducing other ethnic groups in Yugoslavia with independence. Yugoslavia has long been surrounded by Greater Serbianism. This can be seen from the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, which was the trigger of World War I. In such a country, I don't believe that other nations will not feel this, so our actions are mainly divided into two steps!" Heydrich said eloquently, "It is only necessary to return the territory that Yugoslavia originally occupied Hungary and Bulgaria to our allies in the First World War. No need to say more about this! At the same time, we guarantee the independence of the Slovenes, Croats, Montenegrins, and Macedonians in Yugoslavia and let them establish their own countries. Since it is Croatia, there are many conflicts between the Croats and the Serbs. Try our best to support the Croats, and they should occupy part of the Serbian-controlled area in the territory of the new Republic of Croatia!"
"Why is this?" The person who asked was Yodel. Yodel obviously did not understand Heydrich's words. As a soldier, Yodel really lacked some political acumen.
"This is because a strong country cannot emerge in the Balkans. It is necessary to maintain the balance of power between the Croats and the Serbs!" Lin Wei explained, "The second step of the plan is to establish a strict monitoring system in Yugoslavia, and the monitoring system will be Unprecedentedly powerful, the Czechoslovak model is not suitable for Yugoslavia, because the people there are much tougher than the Czechs!”
"That's right!" Heydrich and Lin Wei added in harmony, "Leader Lampard proposed several methods yesterday. I think we can stabilize the situation in Yugoslavia. The first is to re-establish the household registration system in Yugoslavia. , everyone should provide identification no matter what they go out of the area where they live! Once a Yugoslav carries out anti-German activities, the surrounding neighbors must accept severe punishment. I don’t know where the leader borrowed this from. , but this method is very good, it seems to be called???"
"One household commits a crime and ten households are punished together!" Lin Wei added calmly, "To put it simply, if a person commits a crime, he will be arrested and punished regardless of whether his neighbors know about it or not. This can maximize the value of the crime." Yugoslavia has lost the confidence to resist. The biggest use of this method is that once there is a disturbance, the first people to come out to report are the neighbors of the resisters! This time, the resisters in the occupied areas are in a state of being mistrusted by everyone, thus Dismantle the resistance!”
Hiss..., Jodel and General von Brauchitsch looked at each other and took a breath of cold air. This method of punishment was too serious. General von Brauchitsch asked, "Which country has ever used this method?" Pass!"
"No..., I thought about it myself!" When the words came to his lips, Lin Wei still felt that it was better not to say it out loud. Since he is a Chinese, he should not discredit China.
"The second method of maintaining stability is not something we plan to use until the last moment!" Heydrich continued, "This method was learned from the Soviet Union. You should have seen the Great Famine in Ukraine in 1933 from the newspapers. ?”
Seeing everyone nodding, Heydrich said, "If there are still large-scale resistance activities in Yugoslavia within a year after the end of the war, the SS will have to learn the tricks of our colleagues, no. Do you know if there are five million people in Yugoslavia for us to starve to death!”
"What are you going to do?" Marshal von Blomberg said angrily, "Are you two planning to replicate the famine in Ukraine? Starve to death the entire Yugoslav people?"
"It's Serbia! My marshal!" Lin Wei retorted, "If the National Defense Forces cannot control the situation in Yugoslavia by then and allow the Serbs, the main ethnic group in the country, to continue to resist, then I'm sorry, the SS will send troops to blockade the Serbs. In the gathering area, a barbed wire fence was set up to isolate the Serbs, and all the food was forcibly transported out. I think that in this way, after one winter, all the resisters will be wiped out. Whether the plan can be implemented depends on whether the National Defense Forces Can crush Yugoslavia's resistance in the first time, completely dismember Yugoslavia, and make it cease to exist!" Lin Wei is not going to give face to the respected old marshal this time. Yugoslavia must not become a quagmire for Germany. In order to achieve his goal, Lin Wei Nor would they mind replicating the Ukrainian famine.
"Okay!" William II saw that Marshal von Blomberg was about to continue arguing with Lin Wei on this issue, so he had to say, "Lampard also said that everything depends on the actions of the National Defense Forces. , if the actions of the National Defense Force go smoothly, they will naturally not take such an extreme step!"
"But Your Majesty, this is genocide!" Marshal von Blomberg was not prepared to let Lin Wei go, saying, "This is a crime, you will bring shame to Germany!"
"I'm sorry, Marshal!" Lin Wei could only express his regrets without salting it, and said as if unintentionally, "Many Gestapo went to the Soviet Union to study, and even the drawings of the concentration camps were provided by the Soviet Union. I hope the Marshal can remember it. , when the time comes, it will be a good thing for Germany to pour out its anger on the Soviets!"
"Okay!" Wilhelm II had to smooth things over again and said, "The war will be left to the Wehrmacht. The system of one criminal family and ten families to sit together was implemented immediately after the Wehrmacht took control of the situation in Yugoslavia. Heydrich will be in charge, and the Navy will While Delich continued to govern Czechoslovakia, he was also responsible for Yugoslav affairs and ensured that Yugoslavia would remain in a stable state after it was controlled by us! Then he telegraphed Mussolini, saying that Germany had no interest in Yugoslavia. After Yugoslavia was directly controlled by Italy, Serbia, independence for other nations. That’s it!”
"Yes, Your Majesty!" William II's concluding speech undoubtedly set the tone of the Yugoslavia campaign. If the Wehrmacht cannot control the situation in Yugoslavia, the people there will be asking for blessings.