How Yugoslavia Collapsed
German soldiers, caught in sniper fire on the road, return fire. Yugoslavia, April 1941.
The target is the Balkans
The fires of war that destroyed several Western European states did not stop at the English Channel, the Atlantic Ocean, or North Africa. New directions of the great war emerged.
In preparation for war against the USSR, Hitler set himself the goal of strengthening his position in the Balkans. He did not want the British to establish a foothold in the Balkans by drawing Greece and Yugoslavia into their orbit, thereby cutting off the German Reich from Turkey and its strategic and economic potential, and exerting influence over other Balkan countries.
The Third Reich steadily expanded its capabilities in the Balkan Peninsula and on the northern and eastern borders of Yugoslavia. In 1938, Austria's independence was abolished, giving the Serbs a potential enemy foothold in the north.
From the Italian side, the threat was in the western direction: the Trieste region and Italian-occupied Albania.
In September 1940, the Tripartite Pact (Berlin Pact) was signed between Germany, Italy, and Japan. It granted Italy rights to a significant portion of Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Western Balkans. But Mussolini, the Italian leader who dreamed of a new Roman Empire, understood that Hitler wouldn't wait for him. The Germans had already entered Romania, which the Duce considered part of the future empire. He needed to secure his rights by force. Greece was especially tempting for Mussolini.
Rome decided to wage a "blitzkrieg" against Greece. In October 1940, the Italians invaded Greece from Albania, which they had captured in 1939. The Duce didn't warn Hitler. Although German intelligence was effective, it warned the Führer. Hitler became worried that the Italians would screw things up. He traveled to Italy to cool his ally's ardor, but he didn't have time. The war had already begun.
The Greeks, unexpectedly for the Italians, put up a desperate resistance. The Italian divisions easily swept away the border outposts, but then ran into the stubborn defense of the Greek army. The blitzkrieg failed. The motivation of the Greek soldiers defending their homeland proved much higher than that of the Italian soldiers, who were reluctant to fight. The Greeks successfully struck the enemy's flank, launched a counteroffensive, and cleared not only their own territory but also part of Albanian territory of the enemy. The British, using an aircraft carrier, dealt a powerful blow to the naval base in Taranto. They sank the brand-new battleship Cavour and damaged several other ships. In essence, the Italian fleet was paralyzed for a time.
Facing military disaster, the Italians were forced to transfer large new reinforcements to the Balkans. The war dragged on, and without the help of the Wehrmacht, the Italians were unable to break the Greek army's defenses, despite their significant numerical and technical superiority.
At the same time, the Italians failed to launch an offensive in North and East Africa, where they were attempting to drive the British out of Egypt and Sudan. After initial successes (the British were few there), the offensive eventually stalled, bogged down, and then the British launched a counteroffensive. It was a disaster. The Italian army effectively ceased to exist.
Ultimately, to avoid Italy's complete defeat and its possible separate peace with Britain, Hitler was forced to rescue his ally. In February 1941, Rommel's German corps was sent to North Africa. The German high command was also preparing operations against Yugoslavia and Greece.
Italian soldiers man a Fiat Revelli M35 8mm machine gun at a position in Greece, 1941.
A column of Italian soldiers with pack animals on a road in the mountains of Greece, 1941.
The English factor
Meanwhile, Britain exploited the violation of Greece's neutrality. London formed an alliance with Athens. The British landed troops on the islands and the mainland. From Greek airfields, they could bomb Romania's oil fields—the main source of fuel for the German armed forces, the Panzerwaffe, and the Luftwaffe. The southern flank of the future Russian Front, which was already in full swing, was also threatened. This was a strategic threat, and Hitler understood it perfectly well.
The British also negotiated with Yugoslavia and Turkey to draw them into an alliance against the Third Reich. The Americans also showed unexpected activity in the region. Donovan, one of the leaders of American intelligence, appeared in the Balkans. He had once served as the US representative to Kolchak's headquarters during the Russian Civil War. Now he was Roosevelt's personal intelligence coordinator. The Americans began to encourage the leadership of the Balkan countries to oppose Germany.
But the Romanians and Bulgarians had already made their choice in favor of Germany. Turkey, meanwhile, had been Germany's ally since World War I. The Turks were cunning; they had suffered greatly during the previous great war. Therefore, they were in no hurry to openly enter the war. They were waiting to see who would prevail. The Turks had no desire to fight the Germans. On the contrary, they were leaning toward an alliance with Germany and a war with Russia.
The British failed to convince Yugoslavia either. Serbian politicians doubted the British would be able to provide significant assistance to Yugoslavia. There was a possibility that Belgrade would simply be exploited, just as the Czechs, Poles, and French had been exploited and betrayed. Belgrade understood that if they opposed Berlin, they would find themselves on the front lines, and no real assistance would be forthcoming.
In general, the British tried to do everything possible to avoid a direct attack from the German Reich and to pit the Russians and Germans against each other again, as in 1914. To do this, they used the Balkans map.
British Universal Carrier armored personnel carriers on the move in Greece. April 1941.
Strengthening the Berlin Pact
During this period, the external situation for Yugoslavia and Greece deteriorated significantly. In September 1940, a coup took place in Romania, bringing General Antonescu's regime to power. He immediately joined the Berlin Pact. Romania now sold oil only to Germany and Italy, becoming a strategic base for the German armed forces.
Antonescu, who dreamed of a “Greater Romania” at the expense of his neighbors (in particular, he wanted to obtain Russian lands up to the Dnieper), assured Hitler that the country weapons will march side by side with the Axis powers. Romania became a satellite and economic appendage of the German Empire. Yugoslavia faced a threat from the East.
Almost simultaneously, in November 1940, Hungary also joined the Berlin Pact. Budapest joined the construction of Hitler's "New Order" in Europe. Hungarian admiral and ruler Miklós Horthy, who hated communism, swore allegiance to Hitler and approved of the plan for the complete destruction of the Soviet Union. The Hungarian nationalist elite also dreamed of creating a "Greater Hungary" at the expense of its neighbors and endorsed the war against the USSR. As a result, Yugoslavia also faced a threat in the northeast.
The elite of monarchical Bulgaria, despite the interests of the people, who traditionally respected their Russian "brothers," also leaned toward an alliance with Germany. Tsar Boris III was pleased with Germany's victories. Resentful of its defeat in World War I, which had deprived it of access to the Aegean Sea (Western Thrace) and Macedonia, Sofia steadily moved closer to Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. The Bulgarians rearmed their army with the help of Italy and Germany. Bulgaria's economy was oriented toward the Third Reich.
Active pro-German and Nazi propaganda was conducted in the country. The Abwehr, the German intelligence service, was active in Bulgaria. Bulgarian ports and airfields were being prepared to accommodate the German Navy and Air Force. Dozens of new airfields were being built across the country.
With German troops stationed in Romania, Sofia decided that the only viable option was an alliance with Berlin. On March 1, 1941, Bulgaria joined the Berlin Pact.
On March 2, 1941, the German 12th Army entered Bulgaria from Romania, and units of the 8th Luftwaffe Air Corps were stationed in the country. Bulgaria was required to support the German troops. From that moment on, the Nazis became the de facto masters of Bulgaria. The Bulgarian monarchy became a satellite of the German Empire, its economic appendage. As a result, Yugoslavia and Greece were exposed to enemy invasion from the east.
Motorcyclists of the SS Panzergrenadier Division "Das Reich" on a BMW R12 motorcycle ride past a line of Hungarian Army officers through Budapest on their way to the invasion of Yugoslavia. April 1941.
Yugoslav throwing
Yugoslavia maintained neutrality during this period. Belgrade, which had previously aligned itself with France, was deeply concerned. Some in the leadership believed that Yugoslavia could not fight against Germany, so an agreement was needed.
At the same time, society and the people remembered the horrors of World War I, the Austrian and German occupations. The slaughter and the gallows. They disliked the Germans, but retained sympathy for France and Russia. Such sentiments were strong in the army. Therefore, politicians could not ignore this factor.
In November–December 1940, Berlin proposed a non-aggression pact with Belgrade and the Tripartite Pact. German diplomats and agents actively harassed the government of Prime Minister Dragiš Cvetković and Prince Regent Paul, who assumed the throne on behalf of the underage Prince Peter. They exerted pressure, while promising to cede Thessaloniki, which belonged to Greece and which the Serbs considered their own (dreaming of gaining access to the Aegean Sea).
On March 25, 1941, Prime Minister Cvetković signed a protocol in Vienna pledging Yugoslavia's accession to the Tripartite Pact. The Germans pledged to respect the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity, not to require the transit of their troops through it, and not to require Serb participation in Axis military operations.
But Cvetković and his ministers had to conduct these negotiations in complete secrecy to avoid causing widespread public outrage. They even left Belgrade for Vienna in secret. They hoped the people would accept the fait accompli. They were mistaken. The news of the alliance with Germany sparked mass unrest. People shouted:
Better war than a pact! Better a coffin than slavery!
On March 26, mass rallies and demonstrations continued in Yugoslav cities. In Belgrade alone, a city of 400, 80 people took to the streets. Pogroms against German organizations began.
On the night of March 27, 1941, Air Force Commander General Dušan Simović, relying on like-minded officers and air force units, took advantage of the unrest to stage a coup d'état in Yugoslavia. The general removed Prince Regent Paul from power and installed 17-year-old Peter II on the throne. Simović himself assumed the post of Prime Minister of Yugoslavia and Chief of the General Staff.
Clearly, the spontaneous patriotism of the Serbs was being exploited to draw the country into the war. The new government was hesitant. The Germans were promised loyalty. Contacts with Greece and England immediately intensified. On March 31, British General John Dill and Private Secretary to the British Foreign Secretary Peter Dixon arrived in Belgrade from Athens. The Yugoslav army was deployed for defense.
At the same time, Belgrade began to seek help from the Russians. On the night of April 5–6, the Treaty of Friendship and Non-Aggression between the USSR and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was signed in Moscow. It was signed by Molotov and Serbian envoy Milan Gavrilović. The Soviet government planned to provide Belgrade with military and material aid. But it was too late.
Hitler was angry and called a coup "betrayal", he did not believe in the loyalty of the Serbs. Already on the evening of March 27, 1941, he signed OKW Directive No. 25 (German: Oberkommando der Wehrmacht, abbreviated OKW - Supreme Command of the Armed Forces of Germany) on preparations for war against Yugoslavia with the goal of eliminating it as a state. The Führer ordered the destruction of Belgrade as "hotbed of resistance"The attack on Greece, scheduled for April 1, was postponed to April 6. Operation Marita against Greece was supplemented by Operation Punishment against Yugoslavia.
Croatian nationalists expressed their readiness to support the Nazi invasion.
A column of the 1st Mountain Division of the Wehrmacht on the border before the invasion of Yugoslavia.
German Tanks Pz.Kpfw. III from the 1st Panzer Group (Panzergruppe 1) during the invasion of Yugoslavia, April 6–7, 1941
To be continued ...
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