Mediterranean Sideshows - Part 2
Although, in the end, Hitler's overwhelming war machine did settle matters in all the areas in which 'problems' had occurred, the price ultimately paid was to cost him everything. With Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria bullied and coerced, and partly willing in view of the territory they each saw themselves as acquiring, it is difficult to fathom any reason other than the rescue of Mussolini, for the invasion of Yugoslavia, followed by Greece. Hitler had accumulated nearly 700,000 men in Romania, ready for Barbarossa, but now he was having to use them for the sideshows.
After making agreements with Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria, Hitler had taken time on 4th and 5th March, to bully the Yugoslavian Regent, Prince Paul, into sending the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister to Berlin later in the month, to sign a similar agreement. This they accordingly did but Paul had not reckoned on the patriotism of the ordinary Yugoslav. Despite different ethnic backgrounds, they did not want an alien army in their country, nor to be a satellite of the Germans and, overnight 26th to 27th March, they threw out the Regent and his government, and installed Peter as King, although still a minor. It was obvious that the new regime was not prepared to be a puppet, despite being willing to sign a non-aggression pact. According to reports, Hitler went into one of the wildest rages ever seen by anyone, a measure of how much Barbarossa had magnified in his own mind. He called in the army leaders on that very day and swore that he would annihilate Yugoslavia for what they had done to him. Not only was Barbarossa threatened but also Marita, the plan for a full scale invasion of Greece, based on the army being able to walk through Yugoslavia. Hitler was so enraged that he ordered Goering to bomb Belgrade immediately, without any diplomatic niceties and told Keitel and Jodl to work out plans that evening for the invasion. And, he announced, as a result of all this, "The beginning of the Barbarossa operation will have to be postponed up to four weeks."
Arguably, this single decision, taken in a fit of blind rage, rather like a child whose wishes have been crossed, was the most fateful of the entire war. Already, as we have seen, the original idea of a date in autumn 1940 had had to be changed because of logistics and weather. The postponement to 15th May 1941 was even then a late start but it ensured dry conditions through the rough Russian countryside, whose few roads were dirt. Being a late start, however, meant that the German armies only had a maximum of six months before the real onset of winter; Hitler thought he would only need three, basing this on the way the Panzers had smashed their way through Europe. That Hitler was aware of the proven Russian tactic of retreating and retreating in the face of stronger forces, as witness Napoleon's advance and disastrous withdrawal, is evident in the detailed planning which called for deep strikes and encirclements. He simply blinded himself to the immensity of Russia, and the almost limitless supply of men, and women, available for the Russian armies. And now here was this puny mongrel of a nation daring to get in his way.
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