Battle of the Third Reich Chapter 333: Lunch (Yugoslavian chowder)

The German advisers dispatched to the Yugoslav army found that the situation of this armored unit was worse than they thought. Of the four independent armored battalions under the army, in reality, only two are organized, and there are only 110 tanks that can be used. The rest of the units only exist on the army headquarters' organization table.

The Yugoslav Army plans to order fifty s1-d light tanks from Skoda to form a light tank battalion (the fifty tanks missing in the previous article.) These tanks are included in the equipment list by the army, but Because Skoda was immediately annexed by Germany, this transaction was destined to be impossible.

Although the French tank trading contract has been finalized, the French have problems with the supply. These tanks are too old and must be refurbished to a certain extent, otherwise the deal will be really ugly.

As a result, after Germany invaded France, the renovation of French tanks had not yet been completed. Some of the antique tanks kept in the warehouse of the factory became the trophies of the German army. In the end, the Yugoslavs got only five of them. Fourteen r35 and 48 Renault ft-17.

The German consultants were surprised to find that all these antiques were all M26/27. This is an improved tank with the use of "infantry auxiliary tank". It has been strengthened on the basis of ft17. A newly designed suspension system and gearbox are used. The front armor of this tank has been increased to 30 mm, the side armor thickness of the hull is also 16 mm, and the turret armor is 22 mm, so the total weight of the empty vehicle is correspondingly increased to 8 tons, and the road speed is also reduced to Thirty-five kilometers per hour.

As a French-style "infantry tank", this kind of driving speed is completely acceptable. The thickness of the armor and the firepower it carries are also sufficient to cope with the low-intensity wars in the 1920s and 1930s. This tank did not receive the French army. , But unexpectedly won many overseas orders.

The first country to buy this export tank, the answer may be beyond everyone's expectations, it turned out to be the Japanese Empire, which is thousands of miles away from Europe.

The Japanese Army has previously purchased fifteen Renault ft17 basic tanks from France. Some of these tanks were handed over to the Japanese Army Cavalry School for use in armored training and research. At the same time, they will be used as a model for technological development. Japan’s own tanks and armored vehicles were developed on Japan.

The starting point of Japanese tank equipment in history is actually very high. It can be said that it has borrowed from the most advanced armor technology of Britain and France. In the early stage of development, it was completely synchronized with the world trend. As for why it will become the ghost in history. This question has both internal and external factors. It is really difficult to explain it clearly in a word. I will elaborate on it when I discuss it later.

In addition to Japan, another Asian country also bought this tank. To be precise, it should be a local faction, that is, the Feng family warlord who dominated the three eastern provinces at that time.

Zhang Yuting established China's first organic tank unit very early, and tanks also appeared on the battlefield of China's civil war for the first time following the subsequent Zhifeng war.

The Northeast Army initially purchased only 14 legal Renault ft-17 basic models, but by 1930, the number of Renault tanks had increased to 36, of which 15 were this m26/ Type 27.

Some domestic sources say that these are Renault tanks copied from the United States. In fact, nc27 is the model number given to the export tanks by the French government. It is recorded that these tanks were shipped to the northeast in 1930. The Huanggutun incident has already occurred. After the outbreak of the Northeast Army two years ago, after a period of turmoil and civil strife, the transfer of power to the upper echelons has been basically completed, and the Feng Faction is in the peak of this warlord faction.

On September 18, 1930, Zhang Hanqing and Jiang Zhongzheng reached a deal. He could not resist the temptation to enter the customs and control Zhili, so he released a high-profile "Qiaodian" that day, and the Northeast Army officially intervened in Zhengda. The "Central Plains War" is in full swing.

Feng's stab at the back of the critical moment completely destroyed the already fragile anti-Jiang alliance. Zhang Hanqing gained control of the North China region that his father had dreamed of. The last laugh should be the commander of the Nationalist Government Chiang Kai-shek. .

September 18, 1930 became an important turning point in the history of the Feng family. The Feng family thus reached the peak of the armed faction in this place. After receiving the soldiers and chassis owned by the Northwest Army, Fengjun instantly expanded to become the most powerful armed force north of the Yangtze River in China.

Perhaps it was also in response to the sentence of prosperity and decline. The decline and ultimate fall of the Northeast Army also began at this moment.

Zhang Hanqing wouldn't have thought that even if he was hilarious back then, in the second year, also on September 18, Feng Xie would usher in the biggest turning point in his destiny. On that day, a group of "Showa staff officers" took the tradition of the army red deer to the extreme. Without the approval of the Japanese emperor, cabinet or even the military, they conspired to plan and launch the "September 18 Incident."

At that time, if Zhang Hanqing was not too naive politically and too incompetent in military command, this military adventure launched by a small group of Japanese officers would have no chance of success.

The topic is a bit far off, and now we return to the reorganization of the Yugoslav Army.

The report submitted by the German consultant to the command is very detailed. There are thick stacks of various charts. In order to save the precious time of the head of state, what Xu Jun saw was a condensed version after finishing.

The role played by Yugoslavia in the German Eastern Front Strategy is hard to say accurately. The country’s geographic location is very important. The country is surrounded by mountains and mountains, which is not suitable for large forces, especially armored forces. It is mobile, but it is very suitable for small units to conduct guerrilla operations. As long as the outside material support is continuously cut off, the mountainous area here can easily become a quagmire for burying intruders, and even become a flesh-and-blood mill like Afghanistan, allowing any intruder Everybody hears the color change.

But to achieve this goal, there is an important prerequisite, that is, a smooth supply line must be maintained, a steady stream of backups must be provided, and the defending side must have a certain ground advantage, and at the same time, it must seize the air superiority in the theater.

The combat effectiveness of the Yugoslavian ground forces is really worrying. It cannot be said that the Serbs are not brave enough. They are really reckless. Hitler once praised them. The problem is that the equipment and command class in their hands are really bad.

The ethnic conflicts in Yugoslavia led to an imbalance in the strength of the army. Serb officers once accounted for ninety-nine percent of the officers. Before the war, there were 165 general officers, of which only four were Croats.

Croatians can only serve as low-level soldiers and basic-level officers in the royal team. This is obviously the root of the future defeat. After the German invasion in history, a large number of Croatian soldiers turned their backs and were unwilling to fight for the Serbian officers. The defense line that was originally insufficiently organized was touched and collapsed. In addition, the army’s senior command tactics were outdated and rigid. Under the rapid offensive of the German army and its allies, the Kingdom The elite of the armed forces were quickly lost, and they were eventually forced to surrender to the German army. At this time, the battle was only twelve days away.

To avoid this problem from happening again, we must reform the membership structure of the army, change the Serb's dominant position in the royal team, and at the same time support the power of the Croatian ethnic group in the army, but this approach Today, when the top Serbs have agreed to fully cooperate with Germany, it is obviously not feasible.

By then, even if the Yugoslav royal family comes forward, I am afraid that it will not be able to suppress the negative impact of this practice within the Serb nationalists. Xu Jun is likely to witness another Belgrade coup.

Xu Jun doesn't want to take a risk at this juncture. Germany strategically needs an internally stable Balkan. At least in the next four years, there will be no fierce social unrest.

Maintaining permanent harmony among the various ethnic groups in Yugoslavia is an impossible task at all, but it is still within Germany's current ability to keep them stable for a year or two.

If the Eastern Front war broke out, Yugoslavia, as a member of the European military alliance, would not be able to leave itself alone.

Because once Hungary is invaded by the Soviet army, the immediate Yugoslavia will become a natural strategic line of defense, blocking the Soviet army’s infiltration of the southern Balkans, and the Soviet Red Army’s staff cannot fail to see this. .

Once Yugoslavia is invaded by the Soviet army, Xu Jun will rest assured to wait for a good show to take place.

The reason why Yugoslavia was killed in a mess in history was because the German army destroyed the royal government recognized by all ethnic groups in the country, and drove away the nominal king and co-lord (although the people were dissatisfied, they still recognized its kingship), directly The curtains between several ethnic groups were torn apart, while deliberately provoking ethnic hatred.

In history, the civil war in Yugoslavia was a hundred times more **** than the foreign war against the invaders. The Croatian puppet government supported by Germany carried out brutal killings on the Serbs in the territory. At the same time, the armed groups in Serbia also attacked the Croatian civilians in the territory. There was **** revenge.

The paramilitary organizations and guerrillas under the two communities. Home guards, local guards, and even armed civilians, once encountered, are like mortal enemies. They will never stop unless one of them is broken, and both sides have the habit of not leaving prisoners to live, and the captured are usually subjected to cruel abuse. Later, he was executed with an axe by the victor.

This habit caused that once fighting broke out in certain areas, the two sides would often fight to the last breath, willing to commit suicide rather than surrender.

In history, when the Eastern Front War broke out, the guerrillas led by Yugoslavia were added to the civil war. At the same time, the Slovenian armed family guards also appeared on the scene. Then almost every nation living on this land, They are all involved in this hopeless battle. Because of the fundamental contradiction in the concept, there is no room for compromise between the parties, so there is no possibility of unity, and it just fights the territory of Yugoslavia. Chowder.

In this civil war dominated by guerrilla warfare, all forces have shown extraordinary coldness, and they are all merciless in the face of the enemy. In the end, the hatred even extends to the civilians who have helped the opponent.

The exact number of combatants and civilians killed in this ethnic civil war is no longer able to count, because the data was deliberately covered up and modified by all parties after the war. It is initially estimated to be at least 300,000. In the same period, the total number of deaths in the Balkans, including the missing German soldiers, was less than 40,000.

It is impossible for Xu Jun to open this Balkan magic box again. Of course, the Croatian and Slovenian ethnic groups do need to be appeased, but this must not be used to shake the social structure of Yugoslavia. Perhaps it is unfair to those ethnic groups, but it is clearly not going on A good time for social structural reform.

Prince Paul is quite clear. Under the guise of Germany’s intimidation, he successfully persuaded most of the Serb elders in the cabinet and parliament to agree to raise the Croatian ethnicity in the Yugoslav government and army. However, the premise is that the Croats must also stop all separatist activities in Yugoslavia.

As support for Prince Paul, Xu Jun promised that Germany would not provide any form of support to the political demands of the Croats, but at the same time he also expressed that he would put the Yugoslav Croatian ethnicity under the protection of the Third Reich and prohibit Any organization or individual may carry out possible retaliatory actions due to their previous actions.

This series of agreements is equal to a reassurance for both parties. The Serbs no longer need to worry that Germany will subvert the kingdom’s power. The Croats have obtained a strong enough backing, and everything seems to be back under the rule of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. era.

As for the Slovenians, the two most difficult ones are silent. If they are dissatisfied, they can stand at the front desk and speak out loudly.

The quality of the individual soldiers of the Yugoslav infantry is generally good. Whether they are Serbs or Croats, they will not lose to the Slavic barbarians if they are reckless. As long as they are strictly and reasonably trained and given sufficient equipment, these people may be Europeans. The best mountain light infantry.

The infrastructure of Yugoslavia is quite backward in Europe. Although there are some excellent projects, such as the famous "Tara River Valley Bridge" (the prototype of the movie "Bridge"), most of the roads in its territory are outdated.

Mountain roads are mostly rammed earth and gravel roads. Although they will not turn into quagmire in the rainy season, they also restrict the movement of heavy equipment.

At the same time, the bearing capacity of bridges in Yugoslavia is also a problem. Like most old-style bridges in Europe, these bridges can usually only carry a weight of about 30 tons, and many can only accommodate vehicles of 20 tons~IndoMTL .com~ This is sufficient for the originally lightly armed Yugoslav army, but at this time it limits their level of equipment.

In the case that Germany is temporarily unable to invest in local infrastructure, Germany has not even completed the strengthening of its own bridges at this time, and can only hand these issues to the local engineering team in Yugoslavia. It will cost a lot to complete these projects. If the Royal Government of Yugoslavia is unable to obtain sufficient loans for funds and materials, it may not even be able to start construction as scheduled.

The high command prepared for the Royal Yugoslavian Army’s 1st Armored Brigade the h35 tanks produced by the French company Hotchkiss. The first batch of 320 has been sent to Belgrade, and a standard tank regiment is being formed with the help of German consultants.

The next step of the command is to wait until the officers and soldiers are familiar with the use of these new equipment, then transfer this unit to the border provinces of Yugoslavia for adaptability training, and formulate battlefield regulations and equipment manuals that meet the local combat environment as soon as possible.

The long-distance maneuvers of these armored units cannot rely on road marches and vehicle transportation. The most appropriate way is to use Yugoslavia’s fairly qualified railway system. Although Yugoslavia’s railway cannot be compared with several European developed countries, it is in the Balkans. It is second to none.

The railway system of Yugoslavia has been developed since the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and entered a period of rapid development after the First World War. The railway from Zagreb to Belgrade was built in the 1920s. The famous Orient Express This railway traverses Yugoslavia and then into Bulgaria.

Xu Jun does not expect to see the results of these trainings in a short period of time. He only hopes that when the Eastern Front War breaks out, Yugoslavia can complete the war preparations and join the battle sequence of the European Union as agreed.

ps: Thank you for your understanding. Today, I will give you a big chapter. I would like to ask for votes.