Imperial Overlord

In the busy combat headquarters, Li Le watched his generals and a large group of staff members point fingers in front of the map. . fastest update

Italy's operational plan for attacking Greece was passive at the very beginning. The main Italian force was blocked without even entering the main Greek areas.

No one at the top of the German hierarchy, except for the High Command, who insisted on the inference that the Italian army would be defeated, would really believe that Italy would fight so embarrassingly at their doorstep.

Last time in North Africa? That can be blamed entirely on Italy's poor North African supply lines, and the lack of pre-war preparations.

This time, the Italians are at their doorstep. The transportation line is on European roads with good road conditions, and it is infinitely close to the rear of their own, that is, their own homeland...

However, no matter how good the conditions were, the Italian troops, which had an advantage in numbers, were once again held back by Greece and the British troops in Greece.

Although the Italian troops were not annihilated by the establishment, they were unable to advance, not even to capture a few cities and then boast about humble victories in the newspapers.

The current Italian troops, right on the border with Greece, have not advanced a single step!

For Germany, it is not without good news that the invasion of Yugoslavia, which should have started together, was stopped by an angry Mussolini because the invasion of Greece failed.

"The Italian troops did nothing near the defense lines in front of several villages. Did they give up without even trying?" Yodel asked his colleagues in confusion, pressing the map.

Brauchitch also had a dull face. He also mentioned the Italian invasion of Greece to Bock a few days ago. As a result, his speculation was completely wrong, and the Italians didn't even pick up the slightest bit of cheapness.

According to the analysis of the Army General Command, Italy will be stopped at least after advancing for tens of kilometers.

The harsh reality is that the Italians did advance for dozens of kilometers, and then were beaten back to where they started by the Greeks...

Today is November 1st. Rommel has announced the end of the rest in North Africa, urging for logistical supplies, and the telegram that he is ready to cross the Suez Canal has been sent to the Army Headquarters.

Compared with the African Army Corps, which is far away in North Africa and has fewer troops, the Italian troops in the Balkans have been thrown into my grandma's house!

"This group of idiots who can't fight at all, a group of monkeys can win such a war with weapons, but they fought a tie." Brauchitch, who couldn't hang on his face, looked at Keitel with hatred. marshal.

Keitel is the actual chief of the Supreme Command, and has always been the head of state to check and balance the commander-in-chief of the army. However, Keitel has been very low-key recently, so the relationship with Brauchitch is not so tense.

Field Marshal Keitel shrugged his shoulders and replied with a sneer: "Your Excellency Commander, 100,000 Italians were beaten all over by 30,000 British people.

He was speaking of the Italian 10th Army, defeated by the British in North Africa, with a tone of disdain and sarcasm.

As Chief of General Staff of the High Command, Keitel was not as nervous as Brauchitch. Because of Li Le's determination, in fact, a few days ago, the Supreme Command had formulated follow-up countermeasures in response to the failure of the Italian invasion of the Balkans.

The hundreds of thousands of troops, including German paratroopers and other troops, are already waiting for the battle, ready to intervene in the Battle of the Balkans at any time.

And these preparations, in fact, the Army Headquarters and the Air Force Headquarters are already aware of, and even participated in the preparations.

It's just that Brauchitch doesn't want to accept the fact that the High Command is superior in strategy.

"Count Ciano was still emphasizing yesterday that Italy has the ability to defeat Greece, and I hope we don't interfere." On the other side of the conference room, Foreign Minister Ribbentrop was talking with Adrian, the new favorite of the head of intelligence.

The latter put his hands behind his back, with a faint smile on his handsome face: "The Italians' preparations are so poor, and the parts I know show that they are simply incapable of starting a war."

Modern warfare requires mobilizing 100% of a country's strength, including transportation, production scheduling, and diplomacy. This kind of war at the national level is also called a total war.

When Italy was not ready to fully mobilize, it rashly launched a war, and of course it would fall into a disadvantageous situation.

A tank still uses rivets to fix the structure, an aircraft still uses an open cockpit, and a country whose warships are not even prepared for fuel can fight a beautiful war, that's hell.

At least in Li Le's view, it's not that Italy can't fight, it's just that the ability to fight depends on who they are compared with. It's no problem to expect the Italians to follow the German tanks and hold the field; to expect them to be on their own and fight to the end is a complete dream.

"The Italians feel that they still have the hope of taking over the Balkans, so they ask us not to launch an attack and wait for them to take Greece." Ribbentrop gave the conditions of the Italian foreign ministry, which had been discussed before the war. All right.

Mussolini always hoped that the glory of the Roman Empire could be restored. He wants to seize the Balkans and control North Africa, turning the Mediterranean Sea into an Italian lake once again.

To accomplish such a grandiose dream would require the Italian army to defeat the enemies in these regions! Balkans, almost the first step of this dream!

"That's just right, our troops are also preparing, and now the attack on Yugoslavia and Greece is somewhat rushed." Keitel heard Ribbentrop's words and said with a smile.

When Brauchitch heard this, his face turned slightly red. The current situation would not have arisen had it not been for his insistence that Italy would open up in the Balkans.

Because of his insistence, the Army assigned most of the newly produced equipment to the central cluster on the Eastern Front, which led to the fact that the 12th Army of Liszt against the Balkan operation has not received enough weapons, equipment and supplies so far.

Li Le had long known that Brauchitch and his army headquarters had misappropriated the supplies of Liszt's troops, and he also made a bet with Brauchitch.

Now, it's time for him to get back his gambling capital with interest. Li Le smiled and walked to the disgraced Brauchitch, looking at the field marshal.

Then, the head of state said this, with the joy of victory in his tone: "My commander-in-chief, it seems that you lost the bet."

"Yes, the Führer, at least it seems that I lost." Brauchitch said a little unwillingly, and said depressedly.

He emphasized the word at least for now, as if to say that in a few days his speculation might come true.

Without refuting his commander-in-chief, Li Le nodded and said, "So, do you have to fulfill the two things you promised me?"

Having said this, he put away the smile on his face: "Stubbornness is stubbornness, persistence is persistence, but because of boring things such as blood, delaying the future of the empire, that is the sinner of the nation. You can't bear this crime. , Junkers aristocrats can't bear it!"

"You are serious, my Führer! I will abide by the agreement between us." Brausch replied: "Keeping promises is also our pride. Please believe this."

Because of this "big gamble", Brauchitch lost a lot of power. First, he had to allow the Waffen SS to grow in size within the army.

This one made him lose the "direct jurisdiction" of a large number of troops. Although these units were still nominally under the command of the Army and also received logistical supplies from the Army, these Waffen SS were actually units loyal to the Führer.

In addition, Brauchitch had to make sure that the Führer's judgment could not be questioned in the future. Because at least so far, the head of state has not made a mistake in his judgment.

The third point is that it becomes more reasonable for the head of state to intervene in the army's weapons and equipment: Li Le has to ask about the production of each weapon and equipment.

Taking advantage of a Balkan war whose outcome was already known, Li Le obtained reasonable procedures for interfering in Army affairs.

"This time, it's just a game! I don't have time to play with you like this, understand?" Li Le said to Brauchitch.

He paused and warned his field marshal: "I've proved enough~www.wuxiaspot.com~ If you question my correctness next time, it won't be the result."

Hearing the Führer say this, Brauchitch also knew that he had recently been nourished by the Führer's kindness, and he was a little ignorant of flattery.

After all, the one standing in front of him is the head of state, who legally has the power to appoint and dismiss the army commander! And this head of state is not a simple politician, he is also a military expert with extraordinary scheming.

"I'm sorry, my Führer! I understand what you mean." Brauchitch was not Goering, he knew that if he continued to favor the nobles, the Führer might change him.

After a series of victories such as the partition of Poland and the sweep of France, Brauchitch did not want to lose the position of commander-in-chief easily in the process of victory.

He looked at the head of state, and after promising this sentence, he closed his mouth. On the other side, Keitel and other generals have discussed future battle plans with regard to the situation in the Balkans.

Germany is fully prepared to put troops into combat mode in the coming week, into the Balkans, and fight for their occupation. (To be continued...)