It takes time to reformulate the plan, and it takes even more time to mobilize troops.

Time is precious, and there can be no waste in the slightest, and the German Foreign Office and Propaganda Department, Ribbentrop and Goebbels, the two major artillery masters, took the lead in striking at the Soviet Union's aggression against time and space.

On 21 May, the major German newspapers, headed by the newspaper "People's Observer," sternly denounced the shameless behavior of the Soviet Union under the headline "Send the Aggressor to the Grave":

"In the early hours of May 20, the most outrageous and outrageous scene took place on European soil. Without submitting a war document, the Soviet Union betrayed the alliance in defiance of international justice and brazenly invaded the Allied powers Hungary and Romania.

At the time of publication, the Hungarian and Romanian peoples were suffering from the ravages of war. Their homes were burning, their wealth was looted, innocent people were killed by the Soviet Red Army, and even the elderly, women and children were murdered.

However, the Hungarian people are heroic, the Romanian people are fearless, and the two ** teams are even more invincible.

They are fighting the invaders with their flesh and blood, defending their homeland with their lives.

It was extremely naïve and naïve for the Soviet aggressors to think that they would be able to win the war by using such a despicable trick as undeclared war.

Behind the inexhaustible and intimidating people of Hungary and Romania stood their staunch and reliable allies, the great German Empire

As the saying goes, whoever God wants to die, he must first make him mad.

The shamelessness of the Soviet aggressors was nothing else, this last madness before death, this stupidity in search of a grave.

The heroic Hungarian people and the fearless Romanian people, are preparing a large grave for the impudent invaders.

Since the invaders insist on going to this grave, let us unite and send them to the grave! ”

At the same time as the newspapers, the German news agency and the Deutsche Welle radio station successively spread the cry of justice to every corner of the world.

The German Ministry of Propaganda is in action. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is not lagging behind either.

Ribbentrop summoned the Soviet ambassador to Germany, who angrily rebuked: "You have betrayed the Union"

Schulenburg, the German ambassador to the Soviet Union, formally warned Molotov that the Soviet Union's actions were a naked-naked betrayal of the Axis alliance and that it must immediately correct its mistakes.

If the Soviet Red Army did not immediately stop its aggression against Hungary and Romania. The Soviet Union will pay the price in blood for its shameless betrayal and vicious banditry.

The second leader of the Axis bloc, the Kingdom of Italy, also rightly denounced the Soviet Union's aggression and publicly declared that if the Soviet Union did not immediately stop its aggression, Italy would send a strong volunteer army. Defeat the traitors and shameless bandits of the Alliance.

Almost simultaneously, the governments of Spain, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Greece, and Norway made public statements condemning the Soviet Union and solidarity with Hungary and Romania in their bloody struggles.

Truth exists only within the range of a cannon.

The members of the Axis bloc were well aware that they could only occupy the moral high ground and portray the Soviet Union as a public enemy of Europe and the world, but could not drive the Soviet Union out of Hungary and Romania.

The mouth cannon goes first, and the cannon follows.

In Italy, Mussolini gave an order, the Italian Eighth Army. This expeditionary force, originally intended for the Eastern Front, was transformed into the Italian Volunteer Army.

The army group had four corps and two armored divisions, three motorized infantry divisions, one cavalry division, three infantry divisions and three mountain divisions.

The hero of the East African War, a rising star of the Italian Army, Admiral Messer was appointed to lead this force.

In Spain, Franco's Blue Infantry Division, which was also planned to attack the Soviet Union, was also ordered to be labeled as a Spanish volunteer, and then boarded the military column and embarked on the vast road of war on the Eastern Front.

Bulgaria and Yugoslavia were bordering Romania, and if Hungary and Romania could not withstand the Soviet attack, their territory would be directly threatened by the Soviet Union.

The two countries then carried out a secret mobilization, with a total of 1.2 million troops on the border with Romania and Hungary.

May 21 at 10:30 a.m. In Germany, the wolf's lair in East Prussia.

Hitler received Manstein from Army Group North in the conference room.

Hitler pointed to the map on the wall and said: "The current situation is such that the Romanian troops on both flanks of the Eleventh Army have been routed and are now retreating towards the mountains. Only relying on the terrain of the mountains. The 11th Army was able to withstand the enemy's huge armored forces. After you arrive at the headquarters of the 11th Army, your first task is to ensure that the army can hold out in the mountains and not be wiped out, and then wait for reinforcements to arrive. ”

"When will reinforcements arrive? How long do I need to last? Manstein asked.

"The longer you hold on, the better, and the specific time will be notified by the Army General Command. I know that this order is a bit impersonal. It's also very difficult, which is why I thought of you, the wisest minds of the German Army, to complete this task. Hitler said.

Manstein's eyebrow in his right eye twitched a few times.

"I just ask that the Air Force not cut off support for us. If possible, give me some armored troops, even if there is only one armored division. ”

Hitler agreed: "As long as you can keep the 11th Army, any aid you want will be available, but it will take a little time." ”

Manstein was about to speak when there was a knock on the door, and in came Colonel Schmunt, Hitler's adjutant general.

"Führer, General Schellner has arrived, just outside the door."

Hitler hurriedly stood up, his face radiant.

"He's faster than I thought, ask him in."

Manstein then stood up and looked at the door of the conference room, wondering to himself where the Schellner general came from and what kind of intersection he would have.

Major General Schellner walked into the room, and Manstein's gaze swept over the blue medal of Marx on his collar, and then on his eyes on the bridge of his nose.

A combat hero with the temperament of a university professor, this was Schellner's first impression on Manstein.

"This is Ferdinand. General Schellner, commander of the 19th Mountain Division. It's just that from today he is the chief of staff of the 11th Army. For quite some time to come, the Eleventh Army will be fighting in the Carpathians, so I think it is necessary to send you an expert in mountain warfare. ”

Hitler then introduced Manstein to Schellner.

After the two men saluted each other, Hitler said: "The crisis of the Eleventh Army and Romania depends on your strength to save it, and I wish you victory in advance." ”

At noon, Hitler warmly invited Manstein and Schellner to lunch, and then personally sent them to the car at the airport.

After seeing the two off, Hitler wanted to go to his bedroom to catch up on a nap, but stopped as he passed by the door of his office.

Quietly pushing open the office door, Hitler saw Chen Dao lying on his desk and writing hard, still reciting words in his mouth.

Opposite him, Guderian was sketching and writing non-stop.

Hitler sniffled and faintly smelled the aroma of food, the two of them apparently having lunch in the office.

Gently closing the door, Hitler turned around and walked to the operational command room, patiently discussing the situation with Goering and others.

Two hours flew by, and when Hitler looked at his watch for the seventh time, he finally heard the voice of Colonel Schmunt: "General Rosen has asked to see you." ”

In the office, Hitler was very moved to see the dark circles on Chen Dao and Guderian's eyes.

Taking the report, Hitler saw the bold line on the cover.

"Red Alert, well, the name fits the current situation very well."

Hitler continued to look at the catalog.

"The plan consists of three major operations, Operation Invitation, Operation Imperial Radiance, and Operation Assault."

Seeing the specific instructions of "Invitation to Action", Hitler couldn't help but pinch his neck.

"Aren't we going too far?" Hitler asked.

"I only know that it is in Germany's best interest to do so." Chen Dao said.

Hitler walked behind his desk with his plan, sat down in his chair, and pulled out his reading glasses.

"Let's look at this plan first."

At three o'clock in the afternoon, on the Mitchell airport in the northwestern suburbs of Bucharest, Romania, ground crews heard a faint roar in the sky, and a huge fleet of planes was approaching.

Not in fear or anger, but with infinite anticipation, all the ground crew looked to the northwestern sky.

Hundreds of black dots appeared in the sky, and almost in the blink of an eye, they flew over Mitchell Airport.

After the first plane came to a stop on the ground, the hatch opened, and German paratroopers wearing mainly green camouflage uniforms and steel helmets without a brim jumped out of the cabin and assembled in a line in the open space next to the airport

For a whole afternoon, seven convoys of transport planes landed at three airfields near Bucharest.

The 7th Parachute Division and the 22nd Parachute Division of the Luftwaffe arrived in Romania as the first batch of reinforcements.

Even at night, the roar over the airport did not stop.

Far away, in the rear, with Field Marshal Liszt as commander, the German Balkan Army Group was proclaimed.

The army group consisted of the 11th Army, the 12th Army, and the 1st Independent Panzer Army.

Not only that, after consultations with Hungary and Romania, the two ** teams were all placed under the command of this army group.

On the rushing train, the Spanish Blue Division, the Italian Eighth Army, received orders to obey the command of the German Balkan Army Group Command.

On the ground, long columns passed through Vienna and roared toward Hungary and Yugoslavia.

In the sky, the Sixth Air Force, which was reorganized from the Eastern Reserve Air Force, was urgently transferred to airfields in Hungary and Romania.

The clouds of war looming over Hungary and Romania are getting thicker (to be continued. )