In the busy combat headquarters, Li Le looked at his generals and a large group of staff officers pointing fingers in front of the map. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Italy's plan to attack Greece was initially passive. The main Italian forces were blocked without even entering the main areas of Greece.

No one at the top of Germany, except for the Supreme Command, which insisted on the inference of the defeat of the Italian army, would really believe that Italy would fight so embarrassingly on its own doorstep.

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

This time, the Italians were on their doorstep, on European roads in good condition, and infinitely close to their own rear, their own homeland......

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

Although the Italian forces were not annihilated by the formations, they were unable to push further, not even to capture a few cities and then boast of a humble victory in the newspapers.

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

It was not without good news for Germany - because the invasion of Greece failed, the invasion of Yugoslavia, which was supposed to start together, was stopped by an angry Mussolini.

"Did the Italian troops, who had done nothing near the line of defense in front of a few villages, give up without even trying?" Yodel pressed the map and asked his colleagues in confusion.

Brauchitsch was also disgraced, and a few days earlier he had mentioned to Bock about the Italian invasion of Greece, but his speculation was completely wrong, and the Italians did not even pick up the slightest bargain.

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

The harsh reality is that the Italians did advance dozens of kilometers before being beaten back by the Greeks to where they had started......

Today is November 1, and Rommel has announced the end of the rest in North Africa, urging logistics supplies and preparing to cross the Suez Canal, and the telegram has been sent to the Army General Headquarters.

Compared with the Afrika Korps, which is far away in North Africa and has fewer troops, the Italian troops in the Balkans are all thrown to grandma's house!

"These idiots who don't know how to fight at all, a group of monkeys with weapons can win such a war, and they are tied." Brauchitsch, whose face was a little unbearable, looked at Marshal Keitel on the side with hatred.

Keitel was the de facto commander of the High Command, and his role had always been that of the Führer as a counterweight to the commander-in-chief of the army. However, Keitel has been very low-key lately, so his relationship with Brauchitsch has not been so strained.

Marshal Keitel shrugged his shoulders and replied with a sneer: "Your Excellency, Your Excellency, 100,000 Italians were beaten all over the ground by 30,000 British, and it is not something that has never happened, so there is no need to make such a fuss. ”

He was talking about the Italian 10th Army in North Africa, defeated by the British, with disdain and sarcasm.

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

More than 100,000 troops, including German paratroopers and other units, were ready to intervene in the Balkans at any time.

In fact, the Army General Command and the Air Force General Command are already aware of these preparations, and even participate in the preparations.

It's just that emotionally, Brauchitsch still doesn't want to accept the fact that the Supreme High Command is strategically superior.

"Count Ziano was still emphasizing yesterday that Italy is capable of defeating Greece and hopes that we will not interfere." Standing on the other side of the room, Foreign Minister Ribbentrop was talking to Adrian, the new favorite of the head of the intelligence services.

The latter put his hands behind his back and a faint smile on his handsome face: "The Italians are so poorly prepared, and what I know shows that they are simply not capable of starting a war." ”

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

If Italy rashly starts a war when it is not ready for full mobilization, it will of course find itself in an unfavorable situation.

Hell if a tank still has a structure fixed with rivets, an airplane still has an open cockpit, and a country whose warship is not even prepared with fuel can fight a beautiful war.

At least in Li Le's view, it's not that Italy can't fight, it's just that this kind of ability depends on who it can fight. There was certainly no problem in expecting the Italians to follow the German tanks in the field; But to expect them to take charge of themselves and fight to the end would be a complete dream.

"The Italians felt they still had hope of monopolizing the Balkans, so they asked us not to attack and wait for them to take Greece." Ribbentrop gave the Italian diplomatic service a condition that had been negotiated before the war.

Mussolini had always hoped that the glory of the Roman Empire could be restored. He wanted to take control of North Africa from the Balkans and turn the Mediterranean into an internal lake of Italy once again.

To fulfill such a magnificent dream, it will be necessary for the Italian army to defeat the enemies of these regions! The Balkans are almost the first step in this dream!

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

Brauchitsch's face flushed slightly when he heard this. Had it not been for his insistence that Italy would open up in the Balkans, the current situation would not have arisen.

Because of his insistence, the army allocated most of the newly produced equipment to the central cluster on the Eastern Front, which led to the fact that Liszt's 12th Army against the Balkan operation had not received enough weapons and supplies until now.

Li Le had long known about the misappropriation of supplies by Brauchitsch and his army headquarters, and he had made a bet with Brauchitsch about it.

Now, it's time for him to get his gambling money back with interest. Li Le smiled and walked up to the disgraced Brauchitsch and looked at the field marshal.

Then the Führer spoke, with a triumphant joy in his tone: "My commander-in-chief, it seems that you have lost the game. ”

"Yes, Führer, at least for now, it seems that I lost." Brauchitsch was a little unwilling, and said depressedly.

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

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

Speaking of this, he put away the smile on his face: "Stubbornness is stubbornness, persistence is persistence, but because of frivolous things such as bloodline, delaying the future of the empire, that is the sinner of the nation." You can't afford to bear this charge, and neither can the Junker nobles! ”

"You are serious, my Führer! I will keep the agreement between us. Brauchitsch replied: "We are proud to be faithful, and you must believe in that." ”

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

This article 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 were supplied logistically by the Army, the Waffen-SS were in fact loyal to the Führer.

In addition, Brauchitsch had to give assurances that the Führer's judgement could not be questioned in the future. Because at least so far, there has not been a lapse in the Führer's judgment.

The third point is that in the army's weapons and equipment, the Führer's intervention has become more reasonable: Li Le has to intervene in the production of every kind of weapons and equipment.

Taking advantage of a battle in the Balkans, the outcome of which had already been known, Li Le got a reasonable procedure for interfering in the affairs of the army.

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

He paused and warned his field marshal: "I have proved enough, and the next time I question my correctness, it will not be the result." ”

Hearing the Führer say this, Brauchitsch also knew that he had recently been moistened by the Führer's pleasant face and was a little ignorant.

Standing in front of him is, after all, the Führer, a man who legally has the power to appoint and dismiss the commander-in-chief of the army! And this Führer is not a simple politician, he is also a military expert with great strategy.

"I'm sorry, my Führer! I see what you mean. Brauchitsch was not Goering, and he knew that if he continued to favor the aristocracy, the Führer might change him.

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

He looked at the Führer and, having assured him, closed his mouth. On the other hand, Keitel and other generals were already discussing future battle plans for the situation in the Balkans.

Germany was fully prepared to bring its troops into combat mode in the coming week, to enter the Balkans, and to fight for the occupation there.