Chapter 903 The battle in the sky (1/2)

Chapter 903 The battle in the sky

When the war broke out in the Balkans, the situation in Romania, also a Balkan country, was not stable.

Antonescu, then Romania's Minister of Army and Chief of General Staff, sought a meeting with Romanian King Carol II after the Balkan War broke out. He firmly opposed Carol II's contact with Russia and asked Carol II for authorization to surrender. He formed a new Romanian cabinet government.

Such a request was naturally unreasonable in the eyes of King Carol II of Romania.

Naturally, Antonescu was arrested by Carol II and stripped of all positions and powers.

But Carol II clearly underestimated the importance of Antonescu in the hearts of Germany and Italy.

The day after Antonescu was arrested, the German ambassador to Romania asked Carol II to meet with him and demand that he immediately release Antonescu and allow Antonescu to form a new Romania. cabinet.

If it were just Antonescu's opinion, Carol II could naturally ignore it. But the problem is that the request was changed from Antonescu to the German government, which forced Carol II to consider it carefully.

Following an order from the German Prime Minister, a large number of German planes began to take off. With the purpose of revenge, they also launched a large-scale bombing of the British mainland.

But then again, Athens is a coastal city and faces Türkiye across the sea. Among the capitals of the Balkan countries, Athens is not the safest.

Among the three Balkan countries, Yugoslavia has more than 700 aircraft, making it the country with the largest number of aircraft.

Originally, Britain and France were still breathing a sigh of relief at the participation of the three Balkan countries in the war, but what Britain and France did not expect was that after holding on for several months, Austria was still unable to resist the joint attack of Germany and Italy.

The changes in the situation made Britain and France completely unable to sit still.

Especially after Germany annexes the entire Austrian Empire, Germany's population and industry will become more powerful, which is not a good thing for Britain and France.

Britain's 300,000 troops went directly to Yugoslavia and were expected to assemble in Split and then head north to Ljubljana.

Although there are also support from Albanian and Greek troops, most of them need to be faced by Yugoslavia alone.

Ljubljana is a city in the northwest of Yugoslavia, and further west is the land of the Italians. Not only can Italy be defended here, but it can also be defended against the German army moving south.

Because Britain not only has the help of its own local industry, but also the industry of various American countries, as well as the industry of Australasia.

On November 3, 1936, King Carol II of Romania released Antonescu and granted Antonescu the right to form a new cabinet government.

Obviously, the British were also worried that if a large number of German troops moved south, it might have an excessive impact on Yugoslavia.

At this time, the British did not care whether they would accidentally injure the Austrians. Anyway, Austria had been annexed by Germany, and the casualties of the Austrians had become a trivial matter.

Although the overall combat effectiveness of the Bulgarian army is higher, the Greek army can still hold back the Bulgarian army because of its larger number.

After Romania entered the war, the worst situation among the Balkan countries should be Yugoslavia.

The first battle in which Yugoslavia used aircraft was actually an air raid on Bulgaria. The first target of the air strike is naturally the capital Sofia, which is very close to the border and is very important to Bulgaria.

More than 200,000 Bulgarian troops launched a frantic attack on Alexandroupolis. On the Greek side, because the only neighboring empire is Bulgaria, all Greek troops are located on the line from Thessaloniki to Alexandroupolis. Alexandroupolis alone has nearly 300,000 Greek troops.

In the next week, more than 2,000 aircraft launched a large-scale bombing campaign in the Czech and Slovak regions. The main targets of the bombing were Czechoslovak factories and minerals.

You know, in addition to its population, Austria also has considerable mineral resources. These mineral resources are a very important boost for Germany, which is currently resource-poor. This may help the Germans reorganize their armaments and speed up the development of the military industry.

Before World War I, the two most powerful Balkan countries were Serbia and Bulgaria. Although the populations of these two countries are not large, not even as large as Romania, the combat effectiveness of their armies is comparable to that of the great powers, and even stronger than that of great powers like Italy.

Similarly, Tirana, the capital of Albania, is only a few dozen kilometers away from Yugoslavia.

But the good news is that Britain is far ahead of Germany in terms of industrial production speed.

The performance of the Balkan countries in World War I was able to hold back a large number of Austro-Hungarian armies. The combat effectiveness of the Austro-Hungarian Army is also above average among the great powers, which can also prove that the combat effectiveness of the Balkan countries is indeed good.

Romania is better, but not much better. Romania as a whole, plus Germany's aid, could only manage to collect 400 aircraft, and the number of aircraft lagged far behind Yugoslavia.

On November 21, 1936, after many days of negotiations and witnessed by the German media, the Austrian government announced its surrender to Germany and disbanded all its armed forces.

On November 23, 1936, Germany announced its merger with Austria and established a true German empire.

But after all, there are still 700 aircraft, and the stability of these aircraft has been tested, but they lag behind in terms of firepower and speed.

Without Austria's obstruction, a large number of German troops could easily move south, which was a fatal blow to Yugoslavia.

It is precisely because of the pressure from Yugoslavia that Bulgaria has to retain more than 200,000 troops in Sofia.

You know, the most important country that makes up Yugoslavia is Serbia, and there is no doubt about Serbia's combat effectiveness.

This unprecedented air war has attracted the attention of the British and German people all the time.

Britain's continuous bombing of important German facilities naturally aroused the anger of the German government and Prime Minister.

Moreover, in addition to fighting for the little chance of winning, the big air battle between Britain and Germany is more like mutual revenge and venting between the two countries.

Of course, there is a lot of moisture in these 700 aircraft. Only one-third of them are currently mainstream aircraft, and the rest are products that have been eliminated by the United Kingdom and Australasia.

The remaining 400,000 troops are all deployed in the south, with more troops located in Leskovac, only a few dozen kilometers away from Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria.

The reason why these two cities can be saved is because they are both located on the border with Yugoslavia. There are some Yugoslav troops stationed here who can help Austria at any time.

This has made the situation in the Balkans even more confusing. The three Balkan countries not only have to confront Romania and Bulgaria, but also Germany and Italy.

The only exception may be Greece. The capital of Greece is located in the south of the country. Greece is originally the southernmost country on the Balkan Peninsula, which also makes the capital Athens far away from the Balkan countries.

Even most of the time, Germany's military industry production has to take care of Italy and help Italy produce some weapons and equipment.

But the good news is that in addition to the Balkan countries, Italy, a major power, is participating in this war.

On November 27, Britain mobilized 300,000 troops from Libya and Egypt north to try to support Greece and Yugoslavia.

Let’s look at Romania and Bulgaria.

Used on the battlefield, especially for countries with relatively small numbers of aircraft like Bulgaria and Romania, a large-scale air force is still very effective.

Even so, Belgrade, the capital of Yugoslavia, is only a few dozen kilometers away from Romania. Bucharest, the capital of Romania, is also dozens of kilometers away from Bulgaria.

On November 17, Klagenfurt did not escape the clutches of the Germans and was surrounded by a large number of German troops. Except for these two cities, basically all Austrian territory was occupied by German troops.

Austria's surrender was absolutely bad news for Britain and France, and would even affect the situation in the Balkans.

Especially Yugoslavia, because it is facing a three-front war, now has more than 700 aircraft with the help of Britain and Australasia.

More importantly, the Italian army can also be freed up to pose a greater threat to France and Yugoslavia.

In the direction of the Balkans, the British spent half a month mobilizing more than 2,000 aircraft.

In addition to verbal threats, the Germans also gave Romania practical benefits, that is, they promised to cede Hungary's Transylvania to Romania after the war.

Although the gap may not be visible in the short term, in the long run, the number of aircraft of the British, French and Australian Allies will far exceed the number of aircraft of the German and Italian Allies.

If Germany's industrial production cannot be destroyed and Germany continues to attack Yugoslavia unscrupulously, the Balkan battlefield that Britain and France have worked so hard to open will also become a joke.

Transylvania is located in eastern Hungary, close to Romania. The entire Transylvania is almost equivalent to most of Romania's current territory. If Transylvania can be annexed, Romania will definitely be able to greatly improve its overall national strength.

Almost at the same time, the Romanian government agreed to Germany's request and was willing to cede Dobroga, which originally belonged to Bulgaria.

However, Britain and France are not without means to deal with it. In order to help the three Balkan countries, Britain specifically stepped up patrols in the Mediterranean and even visited the Adriatic Sea many times.

With Transylvania as a big pie, Carol II was a little shaken by his previous decision.

The one with the smallest number is Albania. There is no way, Albania is a small country to begin with, and its territory is either along the coast or surrounded by Yugoslavia and Greece, so there is no need to equip too much air force.

In order to stop the Germans, the British were willing to go all out.

After a long war, the Austrian government controlled only two cities, both located in southern Austria, Klagenfurt and Graz.

The 200,000 Bulgarian army faced off against the 300,000 Greek army. The combat effectiveness between the two was almost at the same level.

Romania's size is not much different from Yugoslavia, and it is close to Yugoslavia, so it can attract a large number of Yugoslav troops.

On November 5, under the witness of the Romanian and Bulgarian governments, the Romanian-Bulgarian Covenant was officially concluded.

Greece, second only to Yugoslavia, also has more than 500 aircraft. Most of these 500 aircraft are from the UK. After all, the relationship between Greece and the UK is relatively friendly.

As for Germany, they can only rely on their own industry for production. Italy's industry is not strong to begin with, and it is already very good to be able to meet domestic military industry needs.

Although the outcome of the air battle does not represent the outcome of the final war, no one can deny that whoever can occupy the superiority in the air between Britain and Germany will have a greater chance of winning this war.

But having said that, in a powder keg like the Balkans, if one's own military strength is not strong, there is only one final outcome, and that is to be annexed.

In this way, Germany finally mediated the conflict between Romania and Bulgaria and brought the two Balkan countries onto its own battlefield.

Although France did not support the Balkan countries, it mobilized approximately 200,000 troops from its African colonies.

With the help of Romania, Bulgaria can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Among them, Yugoslavia, Albania and Greece, which are supported by Britain, France and Australia, obviously have more air forces.

On November 15, 1936, Vienna, the capital of Austria, was captured by the German army, and more than 200,000 Austrian soldiers were captured by the Germans.

Because Yugoslavia borders Italy, Romania, and Bulgaria, Yugoslavia has to face the pressure of a three-front war.

In the battles in the Balkan countries, armored forces and air forces can also be seen everywhere.

On November 16, hundreds of thousands of German troops moved south and surrounded Graz.

If the German army is allowed to take control of Yugoslavia's order, Britain and France's hope of victory in this war will be even slimmer.

There are currently about 7,000 aircraft in Germany and Italy, and more than 9,000 in Britain, France and Australia.

After all, the land area of ​​the Balkan countries is not large. The largest Balkan country at present is Yugoslavia, and Yugoslavia was formed by the merger of multiple countries.

The Yugoslav Air Force has less than 100 aircraft. This number is definitely the smallest among the entire Balkan countries. But the three countries in the Balkans combined still have more than 1,300 aircraft. This number of aircraft is still quite considerable.

Italy's current total number of aircraft has exceeded 3,000. Although a considerable part of the aircraft will be used elsewhere, it is still no problem to use close to 1,000 aircraft to fight this war.

On November 7, Romania declared war on Yugoslavia, Albania, and Greece, and joined the German-Italian Alliance.

Bulgaria's military industry has suffered too many restrictions. As a defeated country in World War I, Bulgaria's number of aircraft has always been the lowest among the Balkan countries. Even now, it only has more than 100 aircraft.

Because neither Britain nor Germany can threaten the other side's homeland for the time being, the current air battle has almost become the only means of exchange of fire between the two sides.

It is precisely because of the constant war and smoke in the Balkans that the military strength of the Balkan countries is very strong. After all, only soldiers who have experienced war can be called true elites and have strong combat effectiveness.

As for Yugoslavia, the current number of troops is about 700,000. Among them, more than 300,000 troops were deployed on the northern border with Italy. Their purpose was to defend for the time being, and they were delayed for more time by the offensive of the Yugoslav army in the south.

The capital and the border are separated by dozens of kilometers, which is not uncommon among Balkan countries.

With Romania participating in the war, Bulgaria was finally able to free up part of its army and focus on the Greek Kingdom in the south.

Although the industries of these countries are far inferior to those of the great powers, they are more or less considered countries with relatively good military strength in Europe, and they will naturally have a certain number of tanks and air forces.

Germany cannot solve the British Air Force in a short time, and what they will face will be the more powerful Allied Air Force.

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