novelden Chapter 334 The Last Madness (3)
Chapter 334 The Last Madness (3)
Belgrade, headquarters of the Allied Army Group D, also the headquarters of the Flower Planting Expeditionary Force. Peng and Lin sat together. Lin, now commander of the 8th Army, was somewhat puzzled. Since the liberation of most of Yugoslavia, the troops, mainly composed of Army Group D, had been left alone, no longer interested in entering. Just then, another batch of American supplies arrived. His 8th Army, under Peng's orders, allocated a large amount of light weapons and towed artillery to provide to the Yugoslav Salvation Army. In addition to this batch of weapons and supplies, his 8th Army alone provided these groundhog-like armies with tens of thousands of firearms, small-caliber artillery, individual bazookas, 40mm rocket launchers, and countless amounts of ammunition.
Lin understood that this was a move to support the Naslav National Salvation Army. However, as the highest representative of the Allied Forces, Deputy Chief of General Staff Yang met with representatives from various Naslav factions, including those from the former puppet government not implicated in war crimes. He presented them with demands for maintaining Naslav unity and stability and advocating for them to establish a broad democratic government.
Of course, Army Group D, the supreme Allied occupation force, stationed the 4th, 8th, and 11th Armies in Naslav. The 3rd and 21st Armies also evacuated from Italy to Albania, becoming the occupation force stationed there. Clearly, the 2nd Army in Greece and the independent 112th and 47th Armies directly under the Army Group would be primarily commanded by Chief of Staff Kuang Zhengqi. Huang Wei, acting as deputy commander, would directly command the Romanian and Bulgarian armies. Their responsibilities were paramount. Besides maintaining stability in both countries, they also coordinated with the Soviets to avoid miscalculations. Meanwhile, the Soviets, under the treaty, demanded that the expeditionary force launch a flanking attack on Hungary and Czechoslovakia. Once again, they fought for them.
According to orders from Allied Headquarters, Army Group D's primary operational direction was Austria, from which it would attack the German mainland. However, before Yang Hong could issue his orders, Peng, as commander-in-chief, secretly issued instructions to the various army groups, ordering them to collectively demobilize. He used the existence of mountain rebels in the Balkans and the unstable situation as pretexts to intensify the crackdown. In reality, he was busy coordinating internal affairs among the various countries, preparing to establish a coalition government, and reorganizing local armed forces.
In the areas of Slavia and Romania bordering the German war zone, Army Group D adopted a defensive strategy, pushing forward with large numbers of troops and heavy artillery. Both sides engaged in large-scale artillery bombardments daily, but Army Group D did not deploy ground offensive forces. The various armies provided weapons and integrated local armed forces, bringing them closer to regularization. The obvious goal was to allow them to liberate the remaining territory on their own.
The Allied high command was clearly aware of Army Group D's decentralization and condoned it. Besides essential food and other supplies, the bulk of the supplies provided to Army Group D consisted of small arms, a clear sign of acquiescence. Even the German Army Group South (G) understood this, which led to the withdrawal of two armies from the south to join the Western Front. The Germans even handed over the defense of the Slavic and Romanian border regions to the puppet armies still under their control, forcing them to fight among themselves.
Lin was confused as to why Allied headquarters would tolerate such behavior. After all, the German troops being drawn from the south were destined for a decisive battle on the Western Front. Lin shared his concerns with Peng, who angrily retorted, "The American troops were already blocked by the German people's spontaneously organized self-defense forces upon entering Germany. Do you expect our troops to also face those elderly, children, and women armed with improvised weapons, willing to risk their lives?"
Lin was stunned for a moment, then understood. The Flower Clan didn't harbor any deep hatred for Germany. On the contrary, in the early stages of resisting the Japanese invasion, the Germans provided the Flower Clan with abundant assistance, foiling the Japanese plot to annihilate the Flower Clan in three months. The European War was, at that time, a European affair, but the Flower Clan was forced to continue fighting due to the alliance. If faced with German civilians, the Flower Clan soldiers would probably not be willing to bear the responsibility of killing them. When their own country was invaded, the scene of the whole nation resisting the invasion was still vivid in everyone's eyes.
Without waiting for Lin's reply, he continued, "The Germans and the fascists will eventually be punished for their acts of aggression and cruelty. During this period, the Allied planes have been bombing the German mainland very fiercely. I think there is not much left on German soil that can continue to be bombed on such a large scale by the Allies."
Peng sighed and continued, "This is retribution for Germany. However, the ultimate victims of war are ordinary civilians. Whether it's the Soviet Union or Britain, tens of millions of us flower farmers also died in the war."
"I'm afraid the German people suffered heavy casualties in this bombing, which is why they risked their lives. War, whether on the just or unjust side, always brings hatred!"
From Peng's words, Lin understood the purpose of Peng and his team's order to shepherd the troops. This was likely the intention of the Flower Clan's leadership. Regarding the European War, it was the Soviet Union and Britain that held an irreconcilable hatred for the Germans. They would inevitably spare no effort in launching an attack on the German mainland. The Flower Clan was right not to get involved in this mess. Furthermore, according to the Allied allocation, the Flower Clan's army had already occupied the Balkans, achieving its goal.
Lin thought about this and nodded. "Commander-in-Chief, you make sense. I think the US military will probably adopt the same strategy. It is said that the US troops who took over the defense of Italy did not immediately launch an attack on Austria."
"That's for sure. The majority of Austrians are Germans, and many of them are elite German troops. The Allies have spared no effort in bombing them, and if we rashly attack, we will suffer the same treatment."
Lin Dao: "If so, does this mean that our troops on the southern front will not participate in the attack on the German mainland?"
Before Peng could reply, the door opened, and in walked Yang Hong, Huang Wei, and Kuang Zhengqi. Seeing his superiors arrive, Lin quickly stood up and nodded to them. Huang Wei, without a trace of politeness, walked across from Peng, pulled up a chair, and sat down, saying casually, "Old Lin, don't let your imagination run wild. Ultimately, in great power politics, you have to view things from the perspective of the victor."
Kuang Zhengqi also stepped forward and sat next to Huang Wei, saying, "We only have three months to dawdle in the south. Ultimately, we must break into the German mainland. I believe Eisenhower will not agree to the Soviet occupation of Berlin!"