The German attack

The German plan was to send one armoured division towards Zagreb with the remainder attacking Belgrade. The plan would send the infantry towards Zagreb. From there, they would move on Belgrade. The mountains would be covered by the mountain divisions. This sort of plan made the Italians angry, as it was intended to defeat Yugoslavia at the first move. The Italians wanted help near Albania. Plans changed after the coup d'etat in Yugoslavia, so that Kleist's armoured group would attack from Sofia toward Belgrade. Another corps would move into Yugoslavia further south to join up with the Italians near Lake Ochrid. The Metaxas line would be hit by another corps. One corps was to advance into western Thrace. The Germans expected that there were 16 Yugoslav divisions and they had made their plans accordingly. This is based on the account in Vol.II of the Australian Official History.