<p>Hitler planned to accumulate a force in Romania from January 1941. Once the weather turned better, they would then move through Bulgaria to take the northern coast of the Aegean Sea. The coup in Yugoslavia meant that a military effort would be needed in Yugoslavia. They had hoped that a political move would be sufficient. They planned for a violent move against Yugoslavia in the new plan. They wanted to frighten Turkey into inaction and also set Greece back, to make them fear what a German attack would be like.
They would give Italy, Hungary, and Bulgaria some incentives from what they take in the attack. They planned to destroy Belgrade by air attack. "They would attack in waves". Russia had already concluded a treaty with Yugoslavia, but the Germans ignored that document. The Second German Army would attack Yugoslavia, advancing out of Austria. The Twelfth Army would be assembled in Austria.
By the beginning of April 1941, the German army had some 153 divisions. They had 14 Armored Divisions and 8 Motorized Divisions, of which 3 were SS. There was also one Light Division in North Africa. They also had "124 Infantry Divisions, six mountain and one cavalry division. Field Marshal von Brautchitsch was put incommand of operations in the Balkans. The headquarters would be located south of Vienna. Belgrade was an important target of the operation.
German mountain troops were part of the plan. They would cover the western flank. Interestingly enough, the Italians were unhappy with the plan. The Italians wanted the Germans to attack Yugoslav formations near Albania. One German attack was to move northward toward Belgrade. They Germans would go ahead and link up with the Italians "at lake Ochrid". The Germans had trouble with the narrow roads. They often had to blast to widen them. There was also a problem in Yugoslavia with "swollen rivers". This is based on the account in "Greece Crete and Syria" by Gavin Long.
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