(a) An operation against Greece; (b)
Protection of Bulgaria against Russia and Turkey; (c) Safeguarding
the guarantee to Rumania .... It is desirable that this deployment be
completed without interference from the enemy. Therefore, disclose
the game as late as possible. The tendency will be to cross the
Danube at the last possible moment, and to line up for attack at the
earliest possible moment."
On 19 February 1941 an OKW directive regarding the
operation "Marita" stated: "On 18 February the
Führer made the following decision regarding the carrying out of
Operation Marita: 'The following dates are envisaged: Commencement of
building bridge, 28 February; crossing of the Danube, 2 March."
On 3 March 1941, British troops landed in Greece
to assist the Greeks to resist the Italians; and on 18 March, at a
meeting between Hitler and the Defendant Raeder, at which the
Defendants Keitel and Jodl were also present, the Defendant Raeder
asked for confirmation that the "whole of Greece will have to be
occupied, even in the event of a peaceful settlement," to which
Hitler replied, "The complete occupation is a prerequisite of
any settlement."
On 25 March, on the occasion of the adherence of Yugoslavia to
the Tripartite Pact at a meeting in Vienna, the Defendant Von
Ribbentrop, on behalf of the German Government, confirmed the
determination of Germany to respect the sovereignty and territorial
integrity of Yugoslavia at all times. On 26 March the Yugoslav
Ministers, who had adhered to the Tripartite Pact, were removed from
office by a coup d'état in Belgrade on their return
from Vienna, and the new Government repudiated the Pact. Thereupon on
27 March, at a conference in Berlin with the High Command at which
the Defendants Göring, Keitel, and Jodl were present, and the
Defendant Von Ribbentrop part of the time, Hitler stated that
Yugoslavia was an uncertain factor in regard to the contemplated
attack on Greece, and even more so with regard to the attack upon
Russia which was to be conducted later on. Hitler announced that he
was determined, without waiting for possible loyalty declarations of
the new Government, to make all preparations in order to destroy
Yugoslavia militarily and as a national unit. He stated that he would
act with "unmerciful harshness."
On 6 April German forces invaded Greece and Yugoslavia without
warning, and Belgrade was bombed by the Luftwaffe. So swift was this
particular invasion that there had not been time to establish any
"incidents" as a usual preliminary, or to find and publish
any adequate "political" explanations. As the attack was
starting on 6 April, Hitler proclaimed to the German people that this
attack was necessary because the British forces in Greece (who were
help-