The Three Mediterranean countries had been standing ready for the German Army when something astonishing happened. Instead of attacking Yugoslavia first, the German Army took advantage of its conquest of Vienna and marched straight south into Hungary.
Yes, the Germans had actually launched a surprise attack on Hungary.
But thinking about it, it was hardly surprising. Germany had already attacked plenty of countries without declaring war, and Hungary was merely one more.
It was worth noting that Hungary was still quite large at this point, occupying almost the entire Hungarian Plain, as well as Transylvania, which Romania had long coveted.
This also revealed the purpose behind Germany's attack on Hungary: to bind Romania firmly to its war chariot.
Why did Germany value this small Balkan country of Romania so highly?
Because Romania possessed the oil resources Germany desperately lacked. To Germany and Italy, they were absolutely irreplaceable treasures.
After all, neither the German mainland nor the Italian mainland had sufficient oil reserves. The armored forces and air forces so vital to the war required enormous amounts of fuel every moment they were in action.
It was no exaggeration to say that strategic fuel reserves determined the course of a war. Without Romanian oil, Germany and Italy's reserves would not last very long.
Without oil, tanks and aircraft were nothing more than useless iron skeletons. This was also why the Central Powers held an advantage over the Allied Powers: the territories they controlled contained countless regions rich in oil reserves, including the Middle East, whose oil deposits were exceptionally abundant.
Clearly, Germany's attack on Hungary had been planned in advance with Romania. The moment the German Army appeared inside Hungary, the Romanian Army also marched west in great force and rapidly surrounded the Hungarian border city of Brasov.
Brasov was not