On March 8, 1940, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry announced the recall of its ambassadors to the United Kingdom and Germany, while also publicly issuing a declaration of retaliation. That same day, the Eastern European Alliance Standing Council decided to impose an embargo on supplies to the United Kingdom and Germany.
Everyone knew the countdown to war had begun. Countries issued evacuation orders for their citizens one after another, while the sharp-minded had long sensed that something was amiss and fled ahead of time.
By this point, those who remained were mostly foolhardy daredevils. If the war ended quickly, they might be fine—but if it dragged on, all they could do was wait to weep!
On March 9, the Bulgarian Ministry of Defense issued a notice for military exercises. The entire country began preparing for war, while troop numbers in the colonies rapidly swelled in a short time.
The advantage of a system in which every citizen was a soldier now revealed itself. There was no need to send reinforcements from the homeland to the African colonies; they could simply recruit from the local settlers.
Weapons and ammunition had begun shipping out from the homeland a year earlier. By now, everything was already in place.
At Little Ferdinand's command, the African colonies mobilized an army of five hundred thousand. That number was insignificant on the European battlefield, but on the African continent, it was staggering.
"Your Majesty, the air force has assembled more than 3,800 combat aircraft. The plan is for them to take off simultaneously from the homeland and Libya on March 12 to bomb Sicily, destroying the Mediterranean Fleet's logistical supply capabilities in one stroke!" Christoph said.
"Oh? Why not destroy the Mediterranean Fleet itself?" Little Ferdinand asked in confusion.
"Your Majesty, the British cannot possibly miss military operations