How Germany conquered Yugoslavia in twelve days: the 1941 Balkan campaign

Yugoslavia joined the Tripartite Pact on March 25, 1941 – two days later officers in Belgrade overthrew the government. On March 27 Hitler signed Directive No. 25, ordering Yugoslavia to be destroyed "militarily and as a state". On the morning of April 6, 1941, the attack began without a declaration of war. In "Operation Retribution" the Luftwaffe bombed the capital, which had been declared an open city, in four waves; the National Library burned down. The death toll is still disputed – estimates range from about 1,500 to 17,000, and historian Jozo Tomasevich considered 3,000 to 4,000 realistic.

According to the German Historical Museum, some 15 German divisions attacked from Styria and Carinthia, supported by Hungarian troops; the 12th Army under Wilhelm List fought its way to Belgrade via Niš. From April 11 Italy also attacked. On April 10 German troops reached Zagreb, where the Ustaše proclaimed the "Independent State of Croatia". Belgrade was handed over without a fight on April 12 – first to a small advance party under SS officer Fritz Klingenberg, which according to the video numbered just six men. King Peter II and the government fled the country on April 14 and 15.

On April 17 the Yugoslav army signed the surrender, which took effect at noon on April 18. According to the German Historical Museum, some 344,000 Yugoslav soldiers became German prisoners of war; the Wehrmacht lost 151 killed. The country was then carved up between Germany, Italy, Hungary, Bulgaria and Albania. The animated documentary follows April 6 hour by hour, with all four waves of attacks on Belgrade, and then the entire campaign day by day on the map – up to the toll of twelve days of war. The video is in German.