Chris Madel

Although, you know, what that political solution is by the end of 1940, I'm not quite sure.

But anyway...

He recognised that Germany could be invaded by the Red Army, but so long as Germany remains militarily strong and undefeated, there's little to worry about.

Well, there's little to worry about, apart from the shortage of food and fuel and literally every resource you possibly need to be able to defend yourself properly.

Kerstring admits to Holder in September 1940 that the Red Army is still four years away from reaching its former command levels pre-purges, and these are the purges of the

of the Red Army Command of 1937 to 1938.

But he also warns that the demands of the terrain and conditions for an offensive campaign would be absolutely enormous.

And he draws attention to the absence of roads as well as extremes in weather and said these were Russia's greatest allies, along with both time and, of course, space.

They've got themselves into such a bind, haven't they?

Because they can't do what Kerstring's suggesting, which is just sit back and just, you know...

maintain military strength because they haven't got enough resources but there's another plan so there's the losberg plan so is this any jim take us through this is this any more realistic well not really so urbis point and bernard von losberg he's been planning under under under the instructions of yodel who's the chief of plans at the um of operations rather at the okw alfred yodel he's a horrible toady he's the guy who ends up finally signing the surrender at reams and the um

early hours of the 7th of May 1945.

But anyway, Lossberg begins work on Operation Studia Ost shortly after the 29th of July conference and completes it on the 15th of September, which, of course, goes down in fame as the Battle of Britain, not infamy, but fame as the Battle of Britain Day.

Anyway, Lossberg benefits from the study of Marx's plan, but also from the arbitration of Vienna, which we talked about in the last one.

The Vienna Award, which is the changed circumstances of Romania, in which northern Transylvania ceded to Hungary and parts to Bulgaria.

That means that Romania can now be used as a base because Germany has guaranteed its security with

permissions to move troops there.

So they can use that as part of their kind of, you know, launch point.

And Lossberg's plan calls for three simultaneous thrusts, each with an army group.

So two north of the Pripyat marshes and one south.