The Rise Of Australasia

When the Mediterranean Triad was preparing for battle against the German Army, something surprising happened: the Germans did not initially attack South Slavia, but instead took advantage of seizing Vienna to head directly south into Hungary.

Indeed, the Germans had attacked Hungary without declaring war.

But considering the situation, it was not surprising since Germany had attacked many countries without declaration, and Hungary was not an exception.

It's worth mentioning that Hungary's area was still vast, almost encompassing the entire Hungarian Plain, including Transylvania, which Romania coveted.

From this, one could discern the purpose of the German's invasion of Hungary: to firmly tie Romania to their war chariot.

Why did Germany place such importance on this small Balkan country, Romania?

Because Romania possessed the petroleum resources desperately needed by Germany, which were absolutely irreplaceable treasures for both Germany and Italy.

After all, neither Germany Mainland nor Italy Mainland had sufficient petroleum reserves, and currently, for the war, the deployment of armored troops and air forces was indeed essential, requiring a significant amount of fuel at every moment.

It's not an exaggeration to say that the strategic reserve of fuel determined the course of the war. Without Romanian petroleum, the oil reserves of Germany and Italy would not last long.

Without petroleum, tanks and airplanes were merely useless metal frames. This was also a reason why the Allied Nations were ahead of the Allies; the Allied Nations occupied numerous regions with large petroleum reserves, including the well-developed oil region of the Middle East.

Clearly, Germany's attack on Hungary was part of a pre-planned scheme with Romania. The moment the German Army appeared within Hungarian borders, the Romanian Army also marched westward in great numbers, quickly surrounding the border city of Brasov.

Brasov was not only the easternmost city in Hungary, but it was also the frontline of Transylvania's resistance against the Romanian Army.

If Brasov were to fall, it would spell absolute disaster for Hungary.

Of course, a greater disaster had already befallen, and in such times, the safety of Brasov momentarily became less significant.

The German Army once again demonstrated its formidable combat prowess, advancing through Hungary as if in an uninhabited territory and reached the capital city, Budapest, in just two days.

The biggest problem for Hungary was that, as a neutral country in the war, though it had expanded its military size, it had not mobilized for war.

After the war suddenly erupted, it was too late for Hungary to mobilize.

With a population of just over 10 million, Hungary could not possibly assemble an army of millions in a short time.

Moreover, Hungary was facing not only two army groups from Germany but also a formidable Romanian Army of 300,000.

Such scale of enemy forces was impossible to confront, not even by Hungary during the Austro-Hungarian Empire era.

After all, following World War I, Hungary had already been greatly weakened.

The complete Hungary of the Austro-Hungarian Empire period, with 325,000 square kilometers of land and a population exceeding 20 million, had significant influence within the great power level empire.

Even the transformation of the Austrian Empire into the dual monarchy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire was, in fact, due to the strength and prosperity of Hungary.

Before the war broke out, Hungary's military numbered about 140,000 people, a result of expanding two infantry divisions after the outbreak of World War II.

This 140,000 troops were scattered throughout Hungary, with only two infantry divisions defending the capital, Budapest.

Although Hungary tried to urgently mobilize in Budapest and other regions after the German surprise attack, the results were poor.

In two days, only a few thousand people responded to the mobilization, making it impossible to even assemble one infantry division.

Relying on these two and a half divisions, where half the division comprised new recruits with no combat experience, to defend Budapest was nothing short of a pipe dream.

The result was clear. After the German Army surrounded Budapest, they launched a fierce attack for a while before beginning to distribute a large number of leaflets urging surrender.

Germany promised to preserve the Hungarian Government and let Hungary retain its administrative autonomy under the condition of establishing a government with aligned ideologies.

The result was also clear; after resisting for a few days, Hungary immediately declared capitulation and accepted the propositions of the Germans.

On December 4, 1936, the German Army grandly entered Budapest, and this ancient city was occupied by the enemy once again after many years.

Just one day later, the Romanian Army also successfully seized Brasov. A large number of Romanian troops poured into Transylvania and advanced towards the central city of Cluj.

On December 7, Germany, Romania, and Hungary initiated tripartite talks, discussing the handling of the Hungarian Government.

On December 8, Germany, Romania, and Hungary signed the "Budapest Treaty." Hungary ceded the entire Duchy of Transylvania, two-thirds of Banat Border Province, and the Maramures area lying at the foothills of the Northern Carpathians to the Kingdom of Romania.

The total area amounted to 103,093 square kilometers, even surpassing the territory left to the Kingdom of Hungary, which was 92,963 square kilometers.