Time Slip Reiwa Japan

107 - Yugoslav Conflict - 4

To cut costs, these squads recruited convicts serving in prisons. In exchange for reduced sentences, they were coerced into service.

. . .

Serbia

Following the assassination of the German senior official, the rapidly deteriorating domestic situation stirred a growing sense of alarm among the majority of Serbs — those who had maintained their sanity. Initially positioned as the Preparatory Committee (German puppets), a divide had gradually formed between them and other Yugoslavs. They were given fictitious privileges (imposed upon them) and resented by other ethnic groups as a result. And then, they announced the formation of the security maintenance force (Einsatzgruppen) comprised of notorious individuals.

It was sheer madness.

The sensible Serbs appealed to the Preparatory Committee to halt the organization and operation of the special action squads.

The response was violence.

The newly formed special action squads, acting at the behest of the Germans, launched a violent assault on a gathering of moderate Serbs, using the pretext that their involvement with unruly organizations was suspected, contrary to their peaceful intentions. They didn't arrest; they suppressed. They wielded their power without hesitation. Over ten influential Serbs were detained, and the fate of those who disappeared remained unknown.

This tragedy swiftly tilted the majority of Serbs towards anti-integration (Anti-Reich).

Even among Serbs, discord and violence erupted. The members of the Serbian Preparatory Committee, albeit belatedly, came to understand their position (having crossed the Rubicon). But even with that understanding, there was nothing they could do. They were compelled to operate the special action squads as instructed by the Security Maintenance Committee (Germans).

It was the beginning of hell.

. . .

Italy

Italy, which had arranged for weapons to fall into the hands of anti-German factions, was taken aback by the astonishing speed at which the land of Yugoslavia transformed into a place of chaos, confusion, blood, and violence. For Italians, the counter-insurgency operations carried out by France and Britain in Africa and Asia had been somewhat distant affairs, despite their efforts to gather information. The stark reality of the tragedy unfolding right before their eyes startled them. Mussolini went as far as expressing condolences at the League of Nations for the lives lost.

However, at the same time, Italy continued to supply further weapons without any remorse.

Italy, too, was a corner of the Great Powers (Leviathan). For the sake of Italy's unredeemed territories (such as Yugoslavia's Fiume), they were a nation willing to trample over other countries without hesitation. Italian high-speed smuggling ships loaded with weapons and ammunition crisscrossed the Adriatic Sea to fuel the ongoing tragedy in Yugoslavia.

However, Germany wasn't incompetent either. Despite efforts to prevent the influx of weapons across Yugoslavia's land borders and strict monitoring of weapons manufacturing within Yugoslavia, the flow of weapons and ammunition remained unabated, and attacks were frequent. It was deduced that the cause lay at sea. Germany hurriedly reinforced port surveillance, but they couldn't stop the smuggling conducted by the advantageous position of the Yugoslav Communist Party and Italy, solely from land. Evading the eyes of the Germans, Italian high-speed smuggling ships continued to bring in weapons, ammunition, and medical supplies to Yugoslav territory.

Of particular importance were the medical supplies. The Yugoslav Communist Party, aiming to expand its control and support in the tumultuous land of Yugoslavia, used scarce medical supplies as currency.