Axis

The Plan Y scenario presents a blitzkrieg situation without the benefits of paratroops, overwhelming air forces, and panzer divisions. However, neither must the invader deal with the obstacle of extended fortress lines.

The Axis player has sufficient, although not overwhelming, force with which to accomplish his objective. In this invasion, as opposed to the historical Greek fiasco, the Axis player has two entire armies with which to pummel the defender. And while it is true that he does not possess many blitzkrieg elements in his command, he nevertheless has a wide array of different and effective forces. In the first place, he does have a few armored units, most notably an armored and a light armored division (separated by front).

The offensive punch of these units is limited because of the quick onset of winter, but their mobility always remains an asset. For a combination of mobility and offensive punch the Axis player is blessed with numerous mountain units. These are especially helpful on the southern front. The most powerful element of the Axis force structure is the Italian artillery, which is very strong.

The Axis player must rely on artillery for much of his offensive punch; this can actually be a liability during much of the game, when winter conditions greatly reduce the mobility of artillery units. Less strong is the Italian air force; the Regia Aeronautica has fair bombers and poor fighters. The Italians do, however, have reasonable replacements available, and this makes their forces less fragile than the enemy's.

The Axis player also has more than just Italians available: the Hungarians and Bulgarians will both usually enter the game. Because the Hungarians have an extremely minor role to play, the makeup of their forces is not very important. The Bulgarians, on the other hand, possess a strong and resilient striking force, the effective use of which will be key to Axis hopes for victory.

Yugoslav

Against this onslaught the Yugoslavs can only rely on themselves. However, the forces at their disposal are not inconsequential. In fact, they have quite a large army, with a very large number of units. Many of these are weak 0-1-5 brigades, which nevertheless have an important role to play. The Yugoslavs are resilient as well, with large numbers of cadres (though no replacements). The Yugoslav army does have an offensive capability, though caution dictates using the army in this way only sparingly. Helping the Yugoslav further is a small but powerful air force, with fighter units capable of destroying any Italian or Bulgarian air unit (as long as the Yugoslav aircraft are themselves operative).

The problems with the Yugoslav army lie mainly with its slow mobilization rate, due primarily to the chronic ethnic and political differences which still plague the country to this day. The army is geographically based and some areas are definitely weaker than others. Moreover, a reasonably successful Axis invasion means that some Yugoslav units probably will never appear, because all of the cities in their mobilization area will have been overrun. And the areas strongest militarily are not necessarily those in the most danger. The poor mobility of the Yugoslav forces, coupled with a small rail cap, increases the danger presented by this situation.

Plan Y? Because We Like It Italian Invasion of Yugoslavia 1939

Introduction
The Armies: Axis and Yugoslav
Victory
Axis Strategy
Yugoslav Strategy
Options