Chapter 24:
The referendum to approve the Annexation of Austria passed with a staggering 97% in favor.
With the German Military guarding every ballot box for such ballots, the 3% of brave souls who voted against it are even more amazing.
Austria had now clearly become German territory, and the Austrian Army was also incorporated into the Wehrmacht.
As most of the German Military, no longer needing to be stationed in Austria, withdrew, I was able to return to Berlin.
The Wehrmacht superiors seemed quite pleased, having gained a large number of troops from a country spanning the Alps Mountains, who were accustomed to mountain warfare.
Lieutenant General Heinz Guderian had managed the advance of the vanguard armored unit to Vienna with relative success, mobilizing even civilian gas stations and leaving behind all the tanks that broke down during the Anschluss, which had been a complete mess in terms of supplies and planning.
This achievement silenced the conservative generals who had not hidden their skeptical glances at the ‘Armor’ branch, and it further strengthened the position of Hitler, who had actively sponsored Guderian’s Armorization Policy.
The interest of young officers in the Armor branch grew significantly, and Captain Michael and I, who had built a foundation of knowledge by attending Guderian’s lectures in advance, were transferred from the infantry to the Armor branch on the recommendation… or rather, the order of Major General Model, who was a devotee of the Armorization Policy no less than Guderian.
Was ordering us, who were in the infantry branch, to attend Guderian’s lectures groundwork for this… Come to think of it, General Model is surprisingly a Korean-style ‘just do as you’re told’ type of general.