Importance of Blitzkrieg in WwiiImportance of Blitzkrieg in WwiiWorld War II spawned the creation of many new inventions, inventions that were greatly needed in order for whole countries to survive the war, and one such creation was introduced by the Germans, the Blitzkrieg. The word “Blitzkrieg” is German for “lightning war,” and it describes the military tactic used by the Germans and was coined by Western newspapermen in 1939 to convey the immense speed and powerful destruction caused by the three week German campaign against Poland. The term Blitzkrieg is mainly used to describe German tactics, however the general tactic itself was not entirely unique to only the Germans. The lightning quick method was used whenever the opportunity presented itself, particularly by the forces under the command of General Patton. In analyzing the German utilization of this “lightning war” tactic it becomes clearer how much of an intricate role the Blitzkrieg played in the Second World War, and how it could have completely succeeded.
Blitzkrieg was a fast and open style of warfare, heavily reliant on new technologies. First aircraftwere used as long-range artillery to destroy enemy strongholds, attack troop concentrations, and spread panic. Then combined arms forces of tanks and motorized infantry coordinated by two-way radio destroyed tactical targets before moving on, deep into enemy territory. A key difference to previous tactical models was the devolution of command. Fairly novice officers in the field were encouraged to use their own initiative, rather than rely on a centralized command structure. Essentially, the idea behind Blitzkrieg was organizing troops into mobile forces with exceptional communications and command, being able to keep the onslaught up as the battle unfolded, and basically the plan was to concentrate all available forces at a single spot in front of the enemy lines, and then break a hole in it with artillery and infantry. Once the hole was opened, tanks could rush through and strike hundreds of miles to the rear. This allowed the attacking force to fight against lightly armed logistics units, starving the enemy of information and supplies. In this way even a small force could destroy a much larger one through confusion, and effectively avoiding as much direct combat as possible. In the ideal Blitzkrieg confrontation, the enemy would be retreating to the rear in an attempt to construct new defensive lines, new lines that the attacking force would have already passed, thus increasing confusion between soldiers and tremendous worry amongst their chain of command, rendering the opposition completely ineffective.
By the late 1930’s The Germans had re-organized their Army to include a number of elite Panzergruppen, divisions within the German Heer of the Wehrmacht (“heer” is equivalent to “Army” and the “Wehrmacht” is literally “defense force or means/power of resistance.” The “Heer of the Wehrmacht” was the name of the armed forces of Nazi Germany.), consisting of light tanks, armored transport vehicles, which were precursors to modern armored personal carriers, and support equipment necessary for supporting the light tanks generally referred to as the Panzerkampfwagen. The Panzergruppen were an instrumental component of the Blitzkrieg coordinated-attacks, these divisions were credited with much of the success of the German campaign into Russia, and operated widely throughout the various fronts during World War II.
The Blitzkrieg was particularly effective against France. The Wehrmacht bypassed the main French defenses, such as the Maginot Line, the line of concrete fortifications, tank obstacles, machine gun posts and other artillery, which France constructed along her borders with Germany and with Italy at the beginning of World War I. By May 20th, the Wehrmacht was at Amiens. The next day, it reached the English Channel, near Abbeville, and hemmed in the retreating British Expeditionary Force. In late May and early June, the British evacuated their troops at Dunkirk. Nearly every available vessel, including fishing boats, yachts, and motorboats, were mobilized for this operation. On June 14th German troops marched into Paris, and eight days later, France
The Allies, on July 6th, were under a naval blockade. The enemy fired on France on December 7th; the French had never had a sea invasion under such a blockade. The invasion itself brought the first Allied action since World War I in July 1942. The first American submarine submarine attack on France on September 23rd, 1942 was a success. The American attack went down in history as the greatest Allied naval offensive since the first American submarine attempted the operation on December 3rd, 1941.
While the Allies were trying to block American submarine action on British shores, German and Danish forces held one base on the German-held coast of Scandinavia. The enemy launched a frontal counterattack to take this base. On September 27th the German-held coast, named the Kaunassi-Kodjens, erupted in flames and the Germans had to be driven off the shores of the island until all had returned to the Kaunassi-Kodjens in a British sea assault. During this, the British and Danish Naval forces launched large-scale and heavy naval cruisers to land on the southern German island of Baden-WĂĽrttemberg, a mile north of the Kaunassi-Kodjens. The air forces bombed German ports in northern France. German attack helicopters, heavily armored German reconnaissance planes, and large number of heavy bombers were the last standing units to take the Dutch and Danish coast.
On October 3rd Hitler announced a series of steps intended to end the occupation of the United States by 1939. These included:
Receivability. The Nazis had established a massive and long-standing policy of self-defence against France in the form of World War II-style Allied naval operations. They knew that all of Germany’s resources could be used to support their war effort. They would thus provide enough manpower and equipment to begin a massive assault on the English Channel on September 4th, 1938. The United States would have little or no involvement in the first stage of the conquest; no German support forces would be necessary. The Allies were prepared to take steps in advance (of taking hostages, taking back German troops from France, or even taking back British troops) to bring peace to the world as soon as possible. The United States would use the full power of the Great Powers to achieve its objective: to provide full mobilization of the Allied powers and in so doing carry out the American campaign and the United Nations Resolution (1940).
Hitler’s planned offensive would include:
Support for direct German and Allied forces
Stabilization of Western-controlled islands
Friction on the eastern front over the northern front
Reactivation of American forces at the present time (as well as the American Pacific expeditionary force) and in exchange for unconditional surrender of France and its allies
The most significant obstacle to the immediate success of Hitler’s plan