Blitzkrieg (German, "lightning war"About this sound listen ) is an anglicised term describing a method of warfare whereby an attacking force spearheaded by a dense concentration of armoured and motorized or mechanized infantry formations, and heavily backed up by close air support, forces a breakthrough into the enemy's line of defense through a series of short, fast, powerful attacks; and once in the enemy's territory, proceeds to dislocate them using speed and surprise, and then encircle them. Through the employment of combined arms in maneuver warfare, the blitzkrieg attempts to unbalance the enemy by making it difficult for them to respond effectively to the continuously changing front, and defeat them through a decisive Vernichtungsschlacht (battle of annihilation).During the interwar period, aircraft and tank technologies matured and were combined with systematic application of the traditional German tactics of deep penetration and bypassing of enemy strong points to encircle and destroy enemy force in a Kesselschlacht (cauldron battle). When Germany invaded Poland in 1939, Western journalists adopted the term blitzkrieg to describe this form of armoured warfare. However, the term had already made an appearance as early as 1935, in a German military periodical Deutsche Wehr (German Defense), in connection to quick or lightning warfare. Blitzkrieg operations were very effective during the campaigns of 1939–1941, and by 1940 the term had gained extensive use in Western media and journalism. The blitzkrieg operations capitalized on surprise penetrations (e.g., the penetration of the Ardennes forest region), general enemy unpreparedness, and an inability to react swiftly enough to the attacker's offensive operations. During the Battle of France, the French, who made attempts to re-form defensive lines along rivers, were constantly frustrated when German forces arrived there first and pressed on.Many modern historians have come to the conclusion that blitzkrieg itself was never an official doctrine or concept of the Wehrmacht, and that it is a myth that it was officially adopted. Some senior officers of the Wehrmacht, including Kurt Student, Franz Halder and Johann Adolf von Kielmansegg, disputed the idea that the blitzkrieg was an organized military concept of the Wehrmacht, and instead asserted that what many regarded as the blitzkrieg was nothing more than "ad hoc solutions that simply popped out of the prevailing situation" (Johann Adolf von Kielmansegg) and ideas that "naturally emerged from the existing circumstances" (Kurt Student) as a response to operational challenges. German historian Frieser summarized the blitzkrieg as simply the result of German commanders blending the latest technology in the most beneficial way with the traditional military principles and "[employing] the right units in the right place at the right time" on the operational level of warfare, and that it was in no way a brand-new military doctrine or concept. As such, many modern historians now understand the blitzkrieg as the outcome of the rejuvenation of the traditional German military principles, methods and doctrines of the 19th century with the latest weapon systems of the interwar period.However, many modern historians continue to use the term casually to describe the style of maneuver warfare practised by the Axis powers (particularly Germany) of this period, even though it was never a formal doctrine. This is justifiable, since in the context of Guderian's ideas of highly mobile formations in combined arms, the term blitzkrieg is extensively a synonym for maneuver warfare on the operational level.
Comment
0