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Blitzkrieg [a] is a word used to describe a combined arms surprise attack, using a rapid, overwhelming force concentration that may consist of armored and motorized or mechanized infantry formations, together with artillery, air assault, and close air support.
Heinz Wilhelm Guderian (German: [haɪnts ˈvɪlhɛlm ɡuˈdeːʁi.an]; 17 June 1888 – 14 May 1954) was a German general during World War II who, after the war, became a successful memoirist. An early pioneer and advocate of the "blitzkrieg" approach, he played a central role in the development of the panzer division concept. In 1936, he ...
Literally meaning "Lightning War", Blitzkrieg is the tactic of speed and the avoidance of unnecessary conflict, which were the keys to the rapid German advance. The foreword is by general Walter Nehring , formerly Heinz Guderian 's chief of staff.
The maneuver was used in the blitzkrieg of the armed forces of Nazi Germany during World War II, developing into a complex, multidisciplinary endeavor. It involved fast movement by mechanized armor, artillery barrages, air force bombardment, and effective radio communications, with the primary objective of destroying enemy command and control ...
Shimon Naveh, the founder and former head of the Israel Defense Forces' Operational Theory Research Institute, stated that after World War II Liddell Hart "created" the idea of Blitzkrieg as a military doctrine: "It was the opposite of a doctrine. Blitzkrieg consisted of an avalanche of actions that were sorted out less by design and more by ...
The Wehrmacht directed combat operations during World War II (from 1 September 1939 – 8 May 1945) as the German Reich's armed forces umbrella command-organization. After 1941 the OKH became the de facto Eastern Theatre higher-echelon command-organization for the Wehrmacht , excluding Waffen-SS except for operational and tactical combat purposes.
Nazi Germany's aggressive desire for territorial expansion ranks as a major cause of World War II. [ 3 ] There remains historical contention on the ultimate scope involved with the New Order: it may have exclusively been a continental project limited to the scope of Europe , or a broader roadmap for an eventual German-centric world government .
This is a timeline of events of World War II in 1939 from the start of the war on 1 September 1939. For events preceding September 1, 1939, see the timeline of events preceding World War II. Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 brought many countries into the war. This event, and the declaration of war by France and Britain two days ...