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The traditional meaning of "blitzkrieg" is that of German tactical and operational methodology during the first half of the Second World War that is often hailed as a new method of warfare. The word, meaning "lightning war" or "lightning attack" in its strategic sense describes a series of quick and decisive short battles to deliver a knockout ...
Blitzkrieg – A method of warfare where an attacking force, spearheaded by a dense concentration of armoured and motorised or mechanised infantry formations with close air support, breaks through the opponent's line of defence by short, fast, powerful attacks and then dislocates the defenders, using speed and surprise to encircle them with the ...
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.
Penetration of the center: This involves exploiting a gap in the enemy line to drive directly to the enemy's command or base.Two ways of accomplishing this are separating enemy forces then using a reserve to exploit the gap (e.g., Battle of Chaeronea (338 BC)) or having fast, elite forces smash at a weak spot (or an area where your elites are at their best in striking power) and using reserves ...
In World War II combined arms was a fundamental part of some operational doctrines like Heinz Guderian's Blitzkrieg, [10] or the Soviet deep battle doctrine, which was based on combining tanks, mobile units (mechanised infantry or cavalry) and infantry, while supported by artillery.
During the First World War Frederick W. Lanchester formulated Lanchester's laws that calculated that the combat power of a military force is the square of the number of members of that unit so that the advantage a larger force has is the difference of the squares of the two forces, [2] [3] i.e.
During the Blitzkrieg operations of Fall Gelb and Fall Rot, as in Poland, it was the Stuka that stood out. The Stukas took a heavy toll of Allied Naval and Ground forces. Its ability to deliver accurate payloads with pinpoint precision along with its psychological screaming sirens became the scourge of the Allies.
In the strategies of the Blitzkrieg, the Wehrmacht combined the mobility of light tanks with airborne assault to quickly progress through weak enemy lines, enabling the German army to quickly take over Poland and France. [74]