Conflict in Europe: 'Blitzkrieg' (1 Viewer)

[MBTMaster]

This is a message to anyone doing Conflict in Europe.

Although it feels like I'm slaughtering some sort of Holy Cow this needs to be said.

There was no such thing as the 'Blitzkrieg' tactic or strategy. Almost the whole thing has been invented following the war as a kind of catch-all to explain everything from German success in 'Case White,' (German invasion of Poland), to Erwin Rommel's success in the North African campaign.

What it comes down to is that the Wehrmacht did not use the term in any official capacity during the war. It is true that there were a couple of unrelated mentions of the term in magazines and other publications before the war, but these were unrelated and usually had the connotations of a massive air attack finishing a war very quickly. It is also true that the German planners sometimes reffered to the 'so called Blitzkrieg,' but this is no way indicative or German widespread use, simply acknowledgement of Allied propaganda.

There is in fact another term used predominantly by the Wehrmacht themselves to describe their tactics; 'Bewegungskrieg,' meaning 'War of movement.' This term dates back to the age of Frederick the Great.

So if your teacher says anything along the lines of 'Germans defeated France in six weeks because of their famous Blitzkrieg tactics,' I'm afraid they have no idea what they are talking about.

So if you get a question like this:

Why was Germany so successful in the European War up to the start of
Operation Barbarossa?" (2012)

Don't just say the Germans were successful because of 'Blitzkrieg'.

Thanks

 

[enoilgam]

I think you're half correct in this post. Whilst it's true that blitzkrieg didn't exist as a formal doctrine, overall German tactics on an operation level were very similar. If you analyse the Case White, Case Yellow and even the opening stages of Operation Barbarossa, the Wehrmacht as a whole definitely had tactical uniformity. Concentrations of armoured and motorised units supported by air cover were used to smash through enemy lines and encircle large volumes of enemy troops. Whilst these weren't formalised doctrines, they were definitely trademarks of the Wehrmacht.

 

[MBTMaster]

The focus of the Prussian, and later German armies have always been on aggression, typified by battles such as Leuthen, Konigrgratz, Tannenberg and the Battle of France. All involved rapid maneuver of forces in a concentric manner, attempting to hit the body of the enemy where he least expected it. Often the flanks or rear. The focus of which was to surround at least part of the enemy force creating a Kesselschlacht meaning "cauldron battle" and annihilate the enemy caught within.

Besides the addition of air-power. An element whose power should not be diminished, the core Prusso-German strategy has remained relatively constant through to at least the Seven Years War as the importance of the aforementioned elements have not diminished.

Following the spectacular defeat of France and the aura of invincibility that came with it, myths and legends began to develop, partly due to fear, partly to explain allied military humiliation.

The main byproduct of those myths, was Blitzkrieg.

The fact is that the rapid maneuver warfare, Bewegungskrieg, as the Germans themselves called it, has been adopted by the word Blitzkrieg. When in fact it has existed long before the words inception, which occured after the fact

I recommend Robert M. Citino's The German Way of War for a more comprehensive explanation of German war making and the so called Blitzkrieg.

 

[D94]

So if your teacher says anything along the lines of 'Germans defeated France in six weeks because of their famous Blitzkrieg tactics,' I'm afraid they have no idea what they are talking about.

Don't just say the Germans were successful because of 'Blitzkrieg'.

It's still very valid to use a coined term, in whatever language, to describe the situation at the time. Granted you must explain what these so called blitzkrieg tactics were in any essay response.

We use it as an English word to describe a German tactic or tactics that involve rapid advancement, targeted military action, and effective structural disturbance to the enemy. We don't italicise or capitalise the word as it's an English descriptive noun.

 

[MBTMaster]

To say something like "The Germans used their 'blitzkrieg' tactics," is patently false, they themselves would not recognise the term in an official capacity.

The word has emerged after the fact and is not German, who in my opinion are the foremost authority on what tactics they themselves used.

If you were to ask a General Manstein or Heinz Guderian how they won the battle of France, they would refer to aggression, concentric attacks, Kesselschlacht and Bewegungskrieg. They would not mention 'Blitzkrieg'.

It is certainly better to show the marker that you can differentiate between allied propaganda and the specific terms used by the German General Staff.