Blitzkrieg (Lightning War)

Form of brutal, decisive offensive warfare introduced by Germany in World War II and characterized by speed, surprise, technological superiority, and devastating force to overpower and demoralize enemies. On September 1, 1939, the Nazi forces of Germany launched a devastating mechanized military campaign against its neighbor, Poland. The country fell in only five weeks in a campaign that shocked the world. Similar campaigns were soon launched successfully against France and the Low Countries, and later against the Soviet Union (although that attack did not end in German victory).

These Nazi attacks, known in German as blitzkrieg, were initially regarded as a revolutionary form of warfare. In reality, the blitzkrieg was an innovative synthesis of existing tactics, technological developments, and well-developed strategy (culled from studies by military experts of Germany's humiliating defeat in World War I). Nazi strategists realized that Germany's position in the European heartland meant that its forces potentially could be outnumbered by an alliance of hostile neighbors. Enemy numerical superiority meant inevitable defeat in a sustained, traditional conflict; thus, the Germans developed an effective new strategy based on speed and maneuverability.

The premise of the Nazi blitzkrieg was both simple and brilliant. It was, to some degree, a modern improvement on the classic divide-and-conquer strategy. The fundamental objective of blitzkrieg was to destroy both the enemy's capacity and will to fight by inspiring panic, confusion, and terror as a result of intensive and overpowering surprise attacks.

Most effectively, and most famously, Nazi forces launched the first blitzkrieg in Poland, where they amassed their forces at a precise location at the last moment. Precise aerial attacks from the German air force (Luftwaffe) neutralized initial defenses and disrupted enemy supply lines, communications, and command structures before Poles could respond to the onslaught. The Germans also attempted to destroy enemy air forces while they were still on the ground. Enjoying continued air support, the concentrated German forces on the ground—including armored tanks and well-armed, well-trained soldiers with antitank guns and artillery—then focused their attack on one main point (schwerpunkt) on the enemy front.

The use of these technologies in conjunction with each other allowed the Nazis to break through enemy defenses and encircle a pocket of enemy cavalry or infantry. Encircling was highly effective because it allowed the Nazi armies to use large amounts of force against small, disorganized, trapped enemy formations. Unlike merely pushing the enemy army back, encircling prevented the enemy from regrouping or re-forming fronts, making German victory quicker and easier and involving fewer casualties. Prearranged, well-organized logistics—supplies and reinforcements—allowed the advancing army to maintain its speedy momentum and continue its frightening attack.

Importantly, the blitzkrieg also had devastating psychological effects on those attacked—combatants and noncombatants alike. Inasmuch as the speed and technological force of the German assault was unprecedented, the Polish (and later, Belgian, French, and other) forces were unable to deal effectively with the onslaught. Thus, German aerial attacks affected [Page 83]civilians just as much as the armed forces: Major population centers were shelled as well as defensive fortifications. The blitzkrieg thus blurred or eliminated both the physical and psychological distance from the front lines for both military personnel and civilians, creating fear, disorder, and panic. In its military brutality and its employment of total war tactics that refused to distinguish between military targets and civilians, the blitzkrieg proved to be far more destructive than traditional warfare.

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