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A '''blitzkrieg ''' is an operational level military doctrine which calls for a quick surprise attack by massive ground and air forces. "Blitzkrieg" is from the German words for lighting ("''blitz''") and war ("''krieg''"). The term was not used by [[Germany|German ]] military planners, and had it's origins originating at the [[Propaganda ]] Ministry of [[Josef Goebbels]]. It was used in press accounts to describe the lightening lightning speed of the German military during [[World War II]]. Modern American "Shock and Awe" doctrine is based upon the lessons of blitzkrieg.

==German use during World War IIBasic Requirements and Features==

Blitzkrieg was a or maneuver tactic where armored columns would break through is based on the enemy lines, supported by artillery idea of "gaps and attack aircraft. Once surfaces" or as the columns were through the lineGermans called it "Flaechen und Luekentaktik", they would not stop but continue into which means the enemy rear, disrupting their supply lines tactics of surfaces and cutting off unitsgaps. The armored columns were followed by infantry units that would exploit basic intent of blitzkrieg is to avoid those points which are "surfaces" or hard points in the gaps and surround the isolated enemy unitsline and target "gaps" or weakly defended areas. The This was further developed by Basil Liddell Hart's concept of expanding torrent system tactic worked most effectively in Europe against the French . The idea with this was to act like water: You poke and prod at the Netherlandsenemy's lines and, when a weak point is found, attack it and expand the breach in the beginning line, just as flowing water would do to a weak dam, thus causing a massive flow through it. In other words, rather than throwing strength against strength as in attrition-oriented forms of the conflict combat, you focus on throwing your strength against the Soviet Union. Itenemy's success was due to a combination of surprise and favorable terrainweakness.

There was three flaws to This requires what is known as recon pull, or another way of saying it is have your reconnaissance assets find the Blitzkrieg tacticgaps and then they exploit them, bringing more and more assets with them as they go. First, This is different from more conventional forms of attack where it was heavily dependent is focused on good weather and good terrain. If the terrain was hilly, combat was in an urban areacommander of the formations essentially pushing units forward, whether it be a gap or if the weather turned the ground muddy (as a surface in the Soviet Union), the armored units would slow down and become vulnerable to anti-tank unitsenemy lines.

SecondIf suitable gaps cannot be found, air support was vitalthey are created via the use of "Stosstruppentaktik" or shock troop tactics. Without it, This is when a combination of suppression (via artillery or other assets) assault (with infantry and armor) and exploitation (mainly with armor) is used. This is essentially punching a hole in the tanks were vulnerable to counter-attacks from enemy aircraftlines at a desirable point. As You suppress the war progressed enemy in order to keep his head down and prevent him from engaging and have the Germans lost control of assault happen as soon as is possible after the airsuppressive fire is finished. Once this is done, their panzer units suffered heavy losses from Allied air-to-ground aircraft such as the Soviet IL-2 and American P-47 Thunderboltcommitting of what is generally a large reserve happens once the initial assault is successful.

Third, Another way of forming gaps was via the blitzkrieg use of support attacks which could be broken up by channeling force the attack (holding the flanks) and attacking the point where the infantry and armored units met. This would separate the two and expose the armor enemy to counter-attacks. The French and British used this tactic at the Battle of Arras redeploy his assets thus creating weak points in 1940, but lacked the armored units required to exploit their limited successhis lines that can be exploited.

The Soviets used all the above Those points that are considered strong points or surfaces are generally bypassed and had the additional fortune of vast swaths of land allowed to design a defense-in-depthweaken due to it being cut off from its support. As In this way blitzkrieg also dislocates the panzer units moved further and further from their supplies, gaps would appear enemy in their columns. These could then be attacked to break up the armor. Also, the Soviets used minefields to further disrupt the German armorspace.

By 1944, blitzkrieg as a German tactic was finished. The last actual appearance of Because blitzkrieg is more fluid in terms of maneuver and as such the speed with which situations change, it requires commanders to be close to the action rather than being behind the lines as what the war stereotype was when General George Sof generals from WW1. Guderian and Patton's Third Army broke out of were known for this lead from the Normandy Pocket in Operation Cobrafront leadership style. The Allied columns covered 600 miles reason that leaders must be up front is so that they can be able to provide the needed leadership at the decisive time at the decisive point. This allows for faster decision making and makes it so that the enemy is dislocated in just under two weekstime as well as space. This would be described as getting inside of your opponent's decision cycle for you are able to make it so that the opponent is reacting to you, if this continues there is the risk that his actions will be rendered obsolescent and as such paralyzes his ability to react to you.

== References Before World War II==

FrieserColonel John Fuller, Kthe chief of staff of the British Tank Corps, is credited with developing this tactic after his extreme disappointment with the effect of tanks during World War I.HHis ideas, which were ignored by the British Army, called for long-range mass tank attacks. He envisioned this attack to be supported by air power as well as motorized infantry and artillery support. He wrote two books in the 1920s which detailed his ideas: ''Reformation of War'' and ''Foundation of the Science of War''. In 1926, the German Army began ordering tanks and vehicles which would allow them to implement Colonel Fuller's ideas.<ref>http://www.lycos.com/info/blitzkrieg--german-wehrmacht.html?page=2</ref><ref>http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/2WWblitzkreig.htm</ref> In 1937 [[Heinz Guderian]] wrote the book ''Achtung - Panzer!'' describing the combined arms tactics used initially by the Germans in WWII and later on by armies throughout the world. The Germans tested an application of these tactics in 1938 during the [[Spanish Civil War]] and as a result [[German High Command]] formulated plans to dismantle Polish defenses in 1939.<ref>https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9068990/Spanish-Civil-War</ref> ==During World War II== Blitzkrieg Legendwas a maneuver tactic where armored columns would break through the enemy lines, supported by artillery and attack aircraft. Once the columns were through the line, they would not stop but continue into the enemy rear, disrupting their supply lines and cutting off units. The armored columns were followed by infantry units that would exploit the gaps and surround the isolated enemy units. The tactic worked most effectively in Europe against the French and the Netherlands, and in the beginning of the conflict against the Soviet Union. Its success was due to a combination of surprise and favorable terrain. There was three flaws to the Blitzkrieg tactic. First, it was heavily dependent on good weather and good terrain. If the terrain was hilly, combat was in an urban area, or if the weather turned the ground muddy (as in the Soviet Union), the armored units would slow down and become vulnerable to anti-tank units or worse to the enemy being able to react to attacks more effectively.  Second, air support was vital. Without it, the tanks were vulnerable to counter-attacks from enemy aircraft. This is true with all operations that focus heavily on the use of armored fighting vehicles, whether it be maneuver oriented or more attrition oriented. As the war progressed and the Germans lost control of the air, their panzer units suffered heavy losses from Allied air-to-ground aircraft such as the Soviet IL-2 and American [[P-47|P-47 Thunderbolt]]. German success in the Battle of the Bulge depended in part on the existence of cloud cover that would keep Allied air forces grounded.  [[Image: Map of blitzkreig.jpg]] Third, the blitzkrieg could be broken up by channeling the attack (holding the flanks) and attacking the point where the infantry and armored units met. This would separate the two and expose the armor to counter-attacks. The French and British used this tactic at the [[Battle of Arras]] in 1940 Campaign , but lacked the armored units required to exploit their limited success. [[Image:Moving into poland.jpg]] The Soviets used all the above and had the additional fortune of vast swaths of land to design a defense-in -depth. As the West'panzer units moved farther and farther from their supplies, gaps would appear in their columns. These could then be attacked to break up the armor. Also, the Soviets used minefields to further disrupt the German armor. [[Image:German invasion.-.jpg]] By 1944, blitzkrieg as a German tactic was finished. The last actual appearance of blitzkrieg in the war when several German Armies smashed through the weak Allied lines in the Ardennes forest in what became known as the Battle of the Bulge. Luckily, their momentum did not hold, which marked an end to blitzkrieg warfare in WWII.== Blitzkrieg after the war == The first significant use of blitzkrieg tactics in the post-war era was in the 1967 [[Six Day War]] when Israel, after destroying almost the entire Egyptian air force on the ground in a little more than an hour, sent a three pronged tank attack south to seize the [[Sinai peninsula]] and north to occupy the [[Golan heights]].<ref>https://www.upi.com/Audio/Year_in_Review/Events-of-1967/Six-Day-War/12303074818188-2/</ref> The ground phase of the first Gulf War, lasting only four days, followed a blitzkrieg-style attack with US, British, and French tanks that poured deep into southern Iraq in what General [[Norman Schwarzkopf]] termed a "Hail Mary" pass before hooking right and cutting off the escaping Iraqi forces, which were then demolished in detail by tanks and aircraft.  The resumption of hostilities in Iraq that led to the [[Iraq War]] relied upon "Shock and Awe" a derivative of blitzkrieg doctrine. Using a series of quick and lightning attacks across the Iraqi border the US military was able to shock the Iraqi armed forces into submission. It was also a tactic used since the [[American Civil War]], when massed artillery bombardment was first used to weaken and demoralize enemy forces before an advance. ==See also==* [[List of military strategies and concepts]] == References ==<references/>

[[Category:HistoryWorld War II]]