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Tanks and mechanised infantry of the 24th Panzer Division advancing through Ukraine, June 1942, typifying fast-moving combined arms forces of classic blitzkrieg. 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 ...
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 ...
or, more idiomatically, "Beware the Tank!"), written by Major-General Heinz Guderian, a German World War II army general, is a book on the application of motorized warfare. First published in 1937, it expounds a new kind of warfare: the concentrated use of tanks, with infantry and air force in close support, later known as Blitzkrieg tactics.
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 ...
German tanks operated while directed by radio communication, which allowed tank commanders to take greater advantage of the manoeuvrability of their vehicles. [26] Even after the conquest of Poland, "Blitzkrieg" was not defined on the strategic level. Guderian and von Manstein devised a strategy that entailed what later would be seen as the ...
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 ...
The tactics of the German Blitzkrieg breakthrough were to spearhead the attack with massed armour, sometimes a whole Panzer division of 240 tanks moving in "combat echelon", but was intimately supported by mechanized artillery and infantry formations. [2]
The military strength of the German Army was managed through mission-based tactics (Auftragstaktik) rather than detailed order-based tactics, and rigid discipline. Once an operation began, whether offensive or defensive, speed of response to changing circumstances was considered more important than careful planning and co-ordination of new plans.