
Blitzkrieg
'Lightning war’ doctrine
Blitzkrieg literally means ‘lightning war’. This tactic describes an offensive military doctrine used by the German Army during World War II.






The basic principles of blitzkrieg were, for the most part, designed by the German Army in the years following World War I. The goal was to use modern weapons and vehicles in ways which would avoid trench warfare in future conflicts.






The successful operation of blitzkrieg depended on a series of well-defined attacks. The first step was to identify a focal point in which to begin an aggressive attack of the enemy, using tanks. The attack then continued with an advance into the enemy’s territory, supported by the air fleet which was vital in this kind of attack.






The blitzkrieg was a military doctrine that was implemented with success. Even so, there was a series of countermeasures and other potential limits to be taken into account. Weather conditions, overstretching of supply lines, the regrouping of the enemy, the lack of air support, and the limited production of tanks were the main obstacles in the success of the blitzkrieg.





The Blitzkrieg was used by the German Army in several military operations both before and after the start of World War II.







After the end of the war, a series of controversies appeared concerning the origins of the blitzkrieg. Some historians believed that the Germans didn’t actually invent a new tactic during the war. They were just using new technology - tanks. They adapted the tanks to the classic principles of maneuver warfare, which the German army had practised since before the beginning of the war.



