Blitzkrieg: Tactics and effectiveness

Blitzkrieg: Tactics and effectiveness

What was Blitzkrieg?

Blitzkrieg was a tactic utilized by the Germans that relied upon speed and surprise of bomber planes, tanks, and mechanized infantry. The speed and surprise of the attacks permitted Germany to prosper during World War 2, conquering France, Poland, and almost forcing Britain into submission through sheer force.

Blitzkrieg was launched 3 September, 1939

It was initially used to conquer Poland.

That invasion began on 3 September, 1939.

Blitzkrieg can be directly translated as 'lightning war'

+

Stuak planes, or, Sturzkampfflugzeug, were a low-wing, single-engine monoplane that employed the dive bombing tactic, which, essentially, were the Stuka planes diving to a low altitude before they released the bombs so as to encourage maximum accuracy.

• Destroy what the tanks missed

The germans grew so strong that they pushed both the British and the French forces back to Dunkirk.

Took 6 weeks for the Dutch and the Belgians to surrender to Hitler.

These aspects were their speed and surprise.

Blitzkrieg's tactics

Blitzkrieg was heavily reliant upon Stuka planes, which launched synchronized attacks so as to confuse and panic citizens, preventing the army from retaliating. It also relied upon dive bombers, to destroy buildings and, potentially, produce fires.

Blitzkrieg was also reliant upon tanks

• Swift
• Powerful
• Made enemy cavalry obsolete.

The final thing that Blitzkrieg relied upon was mechanized infantry

During my speech:

During my speech, I will speak of three main topics:

• What Blitzkrieg was and its tactics
• Blitzkrieg's effectiveness
• Why it failed in Russia

Did you know that I, Hitler, did not actually fathom Blitzkrieg.

It was in fact Hans Guderian, one of my army officers, that created the idea that allowed me to conquer most of the Northern World.

Blitzkrieg's effectiveness

Conclusion:

Checkmate for the World up until defeat in Russia

During my speech today I hope you have learned:

• What Blitzkrieg was and its tactics
• How effective it was
• Why it failed in Russia.

Germany conquered Denmark in little less than 4 hours as a result of Blitzkrieg.

To think that I had the world checkmated, countries as pawns, and my empire as king. To have my king taken, I am left to wonder what went wrong?

Why did Blitzkrieg fail in Russia?

• Attendant issues with troops and machinery
• Campaign
• Blitzkrieg defeat.

Finally, the Germans arrived in Winter.

There were several reasons why Blitzkrieg failed in Russia.

Firstly, because the Russians had prepared for the attack, they made Blitzkrieg's two greatest aspects negligible.

Secondly, Hitler disregarded Russia's huge production capabilities.

This resulted in a delay.

This delay permitted time for Stalin to transfer the war into The Great Patriotic war, which reduced chances of surrender