Blitzkrieg

The Lightning War

Blitzkrieg, German for lightning war, was the original strategy of the German army during WWII.

How Did It Work?

Blitzkrieg worked in phases. First came a heavy bombardment by artillery. This did two main tasks. First, it demoralized, depressed, and kept soldiers anxious. Second, it did damage. It brought down buildings, killed men, and wasted supplies. Second came waves of fighter/bomber attacks. These were bombing runs most often, designed to create weaknesses in the already hurt defenses. Next, a large group of armored vehicles would break through the weak points, and clear out the last vestiges of defense. Then, if needed, German shock troops would arrive via troop transport vehicles. The idea of the Blitzkrieg was to hit hard and fast, leaving no time to counter-attack. The attack was used in pairs, like pincers, to isolate a small area and consume it, amoebae-like.

Preventative Measures

In truth, the German Blitzkrieg was incredibly effective. The only way to counteract the brute strength of it was to rob it of its most valuable supply: Surprise. The trick was to know where the Germans were going to strike, and prepare. Hit artillery with artillery, air power with air power. But knowing where they would strike next was the real challenge, made difficult by a little device...

The Enigma Machine

The Enigma Machine served as the nervous system to the Blitzkrieg. It was, at the time, the most advanced code generator ever created. This device consisted of a geared machine with three numeric dials, and a keyboard. As each dial’s number was changed, the gears shifted positions, and a whole new code was generated. Every day a new setting was used, and this device effectively kept the Allied forces in the dark, allowing for orders to be sent in secrecy. The secret would be the Allies getting their hands on their own Enigma Machine. The movie U-571 was loosely based on this, though misrepresented. However, even with the Enigma Machine, the Allied forces had to be careful not to let on to the Germans that they had recovered one of these devices. This meant that only the most specific and dangerous raids would be prepared for. The Enigma Machine was changed and modified several times during the war, and through it, the Blitzkrieg found its might. Without knowledge of where the next blow would fall, the Blitzkrieg was practically unstoppable. For more information of the Enigma Machine, look here.

In Closing

The Blitzkrieg was a brilliant tactic, overcoming the obstacles of WWI's problems with moving through trench warfare. To really understand how great it really was, one must realize that the Blitzkrieg is still used by nearly every army in the world today.