Blitzkrieg (Lightning War)

Blitzkrieg is a German word which means lightning war. Thus, it is a highly-mobile and fast military offensive designed to attack the enemy from the flanks and from the skies, carrying out pincers movements to cut out and envelop large number of enemy troops in a pocket (cauldron). It was first implemented by the German Army in World War II during the 1939 Polish Campaign. In order to put an end to the costly, static warfare that had characterized World War I, it was conceived to invade and conquer enemy territory quickly and efficiently, to minimize losses, wiping out most of the enemy units in a surprise attack.

In Blitzkrieg, the offensive forces have to hit hard in a sudden air attack designed to maul and shock the enemy ground troops, and then move on quickly, almost simultaneously, using armored units to punch the enemy lines and encircle the already battered opposing forces. Thus, Blitzkrieg is based on speed, surprise, coordination and movement, using ground attack aircraft and fast tanks, which act as independent units, and mechanized infantry division as well. In Blitzkrieg, sometimes airborne troops can be used; they are dropped behind enemy lines to attack the rear, contributing to a faster encirclement of enemy units.

Lightning war is based on Heinz Guderian's idea of a swift armored offensive. In the 1930s, this German army officer had written a military book which was called "Achtung Panzer," which got into the hands of Hitler. Having spent four years fighting a static war, Adolf Hitler was spellbound. Guderian told him that he could get to the French coasts in a matter of weeks if they attacked France following the Blitzkrieg tactic, which was summarized by Guderian as Nicht kleckern, sondern klotzen! (Don't procrastinate, go straight and hit hard). In the Blitzkrieg, the Germans referred to a Schwerpunkt, or focal point, which was the main target to be attacked to punch out a hole, like an enemy unit to be destroyed or an enemy line sector to be breached. Thus, all the effort had to be concentrated on the Schwerpunkt, using mechanized ground troops, armored vehicles, and ground attack aircraft.

In Blitzkrieg, a strategic target is selected. Then, dive bombers, or ground attack aircraft are sent to soften up the enemy terrain, destroying rail lines and communication centers. This was done in World War II when the German tanks were closing in on the Schwerepunkt and the Luftwaffe aircraft withdrew at the last minute after the attack to let the ground armored units accomplish the rest of the mission. In this way the enemy did not have time to recover as they were smashed by tanks and infantry. In World War II, the preferred aircraft used by the Luftwaffe in coordination with armored units was the Junkers Ju 87 "Stuka", a renown dive bomber, with inverted seagull wings.

Junkers Ju-87, Stuka, dive bombers during the Battle of France. A key weapon in the German Blitzkrieg