Warfare: Innovative Tacticians Of The Twentieth Century

The carnage of world war one was the result of the clash between new technologies, but old strategies. Blitzkrieg warfare would be the first form of modern military tactics for it fully utilizes the technological advancements of that time. The term “Blitzkrieg” was not invented by the Germans, but by an English magazine that described the invasion of Poland (Showalter). While many accredit the invention of Blitzkrieg warfare to Heinz Guderian, Germany's Chief of Mobile Troops during WWII, it was actually invented far before that. In fact, it was developed right after WWI after seeing the devastating effects of trench warfare(Showalter). Ironically, the basis of Blitzkrieg warfare was also laid by German Field Marshall Alfred von Schlieffen of the famous Schlieffen plan of WWI(Showalter). The basic essence of Blitzkrieg warfare was built upon the belief that Germany was always going to be out resourced and out numbered in every war and thus in order to win it, the Germans must strike hard and fast and penetrate deep behind enemy lines(Showalter). Thus, Blitzkrieg warfare was the most effective military tactic of its time because it utilized all of the technology of its time, it not only utilized physical warfare, but also psychological warfare, and because Germany’s opponents were not prepared for this kind of warfare.

The 1920’s were a time of substantial growth for many nations, especially for the nations that did not pay reparations. The nations that did not pay reparations had vast military growth, and had leaps in military technology. The technology that received the most attention was their submarines, but their airplanes and tanks were also important to these nations. Even though the technological advances were from the 1920s there is still the technology present in today’s military. There is some old technology still in today’s submarines like the Mccarn rescue tube.

In the winter of 1944, Allied forces in Europe found themselves at the mercy of a massive German offensive. It only took days for the thirteen divisions of German armor to push the allies into such a retreat that contemporary press named the battle after the “bulge” that appeared in the Allied lines. Initially, German soldiers outnumbered the Allies 2:1, while their tanks, the Panzer IV and the Tiger II, completely outclassed their allied counterparts. However, within the weeks, the offensive collapsed. The tanks were out of gas. There was not even enough aviation fuel for the Luftwaffe to cover the retreat (Cole).

Imagine a war against a stateless entity that uses fear mongering tactics like suicide bombing, random attacks, decentralization, and initiative. Nations will then be left the question how to combat this. All of these are major characteristics of fourth generation warfare and groups like al-Qaeda is a very prominent example. William S. Lind sought to understand fourth generation warfare through expounding on the regimes and culture of pre-existing generations. According to Mr. Lind, Fourth Generation Warfare is “the most radical change since the Peace of Westphalia”

Hitler did not wish for a lengthy war and wanted a strategy that would triumph over other methods. Blitzkrieg supposedly was able to accomplish his ideals. It used all armaments at once in a surprise attack. This would penetrate enemy defences allowing Panzers to roam openly behind enemy resistance, causing shock, confusion and disorganization among enemy divisions. Luftwaffe prevented its foe from gaining superiority in the air by prohibiting them from resupplying or redeploying forces, therefore blocking them from sending reinforcements. German military could then surround the enemies and force them into surrendering. The Germans were able to prove this worked on many accounts.

Living space then, was a necessary objective in Hitler 's eyes, but in order to achieve this space he needed to develop Germany 's army first. So he did. Between 1933 and 1939 the Treaty of Versailles was secretly avoided to massively increase the size of the German army, from 100,000 to 300,00017. The Luftwaffe, German air force, also rapidly increased and by 1940 it was the strongest among all the European powers. The German war machine was impressive, in just six years it went from being the weakest army to one of the strongest18. However, this created a vicious circle in terms of foreign policy for Germany: Hitler wanted living space, so he built up the army. However, in order to pay for this rapid rearmament, he had to conquer territories. Thus, Hitler made war profitable and a key part of the foreign policy of Germany19.

     In the first phase of World War II in Europe, Germany sought to avoid a long war. Germany's strategy was to defeat its opponents in a series of short campaigns. Germany quickly overran much of Europe and was victorious for more than two years by relying on a new military tactic called the "Blitzkrieg" (lightning war). Blitzkrieg tactics required the concentration of offensive weapons (such as tanks, planes, and artillery) along a narrow front. These forces would drive a breach in enemy defenses, permitting armored tank divisions to penetrate rapidly and roam freely behind enemy lines, causing shock and

During the early stages of the war, most of Germany’s victories were because of the success of blitzkrieg, or lightening war. Blitzkrieg tactics

The concept of Blitzkrieg warfare had been developed by tactical lessons learned during and most influentially, toward the end of World War One. When combined with technological innovations developed until the advent of World War two, Nazi Germany would possess a devastating brainchild that would eventually grow into the Shock and Awe technique of combat that we see today.2

As human beings stepped into a new phase of civilizations, many wars have occurred between different people, and the wars were not surely out of violence. The sources that we have used so far for this course are all about the wars in pre-modern world. According to Sun Tzu, “supreme excellence” is an important thing in the battles because it can be helpful to break down the enemies without fighting (Part III, 2), by which he means to fight skillfully rather than military campaigns. Hence, in this paper, I will be going through the theme of strategy in different sources, and I will analyze and explain some different strategies that were mentioned in the sources. Some strategies were meant to avoid the wars, and some were to prepare and operate wars. They were building cities in suitable positions, staying away from powerful cities wars, and keeping peace with those who were powerful, choosing suitable people for soldiers and generals, and manipulating the

This tactic involved mobile military troops and firepower. This tactic was first used by Germans successfully in 1940 against Belgium in the Netherlands and France. The blitzkrieg’s purpose for development was to find a way to end the stalemates that were common during World War II. The Blitzkrieg was an important strategy in this time period because it shortened the timeframe of military campaigns and prevented many

There was no fighting, no bombing, no war fare. This led the rest of the world to call the war “The phonie War”. It took until 1941 for Germany to finish increasing their military force. They began attacking British and French Naval fleets. Taking out submarines and boats was fairly quick. Hitler made it easier on his military with taking over most of western Europe by making a treaty with the notorious Josef Stalin of the Soviet Union. The two nations were allowed to trade with each other, as long as peace was sustained between the two. In 1940 Germany practically became a world power with its military. The Nazi military managed to invade and conquer Denmark, Norway, Belgium, The Netherlands, and finally France. The Germans took a new approach on warfare, it was quite clever and highly efficient. They called it the “Blitzkrieg” according to the Salem press. In English this translates to “Lightning war”. The Germans would approach their enemies with obvious heavy fire. However they would approach their enemies in heavy armored soldiers and heavy armored vehicles such as tanks. This would allow the armored vehicles to be the distraction and the main priority of the opposing threats. The smaller armored units would provide fire against those in sight. The last phase of this strategic attack is when the Nazi air force flies by and takes out the enemy armored vehicles, soldiers, and towers with enemy snipers. This three phase

Blitzkrieg in a literal sense means “lightning war” meaning that they would use speed and confusion to upset the enemy forces. Rommel is credited as being the one who perfected the art of war known as Blitzkrieg and for good reasons. It’s believed that Rommel and Guderian were told under the command of Hitler to disobey their superiors and to push the front, leaving their flanking forces behind them to create confusion and surprise for the enemy. Rommel used this method of

In the predawn darkness of September 1 1939, the most destructive war in history started. Hitler’s mad obsession for power and control fueled him and his third Reich to stop at nothing. World War 1 being a “national humiliation” and their military might being stripped away with treaties, Germany demanded vengeance. Having great success at first, power and control soon consumes Hitler and his short lived empire. All along the border with Poland, German artillery roared to life. Two thousand German tanks, 1.5 million soldiers, and 1,000 planes poured across the border. For Poland, resistance to the Germans’ sudden, overwhelming attack-called blitzkrieg or “lighting war”- proved futile. Hitler’s accusations about Poland were lies. His attack was

The tactics used in World War II had to come from somewhere and that was the past. The main reason for this was because most high ranking officers only knew old tactics. One of the biggest strategies that most are familiar with is the use of trench warfare. The many problems both sides faced when using trenches was how vulnerable soldiers were inside them. They were prone to constant chemical attacks, artillery barrages, and tanks. Trench warfare was not a pretty fight but it was one of the most used tactics throughout the war. An offensive at Somme was a prime example of the use and tactical advantage tools of war gave a side. In the summer of 1916, General Douglas Haig ad ordered and eight day artillery bombardment to soften up the German