The Blitzkrieg And Manstein's Success In The Battle Of France

As one of the most successful military campaign in history, the Fall of France remained a surprise to many. Miraculously, Germany defeated France in six weeks during World War Two; something that they could not do in four years during World War One. At the time, France was one of the most powerful countries in the world. Its army, the Free French Forces, was crowned as the most potent army in Europe. Along with the Maginot Line, the French army seemed to be unbreakable. The Wehrmacht shattered that perception on May 10th, 1940, where they displayed to the world that nothing can stand in their way. This remarkable military achievement of Germany is backed by their superior quality in the military which enabled them to utilise their innovative

The German plans and stratagems were more advanced than of the Allies as they suited the modern warfare. This was showcased through the specific planning of the Manstein Plan and Blitzkrieg, the overall strategy of the German military. Manstein’s plan, the German invasion plan in the Battle of France, granted the Germans surprise for the Blitzkrieg and was the main reason why the Battle of France was so successful. Unusually, this plan entailed that after crossing the densely forested area of Ardennes in southern Belgium, the main attack will strike at the weak forces on the Meuse Line. This was odd because the primary attack force, tanks, would have a lot of difficulties crossing the forested area. Other forces would either lure the main army of the Allies into Belgium to encircle them or to stop any attack coming from the French-German border. Then, instead of aiming Paris, the expected target, Manstein’s decided to push towards the northwest to encircle the Allies. This was the complete opposite of what the Allies anticipated, who thought the main blow would come at north Belgium because it was fit for tanks and assumed that the German target would be Paris. As predicted

To start, Germany simply had the better people. The troops of Germany had more training hours; an infantryman in 1938-1939 would receive sixteen weeks of training hours, three more weeks than the training of the allies. For tank crews, it was twenty-one to seventeen, four more weeks than the Allies. Moreover, unlike the Allies, who spreads out recruits and used individual troops to fill up divisions, the Germans funneled recruits into the same unit and their divisions are filled using battalions who already experienced battle together. For these reasons, Wehrmacht soldiers delivered fifty percent more casualties than they suffer and were thirty percent more effective in battle than the soldiers of the Allied army. Of course, the military superiority of the Third Reich over the Allies did not only come from their better personnel. Adjusted to fit the style of the new war, the German machines were proven to be more effective than the machines of the Allies. The German troops were geared with weapons of greater quality such as Nebelwerfer rocket launchers, Sturmgewehr assault rifles, and the Panzerfaust. Furthermore, they were designed to suit the stratagems of the German high command; for instance, both the MG42 and the Panzer, by being lighter and faster than their Allied counterparts respectively, enabled the German army to cover a vast distance in a short time. This gave the speed that