The Blitzkrieg Or Lightening War

During the opening years of World War II the German Wehrmacht dominates the battlefield with at tactical strategy of aggressive high speed combined arms warfare that gains the nickname “Blitzkrieg” or Lightening War. The blitzkrieg while an outstanding tactical method did not prove to be a war-winning innovation for the Germans due to failures in national strategy. Also, given time all tactical innovations will be countered by the enemy. Three examples of these failures in national strategy are; not destroying the British, underestimating the fight in Russia, and most importantly fighting a war on two fronts. The German High Command, namely Adolf Hitler as the Nazi party Leader and later commander-in-chief, makes multiple mistakes at the national

One major reason the blitzkrieg is not a war winning innovation during World War II are the German national level decisions resulting in the British staying in the war. The Germans’ blitzkrieg defeated the French and British Expeditionary force in the battle of France but allowed almost 340,000 allied Soldiers, mostly British, to escape from Dunkirk. There the Wehrmacht have the Allies completely cut off at Dunkirk and pinned against the beach. The German Generals called for a temporary halt as Hitler agrees and sends a Halt order delaying the attack. This order according to some historians proves to be one of the most disastrous of the war. The Germans have another chance to finish the British in the summer of 1940 during the Battle of Britain. The Luftwaffe have the British Royal Air Force pressed hard with a bombing campaign focusing on the RAF bases and infrastructure in an attempt to gain air superiority over England before the launch of an amphibious ground assault code named Operation Sea Lion. In September 1940 Hitler shifts the bombing strategy away from air bases to population centers allowing the RAF to reorganize. This Strategic decision by Hitler results in the Luftwaffe

The German Command takes too lightly the massive size and ruggedness of the Russian landmass causing their armies to spread thin and supply lines to grow too long. The Wehrmacht not able to focus the successful blitzkrieg and encirclement tactics in one place loose the element of mass and are not able to quickly overwhelm the Russians. The Russians use a strategy of trading space for time and they have a lot of space to trade. The size and rugged terrain take a toll on the German vehicles and equipment. With the German logistic trains designed for reliance on railroad and horse drawn logistics the replacement parts and other supplies are not able to meet the tremendous demand. This issue with logistics is compounded by pour field maintenance practices leading to tanks and machinery failing regularly. The initially success in the Russian campaign allows the Germans to continue to underestimate the Soviet military, industrial capabilities, and they will of the Russian people. As the Soviet military aided by the expansive rugged Russian frontier stop the Germans short of Moscow in late 1941 the Soviet leadership reorganize their military developing new weapons, formations, and tactics. By 1942 the blitzkrieg and encirclement tactics that met with success early on are much less affective in defeating the