Blitzkrieg

[Ferbian]

I had a thought, since I've been playing through Company of Heroes (great game by the way, good strategical game, I might make a post on it.. later) and I started thinking, since this game has a big focus point in fighting the Germans (World war 2 game.. duh) and looking back at world war 2, the German forces used a tactical attack strategy called "Blitzkrieg" or "Lightning war" very fitting name as we look back seeing how the Germans tore through many countries using this very strategy, quickly conquering places like Poland, a bigger part of France, Denmark etc.

From the past experience during World war 1 where the tanks were introduced to the brutality of war, the Germans with the first hand experience of the pain that the tanks could inflict on the enemy forces, they based their tactical strike force around that, using heavy tank forces to break through enemy lines with what would prove to be little resistance.

As you can see Wikipedia is so nice to back me up on this point (Yes I know I may run into some people who will be ranting on about the inaccuracy that Wikipedia can go on to present, but I have yet to run into a point where it wasn't backed up properly by history itself)

The word, meaning "lightning war", in its strategic means is associated with a series of quick and decisive short battles to deliver a knock out blow to an enemy state before it could fully mobilize. The tactical meaning of "Blitzkrieg" involves a coordinated military effort by tanks, mobilized infantry, artillery and aircraft, to create an overwhelming local superiority in combat power, to overwhelm an enemy and break through its lines.

Now I came to think, even though the Germans lost the war, this strategy proved to be quite effective and forcefully forward, and it got me thinking, why isn't the army's using this strategy anymore? (as far as I know I have no knowledge of it being used after World War 2)
Certainly you could argue it's effectivity if you're not in the position of need to introduce dominance and a surprise attack quickly in the way that the Germans did in the late 30's early 40's, as opposed to the fact that for example the Americans (and many other countries) are fighting in the middle-east, but not by the same size of the Germans.

So I ask you, was the tactical strategy we know as Blitzkrieg a brilliant move of warfare from the side of Hitler and his generals, or was it a failure because the Germans eventually won the war by a slow advancing tactic in obviously larger forces?

And do you think if we ever run into a 3rd world war, that any of the forces will take a look back in the history books and story this strategy and use it to their advantage? or will it forever be a lost method of warfare?

Personally I think the use of Blitzkrieg could easily go on to be an absolute warfare success if ever the need to invade the sizes that the Germans invaded, and hell I would even go ahead and say Blitzkrieg could prove to be a worthy tactic if you're only to invade a single country.

But what about you? do you feel me on this? or am I just blabbering about some old useless art of warfare?

 

[Барбоса]

Blitzkrieg was a revolutionary type of warfare with its main exponents such as Guderian and Rommel amongst the last great military commanders the world has produced.

However, the success of Blitzkrieg and the computerised projectile advances of the last generation have made it obsolete. Mechanised infantry with air and tank support is still the way to run a military campaign but it no longer has the same devastating effects. This is mainly because it is so over-powering that no one worth their military salt is willing to face it in battle.

Without a target army to envelope and destroy, blitzkrieg offensive quickly outruns its infantry and support, overstretches its supply lines and becomes vulnerable to counter attacks and guerilla warfare. Georgi Zhukov and much of the Soviet high command figured this out and once they persuaded Stalin to follow their recommendations, the Nazi Blitzkrieg faltered before being repelled. Egypt, Syria and Jordan failed to learn this lesson and subsequently saw their armies mauled by the Israelis on several occasions during the 60s.

Really since the Arab-Israeli Wars there has not been a blitzkrieg style campaign in the world to speak of as none of the conflicts since have included two powers of comparable strength. The Vietnamese, Serbians, Iraqis, Lebanese and Afghans were never going to be able to resist the armed forces of the Soviets, Israelis, Americans or the UN so fronting up to a potential Blitzkrieg offensive would have been suicide. Guerilla fighting is the only way for such smaller forces to do any damage, forcing Blitzkrieg to be abandoned for the most part.

 

[Shadowmancer]

As Barbosa said, Blitzkrieg is still the best "current" tactic that is out there. Especially with Man on the ground type engagements. In the future you will see a return to this form of Warfare due to the need for control of a battlefield. I am not just talking on this planet, but if and when we head out into outer space and onto alien worlds this tactic will help in the pacification of a planet to human domination. There are major issues with it as stated mainly to the supply line issue.

I would hazard a guess that most warfare in the world has devolved to guerilla tactics, which have worked for mellenia against organised army formations. There are few armies that would take the field in the traditional army vs. army stick up your dukes and punch each other in the face type affairs. Blitzkrieg will return in the future but at a hopefully more frighteningly fast form. But then you will always have people like Giap preventing it from being the major alpha-strike form that it is supposed to be.

And if you want to try and play a blitzkrieg type game try Warhammer 40000, which makes the alpha-strike type armies a feasible possibility.

 

[FromTheSouth]

The US used a blitzkrieg in Iraq. The combination of a quickly paced tank march and shock and awe was exactly that. We destroyed the Iraqi army in about an hour and a half.

The problem is that the wars of today cannot be fought that way. We can't simply bomb entire neighborhoods and claim victory because we killed terrorists. The wars of today are fought house to house, cave to cave, and tent to tent.

 

[Shadowmancer]

yeah FTS you are right Shock and Awe is an extension of Blitzkrieg but it does rely more on the missiles completely destroying certain targets before an attack is even underway, Blitzkrieg was effectively bombardment commenced five minutes before. I know I'm exaggerating on the five minutes thing. It is also something that would only work against an actual battle line which they did not face in Iraq. Yeah the wars of today are won by attrition against guerrillas , these kinds of wars are not the way that wars will continue to be fought in the future, and to think so is folly of the greatest sense.