Do you know? Germany adopted a tactic in World War II that conquered Europe and shocked the world.
It took Germany only 41 days to level France, which claimed to have the first European army;
Occupied Poland within 27 days;
Conquered Norway in 23 days;
Capture of Belgium within 18 days;
Capture the Netherlands within 5 days;
Conquered Denmark in four hours.
Nazi Germany
This series of figures is shocking, what kind of tactics is this? Germany pushed Europe flat in less than a year.
This method of warfare, which has never appeared in human history, is a tactic adopted by the German Nazis in World War II - "Blitzkrieg".
Why has Blitzkrieg been so successful in Europe? Who was the original proposer? And what are the advantages of Blitzkrieg?
German "Blitzkrieg"
Hello everyone, welcome to this issue of Guan Tianxia.
Follow Brother Guan to the scene of the Blitzkrieg and analyze this strategy that makes Germany invincible.
If we want to understand the Blitzkrieg, we have to go back to the First World War and see the famous Battle of Verdun.
Battle of Verdun
In this Battle of Verdun, known as the "meat grinder", many tactics and weapons of war were born that had never been seen before, and this battle was also one of the most brutal battles in the First World War.
Millions of British, French, and German troops were caught up in a war of attrition, in which Germany alone lost 430,000 men.
But even at such a heavy price, the German army only marched less than ten kilometers, which showed the brutality of the battle.
Battlefield of flesh and blood
Faced with the scorching war situation at that time, the warring parties naturally did not sit still, and Britain, France and Germany proposed many innovative tactics. For example, in subsequent battles, the Germans tried to use artillery to carpet bomb, first blowing out a gap in the enemy, and then quickly cutting in by the infantry, so that the opponent could not fight quickly.
Second, the German army also used poison gas bombs, which was also the first time in human history that chemical gases were used in warfare.
Poison gas bombs are used in warfare
In the early days, due to the lack of understanding of it, poison gas caused huge casualties to the British and French allies, until the British and French later captured german gas masks, and began to imitate the manufacture of masks, cracking the German poison gas tactics.
It is worth mentioning that the most commonly used poison gas in World War I was mustard gas, known as the king of poison gas. This poison gas is powerful, but it is too easy to be injured by mistake, and hitler, the culprit of World War II, was also mistakenly injured by him in World War I and was blind for a period of time.
Gas masks from world wars
In World War I, in addition to the German poison gas tactics. The British also made an invention that changed the pattern of human warfare. Created a special response to trench warfare, can penetrate the barbed wire, and fend off ordinary machine guns, the king of land warfare, tanks.
Since then, tanks have officially entered the stage of history and shined in World War I. But the British would never have imagined how much trouble their own tanks would cause them in World War II.
tank
After decades of development, After Being Battered by Tanks in World War I, Germany began to study in depth the great weapon created by its opponents. By the time of World War II, whether it was performance or tactics, German tanks had reached the forefront of the world.
Britain, which invented the tank, did not carry it forward, but was preempted by Germany.
The fundamental reason is that Britain, as the victorious country in World War I, was born from a large number of people, and it is dignified that Germany is no longer likely to rise in the short term. They will occupy the world's leading position for a long time to come, and nothing can easily threaten them. Moreover, during the First World War, the newborn tanks, due to lack of technology and experience, continued to malfunction in wartime and after the war. Tanks have not played a huge role since World War I, so they ignored the importance of tanks.
German Tiger tank
But it wasn't entirely sober, and in 1919, with the end of World War I, De Gaulle of France wrote a book called How to Build a Professional Army.
In the book, he proposed for the first time that the modern army should build large-scale armored units and use them as the main force of land warfare.
But since world peace had just returned to the end of World War I, not many people had noticed his remarks. But among Germans bent on revenge, his rhetoric was treasured.
De gaulle
Germany quoted a large number of ideas from the book, under the guise of peace, secretly produced a large number of tanks, and assembled a large number of troops, preparing their plans for revenge.
At this moment, the "blitzkrieg devil" Guderian appeared in front of Germany like a drama.
He was one of Germany's three famous Nazi generals, and his photograph was even hung in the Tank Museum of the Wehrmacht Panzer Command.
"Father of Lightning" Guderian
Guderian, the founder of the "Blitzkrieg" that conquered all of Europe, was later known as the father of Blitzkrieg.
He was also an active advocate of armored warfare and tank warfare in Germany in World War II.
Guderian was born in 1888 in Kulm on the Vistula River. Coming from a military family, his grandmother had produced many generals and even marshals, and his father was also a professional soldier.
Due to family influence, he and his brother were sent to the German Military Academy to study. After graduating from military school, Guderian joined the army commanded by his father.
Vistula River
At first, the young Guderian thought he would have a smooth ride under the protection of his father. But his father did not recognize him in the army, and there were only generals and soldiers in the military camp, and there was no father and son. This experience influenced Guderian's life, giving him the willpower and qualities of a soldier.
A few years later, he was transferred to the Army Transport Department, and it was at this time that he developed the concept of mechanization and realized the importance of mechanized troops. Guderian was very intelligent in his youth, and several years of military career enabled him to master many tactical and military skills.
Mechanized troops
In 1922, Guderian began to study how to ensure the mobility of the army and logistics in Munich, and after reading the relevant materials in Britain and France, Guderian was deeply influenced and inspired, solved one problem after another, and published his research in the German Military Weekly. Unconsciously, Guderian grew into an expert in his field.
After 1922, Guderian participated in several German-organized tactical exercises and wargame deductions, and published a series of insights into how tanks would become the dominant ground. The main arguments are as follows:
Wargame deduction
The first is that an independent armored force should be established. The core of the armored force is the tank, and other services should cooperate to assist. They should work closely together, all tanks should be equipped with radios, ready to contact teams such as infantry in the rear, and if the Air Force does not attack complex terrain, it should fire cannons in case of emergency.
The second is to concentrate a large number of tanks and carry out surprise attacks at times and places that the enemy commander cannot predict.
The third is that once the enemy's defense line is broken, the tank should penetrate into the enemy as quickly as possible, and use the speed advantage of the tank to make the enemy fall into panic, and it is difficult for the other side to judge the main direction of attack of the German army.
Armored units
At this time, Guderian's popularity gradually grew, and he also gained recognition from the military. But these new tactics are undoubtedly incomprehensible to some conservatives.
After a fierce struggle with the conservatives, Guderian won the final victory and succeeded in serving as chief of staff of the Superintendent of Motorized Infantry Units.
Motorized infantry units
Immediately afterwards, he set about building the tank corps he had envisioned, forming a division of steel. He proposed the three core elements of blitzkrieg: speed, surprise attack, and concentration, which were also integrated into the German panzer corps.
His ideas combined the lessons of the vehicle transport forces of the First World War and drew on the ideas of the British who built tanks. Guderian worked to create a new class of armored troops that mixed armored and armored infantry.
However, new ideas like this must have the support of Bó Lè at the time.
Mix of armored and armored infantry
At that time, Guderian met his "confidant", that is, the aggressive Fuehrer of Nazi Germany, Hitler. Without Hitler's full support, perhaps "Blitzkrieg" was just an idea at the time and would not have been put on the battlefield.
In 1933, Hitler and his army took control of Germany through force of arms, and also took deep root in dictatorship.
Hitler
Earlier in Kumosdorf, Guderian had reported to Hitler on the results of his motorized troops.
Hitler, anxious for military expansion, immediately showed great interest in motorized and armored units after coming to power.
Shame brought by Yixue's 1919 Treaty of Versailles, and the massacre of Jews who threatened his country. Hitler reused Guderian.
The scene of the signing of the Treaty of Versailles
In March 1935, Hitler unilaterally tore up the Treaty of Versailles and sent troops into the Rhine region.
In order to meet Hitler's demands, the German Army also expanded an armored brigade into three large armored divisions, each with more than five hundred advanced tanks.
The Rhine, one of Germany's three major rivers
Guderian was personally appointed commander of the Second Panzer Division by Hitler. From then on, he began his career as an armored commander in the history of the Earthquake Army.
A few years later, Hitler appointed Guderian as director of the German Mobile Unit, in charge of all organization and training activities of the German armored forces. He was soon promoted to lieutenant general and became the commander of the German 16th Panzer Army.
The outbreak of World War II was undoubtedly a catastrophe for humanity, but it was the best time for Guderian and his tank warfare theory to rise to fame. Germany's blitzkrieg against Poland made the world realize the power of blitzkrieg.
Blitzkrieg Polish Battle
In 1939, according to the established plan, Germany blitzed Poland. Six tank divisions opened the way, four lightly armored divisions, and four motorized divisions followed suit, thus opening the prelude to World War II. This is also the first time that Blitzkrieg has been tested in actual combat. Only to see the German bomber group flying towards Poland. Immediately afterwards, Poland was subjected to air strikes and threats of unprecedented magnitude.
At the same time, German ground forces also began to attack. The Polish front collapsed rapidly within five hours. Relying on the agility and great firepower of tanks and armored vehicles, the German army broke through and caused the huge Polish army to be quickly divided and annihilated. In the days that followed, Poland's command centers and major transportation hubs were destroyed, and the entire country was paralyzed and largely incapacitated.
Poland
When Hitler came to the Fourth Army four days later to receive a report from Guderian, he was surprised that Guderian had been able to wipe out three infantry divisions and a cavalry brigade in such a short time. Only one armored division was used, and casualties were minimal. It was undoubtedly a very successful battle, leaving those who questioned the value of the armored forces speechless.
After the blitzkrieg against Poland, Hitler immediately attached importance to the tactic of "blitzkrieg", and Guderian was recognized by more people.
In the subsequent Battles of the Western Front, Germany used the tactics of blitzkrieg several times, defeating Poland, Belgium and France.
A blitzkrieg that breaks through
It is worth mentioning that the blitzkrieg of France is also a battle worthy of praise.
At that time, the army of more than 3 million people, as well as the huge number of tanks, France's strength was also quite terrifying, and it was equipped with the most advanced B1 tanks, while the number of German tanks was not as large as france at that time, and France had the world's strongest fortification, the Maginot Line, and it was difficult to break through. They proudly call themselves the world's first continental army. It can be said that before Hitler attacked France, France was the hegemon of the world army.
Maginot Line
So why was France, the world's first army power, defeated in 41 days? Like the attention, wonderful continuously, Guan Ge continues to explain for you.
Hitler ordered the German Army Staff to develop a strategy for attacking France, and a plan code-named "Yellow Plan" was followed.
B1 tank
In March 1940, The Swiss Intelligence Service discovered a large number of German armored units on the belgian-Luxembourg border. However, this information did not attract the attention of the French commanders, and the strategic deployment of the Allied forces did not change in any way.
In the early morning of May 10, 1940, on the Maginot Line in Hokkaido, the Germans launched a large-scale offensive against the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. In this regard, the German-French War broke out in full swing.
Franco-German War
The Panzer Corps under General Kleist's command first broke through the enemy line, and guderian's 19th Panzer Corps was the strongest. On 12 May, the important French city of Sedan was captured. That night, the Germans began to cross the river, which was the key to the battle. Once the river had been successfully crossed, the terrain would be flat afterwards, and there would be nothing to stop the advance of the German mechanized troops.
General Kleist
On the afternoon of 13 May, with the support of the Air Force, the Germans gained a foothold on the south bank of the Maas River, and then the Germans began to build bridges, and by midnight, Guderian's three panzer divisions had all crossed the river and crossed the bridge.
On the same day, the Seventh Division of Hort's 15th Panzer Division crossed the Maas River near Nantes, and the commander of the division was known as the "Desert Fox", Rommel.
After the successful crossing of the bridge, the Allied forces in Belgium would be in a trap of encirclement, and the French army would also face the situation of being attacked from the belly and back. At this time, Britain and France felt the severity of the situation. As a result, ten fighter piles were quickly added to participate in the battle.
"Desert Fox" – Rommel
After noon on 14 May, over the Maas River area, the largest air battle between the two sides since the beginning of World War II broke out, with the Allied forces suffering heavy losses under the cover of Germany's powerful and dense surface-to-air fire.
In Germany, on the other hand, it is no exaggeration to say that their bridges over the Maas River are intact. After seizing air supremacy, Germany drove straight in. Guderian's offensive caught the Coalition by surprise and was unable to fight back.
Maas River
On 5 June, the Germans broke through the French lines and attacked Paris. At the same time, Guderian cut off the Escape Route of the French army in the Maginot Line in ten days and captured more than 250,000 French troops.
On June 18, the French government announced the cessation of resistance, the official end of the Battle of France, and the success of the "Blitzkrieg france" program, which once again proved the power of Guderian's "blitzkrieg".
Blitz France
Immediately after the northward attack, Guderian, who was then the commander of the Second Army, led his troops to victories in many battles, and the Third Panzer Division also gained the reputation of "armored gallop".
Guderian and his tanks dragged the German Army forward, creating an unprecedented victory in the history of modern warfare. However, this tactic suffered in the Soviet Union. What's going on here? The comment area left the word "curious", and Guan Ge continued to explain it for everyone.
General Guderian
In 1941, the Germans planned a war of aggression against the Soviet Union, code-named Operation Barbarossa. At the beginning of the war, the advantages of blitzkrieg still existed, and the Soviet army suffered an unprecedented blow, but still did not give up resistance. Coupled with the early arrival of the harsh winter of 1941, the temperature was as low as minus 62 degrees, and the cold blocked the German offensive.
Therefore, with the passage of time, the intensification of the cold, the speed of blitzkrieg, the advantages of surprise attacks were gradually disintegrated.
Barbarossa Plan
At this time, Guderian saw this, and could not help but be impatient, so he strongly advocated the retreat of the German army.
Even by August, the balance of victory on the Soviet-German battlefield had gradually tilted in favor of the Soviets. But Hitler made the wrong decision to abandon the Moscow battlefield and attack Ukraine to the south.
Although Guderian had previously persuaded Hitler not to take this offensive, the arrogant Hitler would not listen.
The result is predictable, the German army failed. Guderian was dismissed as a result.
Battle of Stalingrad
In 1943, Hitler, who had suffered a crushing defeat at Stalingrad, finally remembered Guderian, who had been removed. Guderian was reappointed As ArmorEdin, but Germany at the time was like a dying old man, powerless to save it. Even Guderian could not save Germany at this time.
In May of the same year, Hitler held a conference in Munich, drew up a plan for the Battle of the Fortress, and decided to take an offensive against Kursk. But Guderian was far-sighted. This shows that the attack on Kursk is meaningless, because the defense system of Kursk is extremely perfect and strong, and the armored troops cannot break through.
Munich
But Hitler seemed to have been blinded by lard and said that he would not abandon the plan under any circumstances.
Germany then launched the largest tank battle in the history of the war in Kursk. The war ended in the defeat of the Germans.
In this battle, the Germans suffered heavy losses, losing more than 500,000 soldiers, more than 3,000 cannons, more than 3,700 aircraft, and 1,500 tanks. By this time, Germany's armored forces had been almost depleted by Hitler.
Battle of Kursk
The Battle of Kursk was the last lament of the German panzer divisions.
In fact, in Guan Ge's view, Hitler and Guderian have many differences in many aspects such as the strategic level.
As early as the Polish campaign, Guderian had strongly opposed Hitler's idea of continuous expansion and aggression, believing that Germany should take advantage of what was good, stop at the right time, and maintain profit and profit. But this is contrary to Hitler's policy.
So in 1945, Hitler, who was on the verge of collapse, could not stand Guderian's endless accusations, even if he understood the truth of his loyal words.
Hitler
Hitler then removed Guderian from his post as chief of the General Staff in the name of his physical need for recuperation. Guderian's several times of depreciation also fully reflects the depth of the contradiction between the two. Since then, Guderian has completely left the armored unit he has struggled for most of his life.
In 1945, Guderian surrendered to the U.S. Military and was imprisoned for only three years, and the inventor of Blitzkrieg and the general who destroyed the lives of Europe was finally acquitted. It's puzzling. Don't worry, I heard that friends who like it will receive good news within a week, if you don't believe it, you can try it!
In fact, according to Guan Ge's understanding, although General Guderian is German, he is one of the few German generals with some kindness.
Jews in World War II
As we all know, the German Nazis' crime of killing Jews will never be indelible. But Guderian, a senior general, had always opposed Hitler's extermination of the Jews and had never been involved in the holocaust.
In addition, he governed the army well, and the army never bullied the people. The army is strict and is very loved by soldiers.
In fact, in addition to his trustworthy character, he is also extremely talented in military affairs, a veritable military scientist and strategist, and many countries in Europe and the United States attach great importance to his theory. So he was eventually acquitted. He also became one of the few generals after World War II who could die well.
Gulf War
Guderian's "Blitzkrieg" is also applicable in modern warfare, and in the 1991 Gulf War, it seems to have seen Germany's blitzkrieg 50 years ago, and the multinational force led by the US army still launched a strong offensive against Iraq. All of this is enough to show that the operational theory of Blitzkrieg has never gone out of fashion, whether before or now, and will only become more diverse.
This issue ends here, thank you for watching it from history and military enthusiasts. Friends who are interested in this video, welcome to discuss together in the comment area. See you next time!