The Pros And Cons Of Blitzkrieg

German understanding of the operational environment, taking into account the lessons learned from previous wars and their willingness to learn and adapt has lead them in development of Blitzkrieg as the ultimate weapon of the German army. The full potential of the Blitzkrieg was hampered by technology and logistical limitations; however, it reached the peak in contemporary combined arms warfare.

The concept of achieving fast victory was not a new idea in the military culture, it was a concept that every leader during the wartime was striving to achieve. Unfortunately, this concept was hindered due to the technological limitations. At the beginning of the 20th century, the technology was rapidly developing, as a result it set the conditions for achieving a quick and decisive victory. Germany was one of the countries experiencing rapid development, and the German military doctrine was no exception. Gen. Schlieffen was the chief of German staff who got his military education as a Prussian cadet. He understood the operational environment, and the

Fuller and General Martell and their theory for mobile warfare. In contrast of these theorists, Guderian and the German doctrine recognize the need for the armored units to be supported. The outcome of this were the panzer divisions which were augmented with mobile artillery, infantry, and logistics inclusive of the tanks being the core of panzer divisions. One of the greatest Guderian’s contributions was embedding the radio as a standard equipment into the tanks which solved the communication problems and allowed the commanders to exploit their successes and mitigate their defeat. These new procedures and tactics were tested and upgraded during different field exercises, and during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). Although, the main use of Blitzkrieg doctrine started with the beginning of the Second World