More precisely, it consists of ‘wearing out the enemy’ by ‘gradual exhaustion of the physical powers’ and ‘damaging them in a general way’. Destroying and annihilating the opponent’s military forces.Avoiding the scattering of military forces and instead, focusing on the ‘concentration of forces’ within specific areas, i.e the Schwerpunkt (the ‘centre of gravity’) (Limbach, nd).Here is what their techniques consisted of:.Military strategists such as Schlieffen, Moltke, and Guderian developed a strong model of action for the German troops.Its etymology indicates its brutal and rapid nature: in German ‘blitz’ signifies ‘lightning’, whereas ‘krieg’ means ‘war’. Interestingly, the term ‘blitzkrieg’ originally was not an official military term, and rather, it was coined by the Time magazine after France had lost the war to Germany (Doughty 1998).During the Nazi era, General Heinz Wilhelm Guderian implemented Clausewitz theories into his attacks.In his perspective, the main objective throughout any war should be that of destroying the opponent on all levels, and as Clausewitz writes in his book On War, ‘’the a bloody and destructive test of physical and moral strength…the destruction of the enemy’s physical force is the real purpose of the engagement” (Vardi 2008: 18 citing Clausewitz, Book II, 1: 127). Clausewitz was a “military philosopher” who wrote about war theories (Vardi 2008: 17 citing Azar Gat 1989: 162-200) and who had developed such a strategy by observing the Napoleonic Wars.On the contrary, it was a tactic that existed prior to WWII and in order to understand its origins, one must look back to the Prussian Carl Von Clausewitz (1780-1831). One of the most common mistakes is the thought that blitzkrieg was an invention of Hitler and his followers.Therefore, time, coordination and concentration are essential for a successful blitzkrieg. The main objective was that of triggering disorganisation. Technological improvements and inventions – such as the use of radio communications, aeroplanes and motor vehicles – allowed the Blitzkrieg to be successful.It seeks to confuse the opponent on a physical and psychological level in order to eliminate any of their chances of fighting back. Blitzkrieg is a military technique that consists of a violent surprise attack on the enemy.
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