BLITZKRIEG. HOW THE GERMAN ARMY SHATTERED ITS ENEMIES.

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BLITZKRIEG

• HOW THE GERMAN ARMY SHATTERED ITS ENEMIES

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The blitzkrieg is a doctrine to conduct and win
the air-land battle using combined-arms teams
consisting of aircraft, tanks, mechanized troops
and infantry.
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Destroying strongly armed enemy forces is a
hazardous business. It entails substantial
casualties and time consuming operations. BUT ever
y soldier, tank or artillery gun has a weakness
that renders them impotent their finite and
limited capacity to carry with them ammo, fuel
and food.
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Without ammo, fuel and food, armed forces become
worthless. To keep them combat ready it is
necessary to maintain a continuous flow of
supplies between the troops and the supply centers
SUPPLY CENTERS
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BLITZKRIEG CONCEPT
The fundamental principle of the blitzkrieg was
to encircle and destroy the adversary. By
disconnecting the enemy troops from their supply
they became brittle.
SUPPLY CENTERS
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• To succeed in encircling and destroying the enemy
  forces, the German armed forces (Wehrmacht)
  developed a 3-phase process
• Breakthrough Phase
• Exploitation Phase
• Encirclement Mop-up Phase

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First, lets see the initial Defensive and
Offensive deployments
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INITIAL SITUATION The Defense
Enemy MLR
Supply Railroad
6
5
Lower echelon supply
Operational Reserves
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1. Supplies, transported by train, are unloaded at
   the railhead
2. The supplies are moved forward to the depot by
   road
3. Troops deployed in the main line of resistance
   (MLR) fetch the supplies using lower echelon
   supply troops
4. Tactical reserves stationed behind the MLR are
   ready to counterattack and plug holes
5. Operational reserves are ready to launch
   counteroffensives and drive attackers back
6. Combat aircraft are ready to support the
   defenders from their airfields

Tactical reserves
Railhead
4
1
2
Army Supply Road
Depot
3
6
Enemy airfields
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INITIAL SITUATION The Attacker
Enemy MLR
Supply Railroad
6
9
8
5
Lower echelon supply
Operational Reserves
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1. The Germans place fighters in airfields close to
   the MLR
2. Bombers occupy airfields a little further back
3. Infantry deploys along the MLR. Armor deploys
   adjacent to the sectors selected for the main
   attack only. Infantry formations accompany these
   armored units for initial support.
4. Reserves stationed close to the sectors earmarked
   for the main offensive are ready to exploit when
   the breakthrough succeeds

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Tactical reserves
10
4
Railhead
1
2
Army Supply Road
Depot
3
9
8
6
Enemy airfields
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• Breakthrough Phase
• Objectives
• Pierce the enemy defenses at tactical depth at
  selected points
• Achieve air superiority
• Proper placement of reserves ready to exploit

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BREAKTHROUGH PHASE
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Operational Reserves
4
2
1

1. Luftwaffe bombers attack enemy airfields to
   destroy aircraft on the ground
2. Fighters sweep the area to shoot down any
   aircraft that attempts to respond
3. A bubble of air superiority is projected over
   the battlefield to allow friendly air missions to
   proceed and to prevent the enemys
4. Mixed infantry and armored formations attack
   violently the selected sectors to pierce the
   defenses at tactical depth to achieve a
   breakthrough
5. Bombers support one of the attacks where the
   enemy defenses are easy to identify from the air
6. German reserves move forward

Tactical reserves
Railhead
5
4
3
6
1
1
2
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• Exploitation Phase
• Objectives
• Ground forces spearheaded by armor penetrate at
  great depth disrupting enemy supply
• Luftwaffe executes intense reconnaissance to
  identify threats and opportunities. Bomber force
  isolates the battlefield. Fighter force prevents
  the enemy air force from intervening in the
  battle

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EXPLOITATION PHASE

1. Armored reserves push forward through the breach
   and cut the supply railroad
2. Infantry follows behind as fast as possible
3. Other infantry units pin the defenders to avoid
   withdrawals
4. Observation aircraft execute intense
   reconnaissance to identify enemy reserves and
   movements
5. Bombers strike supply columns to prevent resupply
6. Bombers strike at troops attempting to
   counterattack
7. Friendly troops are directed to protect
   vulnerable points identified by air observation
8. Fighters continue air superiority missions

6
8
7
2
4
1
3
6
5
4
1
2
8
4
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• Encirclement and Mop-Up Phase
• Objectives
• Close the pincers to create large pockets of
  surrounded enemy forces separated from their
  supply
• Attack surrounded troops forcing them to defend
  and expend their ammo. Mass surrender follows

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ENCIRCLEMENT MOP-UP PHASE
4
3

1. Armored units close the pincers encircling large
   number of troops
2. Infantry consolidates the ring preventing their
   escape. Then, it attacks encircled troops
   forcing them to expend their ammo and surrender

2
2

1. Luftwaffe occupies airfield further forward
2. From the new bases the air force continues their
   air missions in support of ground troops

1
Railhead
2
2
3
4
3
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• So, Who does What and When?
• The following table shows the missions of the
  different combat teams over time

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BLITZKRIEG AIR-LAND MISSION TABLE
Time
MISSION
MID-PHASE
TROOPS
INITIAL PHASE
FINAL PHASE
Combat Air Patrol and Interception 30
Combat Air Patrol and Interception 30
AIR SUPREMACY 90
AIR MISSIONS
AIRCRAFT
Reconnaissance 20
Reconnaissance 20
Interdiction 40
Interdiction 40
DIRECT SUPPORT BATTLE ZONE 10
Logistic Support 10
Logistic Support 10
EXPLOITATION
ENCIRCLEMENT
BREAKTHROUGH
ARMOR
LAND MISSIONS
FOLLOW-UP
CONSOLIDATION MOP-UP
SUPPORT BREAKTHROUGH
INFANTRY
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• SUMMARY
• The Blitzkrieg became a revolutionary way to win
  a war quickly and at low cost. By encircling the
  enemy, resupply was impossible and mass surrender
  followed (without ammo the enemy could not
  continue the fight)
• To be successful, the Blitzkrieg required that
  every team (aircraft, armored troops and
  infantry) accomplished their task
• This doctrine was heavily dependent on air
  support. Without air superiority, no large German
  offensive in WW2 was successful.

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• FINAL NOTES
• The Germans did not name this doctrine blitzkrieg
  until after the victory over Poland in September
  1939. Before that date, it was unknown how
  successful the method would be, since it was
  untested in practice
• The absolute success of the doctrine surprised
  the Germans and their enemies. Using this
  doctrine, Germany triumphed over Poland, France
  and in the Balkans and it almost succeeded in
  Russia.

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