...There were a number of tactics and technologies that were developed in World War I and improved in some way by the time World War II occurred. Often times, these differing technologies arose in response to previous technologies, such as mustard gas arising to counteract ongoing trench warfare. The thesis here is simple: most of the technologies and unique tactics developed in World War I and employed in World War II focused on offense capacity, allowing commanders to employ their forces in a more effective manner. The first primary example of this is the German concept of the Blitzkrieg. The Blitzkrieg, essentially, involves rushing one's forces, judiciously, at the enemy, inciting fear and confusion, especially when used as a surprise attack. The Blitzkrieg, by definition, "...advocates stressed mobility and speed over firepower, although in the form...
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...Blitzkrieg, a German term meaning “lighting war”, is a military tactic used during warfare to create confusion and amongst the enemy by using the tactics of surprise and speed. First used by the Germans during WWII, this ambush tactic was achieved by the deployment of light tank units paired with supporting infantry and aircraft. These forces would urge a break in the enemy’s defences allowing tank units to swiftly infiltrate the area causing major panic. The air forces would prevent the enemy from effectively redistributing or resupplying forces ending in eventual surrender. The tactic was formed from Alfred von Schlieffen’s, ‘Schlieffen Plan’ created during WWI predominantly focusing on fast military victory. The tactic was further developed...
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...This is my essay on the Blitzkrieg in WWII and how Blitzkrieg was used in WWII. Blitzkrieg is a warfare strategy used in wars. Blitzkrieg is when you fight someone in a small area with major weapons. During Blitzkrieg you use fast-moving vehicles and tanks. They had to create new faster tanks and vehicles just for this war tactic. This war strategy is for the most intense campaign. People usually used this strategy for a swift victory over anyone. During Blitzkrieg they used high power aircraft to invade. Now I will tell you about some of the weapons used in the blitzkrieg in world war 2. During Blitzkrieg they used just about the same weapons as they did in WWII and maybe more. Some of the Riflery they used in WWII is M1 Garand, Thompson...
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...Soviet Union and Finland. However in 1940 Germany invaded Denmark & Norway, Germany also invaded the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. There was also the battle of Britain and in 1941 Germany had declared war on the Soviet Union and the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Japan, and Germany had declared war on the US. During Germany's invasion of Poland in September of 1939 Germany began using a tactic called Blitzkrieg which was very successful for them it became known as the lightning war. In general Blitzkrieg involved various combination of mechanized spearheads of troops, motorized, artillery tanks, massed in groups by close tactical fighters and dive bombers, with radio controlled signals. What made it so successful was the element of surprise that went with it. By using this tactic German troops could take over and penetrate enemy defenses with overwhelming force easily. This tactic of war lead to many easy victories for Germany between 1939 & 1940. Poland was easily taken over and they surrendered in the same month that Germany had invaded it. Blitzkrieg was not only successful in the Poland invasion. It was also successful...
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...Task 1. Form words matching the sentences using necessary suffixes and prefixes. You get 1 point for each right answer. The catastrophic defeats and losses of the initial stage of the war were clearly the result of the fundamental miscalculation of the Stalinist leadership that had chosen to ally the Soviet Union with the Nazi regime. The collusion with Hitler had deprived Russia of the critical buffer of Poland, allowing Germany to amass troops along the Soviet border and launch the surprise attack. In addition, the Soviet troops, deployed in the recently annexed eastern provinces of Poland, did not have enough time to set up powerful defensive positions.Stalin had received numerous warnings from his intelligence agents and Western governments about the imminent surprise attack, but he chose to discount them. He may have believed that countermeasures by the Soviet Union could only provoke the Germans. Having overcome the initial shock of the surprise attack, the Soviet administrative machine was soon able to orchestrate an unprecedented economic effort that defeated Germany and its satellites in armaments production. The achievement was especially remarkable in view of the fact that in 1941–42 the USSR lost to the enemy over half its industrial capacity and countless skilled workers. To appreciate the Soviet spectacular economic effort in the war, it is important to note that the task was not simply of switching over from civilian to military production but also of moving...
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...A significant and highly effective tactic within the German army was a tactic dubbed the ‘Blitzkrieg Tactic.’ The term ‘Blitzkrieg’ is derived from the German word ‘Blitz,’ meaning lightning and ‘Krieg,’ meaning war. ‘Blitzkrieg,’ by definition is a military tactic which is designed to generate disorganisation within an enemy force using extremely fast and concentrated firepower. Although effective in Poland, Denmark, Norway, and numerous other countries, the ‘Blitzkrieg’ tactic remained extremely ineffective throughout the entirety of the Germans attempt at taking over Stalingrad. The ‘Blitzkrieg’ tactic not only failed the Germans whilst fighting within Stalingrad, but also resourcefully aided the Red Army and gave them an incredibly strong, new tactic which worked against the Germans. The tactic which was given to the Red Army by the Germans was an abundance of bombed out buildings; which swiftly became strongholds for the Red Army. Due to the inefficiency of the ‘Blitzkrieg’ tactic, the German and Red Army were forced into partaking in Guerrilla War Far; which is a man on man battle tactic which includes the use of ambushes, sabotages, raids, petty warfare, and hit-and-run tactics. This uncommon form of fighting was embraced by the ill-equipped and untrained Red Army...
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...Following the First World War, Europe experienced 15 years of peace. In 1933, Adolf Hitler rose to power in the National German Workers Party. Hitler soon began to ignore the Treaty of Versailles and took the rest of Czechoslovakia and then invaded Poland in 1939. On 3rd September 1939, Britain and France declared war and Britain started preparing at home by issuing gas masks, food and evacuating kids to the countryside. However, for 6 months Hitler did Meanwhile, Hitler was quickly taking over Europe due to his ‘Blitzkrieg’ tactic. Blitzkrieg is a German term for ‘Lightning war’ which was designed to create disorganization among enemy forces and locally concentrated firepower. Blitzkrieg was based on speed, co-ordination and movement; the major science of this approach was the ability to get large mobile forces through weak points in the enemies’ defences and then cause damage when behind static lines. With large formations cut off from communication and logistics, pressure is then put on interior defences. This resulted in panic amongst the civilian population. Moreover, numerous historians believe that the evacuation at Dunkirk should be viewed as a success as British troops were stuck at Dunkirk in between the German army who were advancing. The British army could have been wiped out, however 340 000 troops were rescued and the event also raised British morale. Despite this, alternatively several historians also believe that Dunkirk was a failure because 68 000 soldiers...
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...Hitler had a set of goals that he looked to accomplish; establish the Aryan Race as the supreme race over all others, abolish the Treaty of Versailles, expand German territory (Lebensraum), and defeat Communism. To manipulate the German people, he utilized propaganda regarding previous grievances such as Germany’s outcome from World War I and the economic situation of Germany to twist the general consensus into the hatred of Jews, “gypsies”, and other races deemed inferior to the Aryans. As for military strategy, Hitler felt that the best way to go about gaining territory was keep it as a “one-front” war, because it would keep the Wehrmacht from spreading out itself too much and overextending it’s supply lines. In addition, he devised the Blitzkrieg or “lightning war”, which meant that his forces were concentrated into a cohesive unit, so that the Panzer tanks would swoop in first, causing panic among enemy soldiers, and then these tanks would continue moving while the German foot soldiers took advantage of the confused enemy and pick them off. While both his propaganda and innovative military strategies worked for a stretch of the war, Hitler’s strategy’s began failing from 1940 until his suicide in 1945 that were ultimately responsible for Germany’s loss in World War II. Hitler’s first began making mistakes when, in 1940, Hitler missed two major opportunities to defeat Britain when it was weakest. In June, when the allied defenses in France and Belgium collapsed, he ordered...
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...The Origin and Evolution of War. Gabriel Turner Com172 12/12/2012 The Origin and Evolution of War. War has plagued our society for quite some time. This research paper will focus on war and its origin, and determine which society first declared war and how has war evolved over time. Its purpose is to give accurate information to the reader. In order to answer the question, where did war originate, it would be helpful to know the exact meaning of the word. Most people know what war is but may not know the correct definition. According to Webster’s Dictionary (2012), “A contest between nations or states, carried on by force, whether for deference, for revenging insults and redressing wrongs, for the extension of commerce, for the acquisition of territory, for obtaining and establishing the superiority and dominion of one over the other, or for any other purpose; armed conflict of sovereign powers; declared and open hostilities.” Pg.1. Essentially war has no origin; it came into existence since the dawn of time. War was born when the need arose. It is the result of man wanted to resolve conflict by force because his fellow man did not agree or believe the same thing they did. War appeared into society as natural as the sun rises from the east every morning. Now ordinary war could not exist without greed or politics, just as peace is only profound by love and understanding...
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...Vu Le Per 1 16-1 1. Totalitarian governments came to power in many countries during the 1920’s and 1930’s including Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan, and Russia 2. The goal of the militarists who took control in Japan was to maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests. 3. The Treaty of Versailles ending WWI did not did not ensure peace for Europe and make the world safe for democracy but instead caused danger and did little to halt the rise totalitarian government. 4. The league of Nations responded to totalitarian aggression by France and Great Britain finally abandoned appeasement in September 1939 when Hitler invaded Poland and 5. U.S foreign policy after WWI many think of America as the country that is the resolver, the country that intervenes, and the country that steps in, in order to promote the idea of not having world conflict. 6. Example of U.S internationalism in the 1920’s and 1930’s included the United States attempted to stay out of world affairs. It was only after WWII that the U.S. took a conservative internationalist approach, first under Truman, then later under Reagan, both of whom made great strides to eliminate the threat of Communism. 7. U.S isolationism in the 1930’s was largely the result of reflected by Neutrality Act. 8. Many Americans had difficulty with the...
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...time again people have launched attacks against these neutral parties for both political and economic reasons. Although these attacks have taken many forms, one of the most severe and vicious ways this has been done is through aerial bombing. This tactic can be even more harmful than other forms of attack due to its very nature. While bombings kill as many civilians as other similar attacks, aerial bombing can destroy the buildings and infrastructure of a place as well, devastating the area for years, even after the bombing has stopped. Many areas have been affected by aerial bombing through history, but possibly none as much as London and the rest of Britain during the Blitzkrieg on Britain during World War II. Beginning on September seventh in 1940 and ending on the tenth of May in 1941, this blitzkrieg killed over 40,000 civilians and wounded more than three times that. Over half of these casualties were in London itself and at least one million of its homes were destroyed. These figures are impressive, however they cannot show exactly how much damage was actually done. When people’s homes were destroyed they had few places to go. Then during the next bombing they might not have any form of shelter and this attack will have driven more families out of their homes, creating a vicious cycle. However, homes and civilians were not the only points of this attack. Strategic military points were bombed as well, giving the British even less protection against future bombings...
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... After Adolf Hitler took control with the Fascist party, He spurred the angry Germans on by placing the blame for their poverty on Jews. His movement was virulently nationalistic, anti democratic, and anti-semitic. This is what began Germany’s efforts in World War 2. The germans began by Invading and annexing Austria in 1938, and in March of 1939, invaded Czechoslovakia. In August of that same year, Germany and the Soviet Union signed a secret non-aggression pact that split up Poland, and in early September, Germany invaded Poland. 2 days later, World WAr 2 officially began when Britain, France, Australia, and New Zealand declared war on Germany. The Germans had taken over much of Europe with absolutely merciless Blitzkrieg (Lightning War) tactics. Blitzkrieg tactics are a type of attack where the attacker uses a series of quick, concentrated, but powerful attacks on the enemy line, until they broke through. They then dislocate and separate the defenders, and then surrounded the defenders and dealt a finishing blow. They made their tactics erratic and unpredictable, almost always winning their battles and solidifying their place in Europe. Italy was controlled by fascists who were led by Benito Mussolini starting in 1922. In 1925, Democracy was ended in Italy with the dismission of the Italian Parliament. On October 25, 1936, Mussolini and Hitler announced that they had formed an alliance that they called the Axis. In 1943, the Italians attempted to surrender to the allies...
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...How universal are the principles of war? Many military theorists throughout history had many different concepts, strategic thoughts, and theories within a multitude of principles of war. Throughout history many strategies and tactics were utilized that made a huge impact on defending and attacking armies. Within these concepts of these theorists, nine principles of war gradually became universally used by many countries militaries that are used in the field of battle during the Cotemporary Era and through modern day campaigns. These principle guidelines are universal in military strategies and could have been used in any era where conflicts took place however, one principle that would of brought ultimate success in the example campaigns specified throughout these times of war is to have provided a better directive on the basic principles of logistics that seem to have hindered and faltered the most effective warring armies during their eras of history. A few examples that relate throughout wars fought in times such as the Napoleonic Wars, World War II and the United States current ongoing War on Terror have many relative tactics and strategies used during battles fought in these conflicts. Napoleons armies during the beginning of their conquest would defeat an enemy city utilizing all aspects of their military might (Cavalry, Artillery, Infantry) while maintaining immediate logistical support ensuring reinforcements and munitions were readily available. Napoleon’s enormous...
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...2003 History Conference - Air War Europe First Solo: Air Strategy in Europe in the Second World War Alan Stephens When the First World War started in August 1914, air services belonged to armies and navies; to the extent that air doctrine existed it was concerned with reconnaissance and artillery observation in support of surface operations. But by the end of the war four years later, almost every role performed by air power during the most successful air campaign in history – the 1991 Gulf War – had emerged, albeit in a sometimes primitive form.[1] For armies, roles such as close air support, airlift, reconnaissance, communications, interdiction, artillery spotting, resupply, and rescue had made the aeroplane an indispensable contributor to continental strategy. Many of those same roles were repeated in support of maritime strategy, in addition to anti-submarine warfare, convoy escort, search and rescue, maritime strike, and minefield survey.[2] However, in the minds of airmen at least, other roles had assumed priority. Once pilots started shooting at each other to try to prevent reconnaissance, control of the air had become a prerequisite for all air activities. Consequently, specialist fighter aircraft quickly proliferated. When those aircraft then started to use their enhanced performance and offensive capabilities to increasing effect against surface targets, another compelling reason to gain control of the air existed. Few events during the First World War caused more...
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...Hitler’s Army: Soldiers, Nazis, and War in the Third Reich: Omer Bartov Ioan Popescu 500182744 HST 603-011 The autonomy of the Wehrmacht within the confines of the Third Reich, particularly with respect to its relationship with the Nazi party has been open to considerable debate post World War II. In Hitler’s Army: Soldiers, Nazis, and War in the Third Reich, Omer Bartov addresses the motivating factors responsible for transforming the Wehrmacht from merely a highly efficient and professional military organization into an extremely politicized armed forces motivated by National Socialist ideals. Bartov argues four distinct yet related theories which, when taken together bring insight into the Nazification of the Wehrmacht in ultimately becoming Hitler’s Army. His arguments first highlight the war experience through the de-modernization of the Wehrmacht particularly on the eastern front along with the social organization relating to the destruction of the ‘Primary Group’. These factors resulted in the Wehrmacht to compensate through the ‘Perversion of Discipline’ which directly attributed to many war crimes along with harsh punishment of its own soldiers. Finally, the distortion of reality through propaganda all shaped the soldiers perception of the war and ultimately allowed Hitler to assume total control of the Wehrmacht. Murray Sager argues that the Wehrmacht supported Hitler, not just in gratitude, but because the Wehrmacht closely identified with the aims of National...
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