This article is about the military term. For the wrestlers of the same name, see Jay Ross and Jack Evans.

For the computer game of the same name, see Blitzkrieg (computer game).

(German, literally lightning war or flash war) is a popular name for an offensive operational-level military doctrine which involves an initial bombardment followed by employment of mobile forces attacking with speed and surprise to prevent an enemy from implementing a coherent defense. The founding principles of these types of operations were developed in the 19th Century by various nations, and adapted in the years after World War I, largely by the Wehrmacht, to incorporate modern weapons and vehicles as a method to help prevent trench warfare and linear warfare in future conflicts. The first practical implementations of these concepts coupled with modern technology were instituted by the German Wehrmacht in the opening battles of World War II. While operations in Poland were rather conventional, subsequent battles — particularly the invasions of France, The Netherlands and initial operations in the Soviet Union — were effective owing to surprise penetrations, general enemy unpreparedness and an inability to react swiftly enough to German offensive operations. That the German Army quickly defeated numerically and technically superior enemies in France led many analysts to believe that a new system of warfare had been invented.

The generally accepted definition of blitzkrieg operations include the use of maneuver rather than attrition to defeat an opponent, and describe operations using combined arms concentration of mobile assets at a focal point, armour closely supported by mobile infantry, artillery and close air support assets. These tactics required the development of specialized support vehicles, new methods of communication, new tactics, and an effective decentralized command structure. Broadly speaking, blitzkrieg operations required the development of mechanized infantry, self-propelled artillery and engineering assets that could maintain the rate of advance of the tanks. German forces avoided direct combat in favor of interrupting an enemy's communications, decision-making, logistics and of reducing morale. In combat, blitzkrieg left little choice for the slower defending forces but to clump into defensive pockets that were encircled and then destroyed by following German infantry.

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frankvandun (Frank van Dun) Wed, 06 Jan 2010 22:17:55 -0000
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Camus_Hayabusa (Camus Hayabusa) Wed, 06 Jan 2010 22:12:48 -0000
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galenmcp (Galen McPherson) Wed, 06 Jan 2010 22:05:28 -0000
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