When the German armed forces invaded Poland in
September 1939 everyone expected the war to last at least six months and
for the Germans to sustain heavy casualties. In fact the fighting was
over within days. The German army had pulled off one of the most
astounding victories in modern times. Urged on by Hitler's ambitions,
the following year the German army invaded Denmark, Norway, Belgium and
the Netherlands before attacking its most powerful enemy to date: France
supported by Britain. Once again the speeding German panzers, screaming
Stuka dive bombers and relentless artillery smashed through everything
sent against them. The French army was crushed in a matter of days, and
the British sent packing from Dunkirk. The world was aghast at the
scale of these sweeping victories and at the speed with which they had
been achieved. The Germans had unleashed a new form of warfare:
Blitzkrieg, or "lightning war". It was new. It was stunning. It was
unstoppable. But what actually was it? In this book historian Rupert
Matthews explores the origins of Blitzkrieg, explains how it operated
and studies its most famous victories before moving on to discuss how
the tactic is still with us today.
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