Blitzkrieg, a German word meaning "lightning war," is an attack doctrine, tactic, and strategy intended to overawe defenders with rapid, violent, and, above all, highly mobile action coordinated among armor, mechanized infantry, massed firepower, and air power, with special forces units acting to disrupt the defenders' communication and supply, thereby increasing confusion during the onslaught. While always advancing, the simultaneous object of Blitzkrieg is to disable and paralyze the enemy's capacity to coordinate defenses effectively. If defenses are disabled, the attacker need not be delayed by a costly campaign aimed at destroying defenses, and thus the attack may be accelerated with maximum penetration.

Although the term Blitzkrieg is still used to describe any exceptionally vigorous mobile assault, its application in World War II is chiefly to Germany's opening campaigns of the war, against Poland, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and then the Soviet Union. Some historians have also applied the term to the rapid and devastating advance of the Third U.S. Army under George Smith Patton, Jr., following the Normandy landings (D-day) and Operation Cobra.

As executed by German forces early in the war, Blitzkrieg was aimed at thrusting through a relatively narrow front using armor, motorized artillery, and aircraft, especially the Stuka dive bomber. This created a point of attack, or Schwerpunkt ("strong point"), a gap in which defenders were fatally weakened. Before this gap could be repaired, wide, rapid sweeps by massed tanks followed, along with mechanized infantry (mainly specially trained so-called shock troops). This further disrupted the enemy's line of defense, creating areas in which defenders were trapped, immobilized, and cut off from one another. Their only option at this point was surrender. Although Blitzkrieg depended on extreme violence, its speed, which neutralized rather than destroyed a defender, actually spared casualties on both sides. The tactic was seen as an alternative to the far more destructive war of stalemate that had developed along the western front in World War I. . .

Free term papers are not written to satisfy your specific instructions. You can use our professional writing services to buy a custom written research paper, term paper, or essay on Military Topics at affordable price. CustomTermPapers is the best solution for those who seek help in writing term papers, essays, and research papers related to Military Topics and other relevant topics.