HIST 486 ESSAY 1

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Christopher Sperry Hist 486 27 September 2023 Essay 1: The Blundering Blitzkrieg What military dilemma did blitzkrieg techniques seek to solve in future wars? It is the belief of some that peace forced upon by war is vengeance waiting to occur. At the 11 th hour on the 11 th day of the 11 th month of 1918, the Great War would end, with the Central Powers suffering defeat. The main country that was blamed for the war was Germany, and to humiliate the country, the Treaty of Versailles was created. The treaty would ultimately force Germany to give up its overseas colonies, disarm its military, lose a portion of its mainland territory, and pay financial reparations for having been the cause of the Great War (1) . In turn this would drive the German people into poverty, and subsequently enrage the Germans towards revenge in due time. That time would come closer with the appointment of Adolf Hitler as Chancellor of Germany in January of 1933 (2) . Within 18 months of his appointment, events such as Hindenburg’s death and the Reichstag fire would give Hitler the ability to appoint himself as the Führer or ‘Leader’ of Germany, thus beginning the reign of the Nazi regime. Over the course of six years, Germany would subtly rearm itself, in preparation for an invasion of Poland and France. To break through the enemy defenses, a strategy would be devised and implemented by the German Wehrmacht known as the Blitzkrieg. The Blitzkrieg would be implemented to solve several dilemmas found throughout the First World War and to capitalize upon the evolving concepts and technological advances made during the interwar period. Through highly coordinated activities, the Blitzkrieg would first address the issue of attrition-based warfare. By constantly having ones troops in constant contact with support forces such as artillery, aircraft, and mobile armor vehicles such as tanks, one can avoid an enemy encirclement of troops. This in turn brings us to the use of combined armaments. When most of one’s force is made up of horse-drawn and foot-based soldiers, it is easy to neglect the vital role that technology has. Using tanks along with close air support of aircraft such as the Ju-87 Stuka dive bomber at the front of allows for the foot-based and horse-drawn soldiers to have an easier time overseeing a force that has already been broken and punched through. Furthermore, by having such forces combined, the mobility of one’s force is further increased, as it allows for rapid response and maneuvers. In turn this can affect the enemy’s morale. When facing a force that is quicker than your own, it can both be disorientating and demoralizing to one’s troops. It is known that when a force loses its morale, the spirit to fight becomes lost, thus leading to the encirclement and capturing of any sized force. However, this also addresses Germany’s economic issue that it was facing at the time as well. (1) Drexler, 2019 (2) Murray and Millet, 2009 First Last

After having lost World War One, a single loaf of bread in Germany was worth over 400 billion marks (3) . This was because Germany was going through a state of hyperinflation for having to pay financial reparations to various countries for being the cause of the Great War. By quickly conquering Poland, Germany was able to absorb the resources that was to be found in Poland Thus when Poland would fall in September of 1939, the German economy would absorb Poland’s factories and assets and utilize them to its advantage up until the end of the Second World War. Yet in order for the blitz to be successful, one should also look towards the components that made it. What are the components of a blitzkrieg attack? To prepare for the invasion of Poland, Germany would introduce technologies such as the radio and utilize it to profound effect in its military forces, thus allowing ground commanders the ability to stay in contact with their units and be able to direct there forces over vast distances. On top of this, commanders would also be capable of calling in direct support from artillery and air- based units. Of the various air units that would be deployed to great effect in the opening stages of the Second World War, the Junkers Ju-87 Stuka dive bomber would be utilized to great effect. By utilizing the Stuka Dive bomber as a means of close air support, the German Blitzkrieg would be able to move forward with few issues facing the ground forces. Furthermore, to protect the skies from enemy aircraft and maintain a high level of air superiority, the Germans would deploy squadrons of BF-109s, of which the majority would be the E or Emil model, and the BF-110. The BF-110 is a 3-seater, heavy fighter with two engines, that later would be best suited for night fighting. Yet even the best armies tire out. To address the dilemma of the need for rest, the German military would introduce their troops to a wonder drug known as Pervitin. Pervitin is a known methamphetamine that became widely known by the summer of 1937, and would be put to great effect during the blitzkrieg in 1939 (4) . Through the introduction of Pervitin, Germany had hoped to gain a chemically enhanced soldier, which becomes more aware after taking the drug. For those who may not know the effects of methamphetamines, the effects are (5) :  Rapid and irregular heart rate  Elevated blood pressure  Increased rate of breathing  Increased awareness  Increased physical movement  Decreased appetite The later of three effects are effects that the German military desired, as being able to move quickly is essential for the speed at which the blitzkrieg was done, as well as the heightened awareness of the troops, so that they may always stay alert. Yet to keep a troop supplied, one must stay in contact with their supply lines. (3) UK National Archives, n.d. (4) Andreas, 2020 (5) Matta 2023

According to the Art of War, when an army has strayed away too far from there supply lines, an opposing force can take advantage of one’s dilemma (6) . Supply lines therefore are an essential part of any military force as it provides the fuel, food, equipment, ammunition, and other essentials to keep an army on the move. Unfortunately, this will become a major problem and difference between the invasions of Poland and France. How was blitzkrieg applied in Poland, and then against France? Posing under flags of peace, the German battleship SMS Schleswig-Holstein would be moored near the Polish fortifications of Westerplatte, where on 1939 at 4:45AM (7) , the first volley of shells would be fired, starting the Second World War. Although the battle itself would cause severe German casualties, Poland would later find itself controlled by Nazi forces. The action, however, displays the act of surprise upon an unaware adversary who at the time would be asleep. This action would not be replicable in France, as by the time France would be invaded, the French would be aware that Germany was coming. Based on terrain alone, France would have more open land compared to that of Poland, passed the Ardennes Forest, to which the Germans would utilize to catch the French military off- guard, thus bypassing the entirety of the Maginot Line, which was created to deter Germany from invading France. It did not work. By utilizing the Ardennes Forest as a way to bypass the Maginot Line, the German Wehrmacht would utilize both speed and a newfound surprise to drive their tanks through French and British lines, as at the time of invasion, Britian would have mobilized an expeditionary force. However with the speed at which the German Wehrmacht was going, neither the British nor the French were prepared for an encirclement and subsequently pulled back to Dunkirk. With the element of surprise expended in Poland, the element of speed would have to replace such characteristics of warfare. However, speed should not neglect the ability to think. Where in Poland, the whole of the world was caught off-guard, in France an attack was expected since 1918. Thus, the French had prepared the well-known Maginot Line, which was essentially a long-fortified bunker that stretched all the way to the Ardennes Forest, but not in. The reason for this blunder was because the French believed that the Ardennes Forest was impassable for armored vehicles such as tanks—the backbone of the Blitzkrieg. This aberration would be the nail in the coffin for France. Luckily, the British Expeditionary Force would have mobilized at the time the Germans would have moved into France. With the German Wehrmacht marching with hast, all allied forces would be pushed back all the way to the beaches of Dunkirk to the blinding speed of the blitzkrieg. However, on the 24 th of May, the German war machine would grind to a halt. Having outran their supply lines, the lead panzer tanks were out of fuel and in need of maintenance, while the men themselves needed proper rest. This would prove to be the saving grace that the allied forces would need in order to rescue there forces. On the 26 th of May, a call would be put out by the British admiralty for any able vessel to sail to the beaches of Dunkirk in order to assist in the evacuation of Dunkirk. The expected number of troops to be rescued by Churchill was twenty to thirty thousand troops. By the 6 th of June, over three-hundred-thirty-thousand troops were rescued (8) . (6) Sun Tzu 400BC (7) Gilmour 2011 (8) “What You Need to Know about the Dunkirk Evacuations” n.d.

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Why did the blitzkrieg fail in Russia in 1941? Having defeated the allied forces on mainland Europe, the Germans began to look Eastward towards Russia, even thought they had signed a non-aggression pact with the Russians and had even split Poland in two with them. With the naiveté similar to that of Napolean, the Germans would launch Operation Barbarossa. With the launching of Operation Barbarossa, Hitler sought to conquer the Soviet Union for their vast resources. Thus, having launched an invasion of Russia in the Summer of 1941, the Germans seemed prepared for what they were facing. By conducting another blitzkrieg maneuver, the Germans once again seemed like they would reach the capitol of Moscow by winter. This went on until the snow began to set in. From the very beginning Operation Barbarossa was set up for failure. Having not prepared for winter warfare, the German Armies would freeze due to the harsh conditions created by the weather. On top of this, Equipment would subsequently freeze as well, including but not limited to firearms, oil, even gears. To bring hope to the German Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front, the Germans began conducting donation runs for winter clothes for the German armies, which should have been a sign to the German people of how the war in Russia was going. Nobody paid attention to it. To add to the gravity of the situation, Russia would deploy specialized troops equipped for below freezing winter warfare. Furthermore, the Russian people would not give up their homes without a fight and were even utilized to help set up defenses around major cities such as Leningrad and Moscow. After the winter would come Spring, where the snow would melt, leading to a second major issue. With the snow melting, water would seep into the ground creating harsh roads of mud. In turn, this would clog and entrap vehicles, personnel, and equipment. This would make sense since no one in the German Wehrmacht had realized the roads that they were traveling on were farmers roads (9) . (9) Imperial War Museums 2018

Drexler, Ken. 2019. “Research Guides: Treaty of Versailles: Primary Documents in American History: Introduction.” Guides.loc.gov. October 7, 2019. https://guides.loc.gov/treaty-of- versailles#:~:text=The%20terms%20of%20the%20treaty . Murray, Williamson, and Allan R Millett. 2009. War to Be Won : Fighting the Second World War, 1937-1945. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. “The National Archives | Exhibitions & Learning Online | First World War | Aftermath.” n.d. Www.nationalarchives.gov.uk. https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/firstworldwar/aftermath/ counting_cost.htm#:~:text=Inflation%20dramatically%20increased%20the%20cost . Andreas, Peter. 2020. “How Methamphetamine Became a Key Part of Nazi Military Strategy.” Time. Time. January 7, 2020. https://time.com/5752114/nazi-military-drugs/ . April 28, Editorial StaffLast Updated:, and 2020. 2022. “Meth Symptoms & Signs of Use.” American Addiction Centers. January 7, 2022. https://americanaddictioncenters.org/meth-treatment/signs-symptoms . Matta, Nadia. 2023. Review of Meth Addiction: Signs, Effects, and Treatment . Edited by Wendy Generes. American Addition Centers. American Addiction Cetners. August 7, 2023. https://americanaddictioncenters.org/meth-treatment/signs-symptoms . Sun Tzu. 400BC. The Art of War . Sun Tzu. Gilmour, John. 2011. Sweden, the Swastika and Stalin . Edinburgh University Press. “What You Need to Know about the Dunkirk Evacuations.” n.d. Imperial War Museums. Accessed September 28, 2023. https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/what-you-need-to-know- about-the-dunkirk-evacuations#:~:text=Operation%20Dynamo%20is%20often %20described. Imperial War Museums. 2018. “What Was Operation ‘Barbarossa’?” Imperial War Museums. 2018. https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/what-was-operation-barbarossa.

HIST 486 ESSAY 1

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