Blitzkrieg

From the author of Bismarck: "A work of simply outstanding scholarship . . . unreservedly recommended for . . . World War II Military History collections" (Midwest Book Review). The successes of the German Blitzkrieg in 1939-41 were as surprising as they were swift. Allied decision-makers wanted to discover the Germans'' secrets, even though only partial, incomplete information was available to them. The false conclusions drawn became myths about the Blitzkrieg that have lingered for decades. It has been argued that rather than creating a new way of war based on new technology, the Germans fitted the new weapons into their existing ideas on warfare. The conduct of German soldiers, particularly the lower-ranking men, on the battlefield was at the core of the concept, and German victories rested upon the quality, flexibility, and mobility of the small combat units. This book focuses on the experiences of the enlisted men and junior officers in the Blitzkrieg operations in Poland,