Nazi Blitzkrieg during World War II - Tanks, tactics and stories.
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Panzer-Divisions in Battle 1939-45 by Tom Cockle (WWII book, includes 169 photos of German tanks)
Panzer-Divisions in Battle 1939-45, examines the role panzers had in Blitzkrieg (Lightning War) and WWII through a series of photos and illustrations. The volume begins with a summary of the battles and theaters in which Nazi tanks fought. This first volume covers the Invasion of Poland, the Battle for France, the Balkans, and the Desert War in North Africa. The black and white photographs show not only German tanks like the series of Panzer I, II, III and IVs (core of the panzer divisions), but also equipment such as the Pz.Kpfw.38(t) tank, a variety of armored cars, plus the Sd.Kfz.251 halftrack. (concord-publications.com)
Hitler's Panzers: The Lightning Attacks that Revolutionized Warfare by Dennis Showalter (book review)
From the days of Frederick the Great Prussian military planners realized Prussia "was unlikely to recover from an initial defeat" in battle. The result: "The Germans incorporated a mentality emphasizing speed and daring: a war of movement." During WWII, such tactics were known as Blitzkrieg (a term coined in the West, and disliked by Hitler). Panzer warfare came as a result of the WWI trench warfare. By 1921 General Hans von Seeckt, "moved the Germans from Sitz to Blitz" by developing the concept of "fighting outnumbered and winning." Among the officers drawn to Seeckt's theories was motor-transport battalion lieutenant Heinz Guderian. (washingtontimes.com)
September 1, 1939: Wehrmacht crushes Poland with Blitzkrieg
1939: Nazi Germany invades Poland, introducing a new kind of warfare: blitzkrieg - based on mobility and the coordination of massed armor and infantry, with air support from fighter planes and dive bombers. It also depends on the element of surprise, one reason Third Reich never declared war before invading an enemy. The concept of blitzkrieg was about adding 20th-century technology (the tank, the airplane and the radio) to the age-old tactics of mobile warfare. Military thinkers like Basil Liddell Hart, Charles de Gaulle and Heinz Guderian (author of Achtung Panzer!) wrote on the subject and promoted armored warfare. The classic blitzkrieg unfolds like this... (wired.com)
The true blue blueprint behind Hitler's blitzkrieg: "Achtung - Panzer!"
Ggeneral John Monash's plan for the Battle of Amiens in France in 1918 won WWI, when 102,000 Diggers defeated 2 German armies, and ended any hope that Germany could win. In 1937, Hitler read about Amiens and how the Allies won, in "Achtung - Panzer!" by Heinz Guderian. Until then the defeat had been a mystery to the future fuhrer, who had been a corporal during the war. In 1937, excited by the possibilities of the Monash battle blueprint being used for his ends, Hitler contacted Guderian for a show of a tank attack backed by infantry, planes and artillery. While viewing field exercises Hitler said: "That is what I want; that is what I will have!" (theaustralian)
[PDF] Operational Leadership of General Heinz Guderian
This is a historical analysis of General Heinz Guderian's operational leadership. These elements are operational thinking, execution of Operations, and the operational leader's character. Guderian's development of combined mechanized warfare (blitzkrieg - lightning war), and his leadership style in campaigns against Poland and France are discussed. Germany's panzer forces were raised according to his works, best-known among them Achtung - Panzer! (stinet)
General von Kielmansegg dies aged 99: Panzers and blitzkrieg
Johann-Adolf Graf von Kielmansegg was the chief logistic officer of one of the leading German divisions in von Rundstedt`s lightning armoured offensive through the Ardennes in May 1940. In 1941 he published "Tanks between Warsaw and the Atlantic", describing German armoured operations in Poland, the breakthrough in the Ardennes and Calais and Dunkirk campaign. For much of the next 4 years he served in Berlin or in Hitler`s command headquarters. Because he was aware of Colonel von Stauffenberg's plan to assassinate Hitler, he was sent to command a panzer regiment in a division facing the US advance. In 1963 he was appointment as Nato Commander Land Forces Central Europe. (timesonline)
Rommel's journal entries from 1940 Blitzkrieg
General Erwin Rommel led the 7th Panzer Division as it crashed through the Belgian defenses into France, skirting the Maginot Line and then smashing it from behind. This was a new kind of warfare integrating tanks, air power, artillery, and motorized infantry into a steel juggernaut emphasizing speedy movement and maximization of battlefield opportunities. Rommel kept a journal of his experiences. In this excerpt, he describes the action on May 14 as he leads a tank attack against French forces near the Muese River on the Belgian border: "Rothenburg now drove off through a hollow to the left with the five tanks which were to accompany the infantry..." (eyewitnesstohistory)