The Blitzkrieg Legend

by Frieser, Karl-Heinz

• ISBN13: 9781591142942
• ISBN10: 1591142946
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-10-01
• Publisher: Naval Inst Pr

Author Biography

Karl-Heinz Frieser is a colonel in the German Army and head of the Department of World Wars I and II at the Military History Research Institute of the Bundeswehr in Potsdam.

Table of Contents

Lists of Charts and Maps	viii
Editor's Introduction	xi
Preface	xiii
Abbreviations and Translations of Frequently Used Foreign Terms	xv
Introduction: The Miracle of 1940	1	(319)
1 The Blitzkrieg: Word and Concept	4	(8)
The Word "Blitzkrieg"	4	(1)
The Concept of Blitzkrieg	5	(7)
2 Blitzkrieg without the Blitzkrieg Concept: The Background of the Campaign in the West	12	(48)
Did Hitler Have a Strategic War Concept?	12	(6)
Was the Polish Campaign a Blitzkrieg?	18	(1)
Did the Time Factor Work for or against the Wehrmacht?	19	(6)
Was There a Blitzkrieg Economy before the Campaign in the West?	25	(3)
Was the Army's Organizational Structure Geared to a Blitzkrieg?	28	(6)
Was the Wehrmacht Superior in Terms of Strength?	34	(20)
Was the German General Officer Corps for or against the Campaign in the West?	54	(6)
3 The Struggle over the Sickle Cut Plan	60	(40)
The First Three Deployment Directives	60	(3)
Manstein and the Development of the Sickle Cut Plan	63	(18)
The Revolving Door Effect of the Schlieffen Plan and the Sickle Cut Plan	81	(13)
The Opposition to the Sickle Cut Plan among the German General Officer Corps	94	(4)
Conclusion: The Sickle Cut—A Go-for-Broke Gamble	98	(2)
4 The 1940 Ardennes Offensive	100	(45)
Panzer Group Kleist: A Disputed Operational Experiment	100	(7)
The Importance of Logistics	107	(2)
Planning the Offensive—A Preprogrammed Chaos	109	(3)
The Advance through the Ardennes: A Near Catastrophe	112	(6)
The Impact of Operational-Level Mistakes at the Tactical Level: The Example of the 1st Panzer Division	118	(19)
The Ardennes Offensive from the Allied Perspective	137	(8)
5 The Decisive Battle: The Breakthrough of Panzer Corps Guderian at Sedan	145	(53)
The French Army's Six Fatal Mistakes at Sedan	145	(8)
German Preparations for the Crossing of the Meuse River	153	(4)
The Meuse River Crossing on 13 May	157	(21)
The Advance from the Bridgehead on 14 May	178	(17)
Sedan 1940—Turning Point in Military History	195	(3)
6 The Collapse of the Meuse Front	198	(54)
Seal the Gap and Counterattack: French Operational Countermoves after the Breakthrough at Sedan	198	(20)
Panzer Corps Reinhardt Breaks Through at Montherme—A Victory over His Own Command	218	(5)
Panzer Corps Hoth Breaks Through at Dinant	223	(16)
Panzer Corps Hoepner Attacks the Dyle Line: A Diversionary Maneuver on the Operational Level	239	(7)
French Divisions Pinned Down in the Maginot Line	246	(6)
7 The Push to the Channel Coast and the Problem of the Exposed Flank	252	(39)
Hitler's Halt Order at Montcornet and the No-Show French Counterattack	252	(13)
Rommel's Unauthorized Push at Avesnes	265	(8)
The British Counterattack at Arras: A Tactical Failure with Unsuspected Operational Consequences	273	(18)
8 The "Miracle of Dunkirk"	291	(24)
Background of the Halt Order	291	(4)
The Halt Order	295	(6)
Operation Dynamo: The Evacuation of the Allies	301	(3)
Digression: Did the Dunkirk Halt Order Decide World War II?	304	(1)
Hitler's Alleged Motives for the Halt Order	305	(7)
Hitler's Real Motive: Asserting His Leadership Claim against the General Officer Corps	312	(3)
9 The End of the Campaign in the West	315	(5)
Case Red—Only an Epilogue	315	(2)
The Campaign in the West: The Statistics	317	(3)
10 Causes of Victory and Defeat	320	(27)
France's Collapse	320	(6)
The Myth of the National Socialist Blitzkrieg	326	(3)
The Secret of the Success of the German Blitzkrieg: The Blend of Traditional Military Principle with Modern Technology	329	(18)
11 Summary and Epilogue	347	(8)
Summary	347	(2)
Epilogue: The Delusion of the Worldwide Blitzkrieg	349	(6)
Table of Equivalent Ranks	355	(2)
Notes	357	(82)
Bibliography	439	(46)
Index of Personalities	485	(12)
Index	497