In Poland in 1939, and in Western Europe in 1940, the German army defeated its enemies quickly. Was this only because of the blitzkrieg tactics used? Explain your answer.

Authors Avatar

In Poland in 1939, and in Western Europe in 1940, the German army defeated its enemies quickly. Was this only because of the blitzkrieg tactics used? Explain your answer

This essay will look at the German invasion of Poland and Western Europe from 1939-40 and its rapid success. It will look at all the factors that helped the Germans to be so successful during this period, the superb German blitzkrieg tactics and the factors that effected the opposing nations.

        Blitzkrieg ‘lightning war’ was a new form of warfare used by the Germans in World War II. This involved the use of artillery and dive-bombers, which caused a mass state of panic among civilians, who fled, clogging up the roads needed by the military to bring in reinforcements. This caused a general state of confusion. Then tanks and motorised infantry (soldiers in trucks or on motorbikes) and normal infantry picked up the rest of what was left.

        The keys to blitzkrieg were speed and surprise. The Germans could destroy an airforce before it got off the ground, as they did to the Poles and later the Russians. Also the blitzkrieg tactics involved attacking the weaker defended parts of the enemy line, which the enemy was not expecting to be attacked through, which as much force and intensity as possible, for a quick breakthrough, and avoiding their strong points. Hitler needed the quickness especially, as he had planned for a short, but brutal, war, which wouldn’t drain Germany’s resources too much. Although these were very good tactics there were other factors too.

        On the 1st of September 1939, Germany invaded Poland with a surprise attack. The Poles had no air force to defend itself with because the German Luftwaffe had destroyed most of it before it had had even got off the ground. Also they were prepared to fight the First World War again. They had dated tactics and equipment. An example of this was that the Poles attacked the Panzer divisions with cavalry, who were equipped with swords and lances, thinking that the tanks were wood and canvas fakes! To demoralise the Poles even more, the Germans completely flattened their capital city, Warsaw, with extensive bombing.

Join now!

        But the Poles were resilient to the end, and they fought very hard and bravely. They held out as long as they could because they were expecting help from the French and the British, by them attacking Germany from the west. Britain and France declared war on Germany. But the French were very slow to mobilise their troops, who were all stuck behind the Maginot line anyway, so no such event happened.    

         On the 17th of September, by the time that it was clear that Poland was going to be defeated, The Soviet Union invade Poland from the ...

This is a preview of the whole essay