History 235 Mobile Warfare Assignment 1

James LaBell HI 235B Mobile Warfare Assignment Tuesday, Feb 4th, 2014

History 235 Mobile Warfare Assignment 2

Myth of Blitzkrieg by Robert A. Doughty 1. The main subject of this article is to disprove the success of Germany during their invasions of France and Russia in WWII as a direct result of using blitzkrieg. 2. The authors main purpose in this article is to argue that the Germans succeeded initially in France and Russia not because of true Blitzkrieg but because of their better doctrine and leadership and because of their ability to concentrate overwhelming combat power at the decisive point and also the Germans outfought the French tactically and outsmarted them strategically, but their victory stemmed as much from French weaknesses as from German strengths. 1 3. One key piece of evidence the author uses is the battle of Sedan. The German mechanized force was halted at a bridge, if not for two small German squads of engineers the entire campaign could have failed.2

1 2

Doughty, Myth of Blitzkrieg, 64. Doughty, Myth of Blitzkrieg, 61.

History 235 Mobile Warfare Assignment 3

Feeling the Full Force of a Four Front Offensive: Re-interpreting the Red Armys 1944 Belorussian and Lvov-peremshyl Operations by Robert N. Watt 1. The main subject of this article is to prove how the Red army was able to destroy an entire German Army Group in the East. 2. The authors main purpose in this article is to argue that The Red Army, particularly after the Stalingrad Campaign, is no longer portrayed as a vast juggernaut, crushing all in its path by sheer weight of numbers. 3 3. One key piece of evidence the author uses is the distribution of Tank Armies by the Red Army. The assignment of multiple Tank armies to one unit seemed and few to others seemed like a mistake but was genius. 4

3 4

Watt, Feeling the Full Force, 673. Watt, Feeling the Full Force, 671.

History 235 Mobile Warfare Assignment 4

ANAYLSIS During our lectures in class we explain examples of mobile warfare, the most famous the Blitzkrieg strategy. Both articles I read explained the WWII era, both German and Russian Fronts. What I learned was that true Blitzkrieg might be impossible to achieve. However Blitzkrieg is not what wins wars, better doctrine and leadership and because of their ability to concentrate overwhelming combat power at the decisive point.5 gave the advantage to Germans over French and Russians over Germans. 67 Most of the spread use of Blitzkrieg was a propaganda stunt to exemplify the German war Machine.8 The Germans famous Luftwaffe did provide an umbrella over the German advancing lines but did minimal damage to French Forces.9 The Red Army which was characterized to win but sheer numbers, used multiple fronts with continues offensives to push the Germans out of Russia.10 The ability for German forces to effectively use mobile warfare avoided a repeat of trench warfare during WWI. The Germans capability to combine there light, heavy, and air forces gave them the potential to avoid an entrenched position which they couldnt move from like in WWI.11 I also believe the advances in technology changed mobile warfare. The Germans and Russian could keep their logistics lines open because of radios and new vehicles.
Doughty, Myth of Blitzkrieg, 64. Doughty, Myth of Blitzkrieg, 64. 7 Watt, Feeling the Full Force, 671. 8 Doughty, Myth of Blitzkrieg , 66. 9 Doughty, Myth of Blitzkrieg , 62. 10 Watt, Feeling the Full Force, 670.
5 6 11

Doughty, Myth of Blitzkrieg, 64.

History 235 Mobile Warfare Assignment 5

Both articles also mentioned how the German and Russian plans exceeded expectation.12 13As a result of this they received huge propaganda which exaggerated what actually happen.14 As discussed in class wars are not just fought on the front lines. Politics and media also play a large role. Germany, which could not maintain a long-term two front war, used its propaganda to boost its national pride and confidence. These reason show the success of mobile warfare is a combined effort. It takes multiple fronts as the Russians used15 and multiple forces as the Germans used.16 Word count 307

12 13 14 15 16

Watt, Feeling the Full Force, 671. Doughty, Myth of Blitzkrieg, 66. Doughty, Myth of Blitzkrieg, 66. Watt, Feeling the Full Force, 672. Doughty, Myth of Blitzkrieg, 63.

History 235 Mobile Warfare Assignment 6

WORK CITED Doughty, Robert A. "Myth of the Blitzkrieg." In Challenging the United States Symmetrically and Asymmetrically: Can America be Defeated?, edited by Lloyd J. Matthews, 57-79. Carlisle Barracks, PA: Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College, 1998. Watt, Robert N. "'Feeling the Full Force of a Four Front Offensive: Re-Interpreting the Red Army's 1944 Belorussian and L'vov-Peremshyl' Operations'." The Journal of Slavic Military Studies, 21, no. 4 (2008): 669-705.