Klotzen, Nicht Kleckern (Strike Together, Not Divided!): the Panzer Divisions As New Dominating Strategy of Modern Warfare

Abstract

The beginning of the Second World War was dominated by a new type of strategy developed by German General Heinz Guderian that overwhelmed the Allied armies in Poland and France. Guderian argued that the best way to win on the battlefield and avoid the stalemate of World War I should be done through the use of tanks grouped together in formation: the product of this strategy was embodied in the Panzer divisions that, through mobility and coordination of multiple weapons, were able to breach the enemy\u27s defensive lines with devastating effects