The Five Stages Of Blitzkrieg

The treaty of Versailles reduced the German military force to a mere fragment of what it was at the conclusion of World War I. Leaders in the German military force were looking for a new approach, after all their goal was to defend Germany’s large open borders. Geographically, Germany is sandwiched in between France and Poland, and German military leaders were more concerned with securing the natural resources from Poland’s eastern neighbor Russia. From the German perspective, Germany could solidify its energy independence from other countries by securing Russia, its natural resources, and ultimately assert itself as a dominant power in the European continent. During the interwar period, German military leaders developed an offensive concept …show more content…
Early in the planning stages of Blitzkrieg, poor logistical planning led to mistakes that could not be corrected as Blitzkrieg operations extended over time and space. Two factors that Blitzkrieg sustainment planners did not take into account during the planning for Blitzkrieg was operational reach and endurance. Operational reach is a necessity in order to conduct decisive operations. Operational reach is the distance and duration which a unit can successfully employ military capabilities. The limit of a unit’s operational reach is its culminating point. Endurance refers to the ability to employ combat power anywhere for protracted periods. Endurance involves anticipating requirements and continuity of integrated networks of interdependent sustainment organizations. The German’s development of Blitzkrieg during the interwar period was developed out of necessity. The genesis for Blitzkrieg came about to address Germany’s strategic problem of defending its large open borders. At the operational level, the trouble the sustainment planners for the Blitzkrieg operation did not take into account the supply distribution network required to sustain its offensive endurance. For example, when the German forces moved eastward towards Russia, the German forces depleted their national stockpiles during their advance to secure its western borders. As German forces turned their attention to the eastern front, Blitzkrieg operations culminated for up to ten days at a time due to their supply lines of communication being overextending. Most roads were unpaved, and became swamps when it rained. As a result, the Germans consumed petroleum products, and spare parts at triple the ordinary rates. Adolf Hitler did not mobilize the German economy, because he thought that the Blitzkrieg operation would be quick and decisive, therefore Hitler would not require the economy to be mobilized. Had Hitler