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Armor in the Wehrmacht’s greatest Blitzkrieg victory
We start with a look at the development of the German tank force in the 1930s, how it was structured, how the various types of tanks were meant to be used and how they were organised.
We then move on to look at the types of tanks in German service in 1940, covering the four German types (Panzer I to Panzer IV), and the two Czech types (35(t) and 38(t)). We also look at the first of the many tank destroyers and assault guns that would end up in German service – the first Panzerjager and the original StuG).
The largest part of the book looks at the campaign itself. Here we see that the key to German success wasn’t any technical advantage they held – their tanks were no better than the best of the British or French tanks – but instead how they were used. We start with a look at the right flank of the German advance, in the Netherlands and Belgium. This is often seen as a feint, but as this account makes clear it was actually a large scale operation, and involved the first major tank vs tank battle of the war, between around 1,000 French and German tanks. This was followed by a stalemate in the Gembloux Gap which was only ended by the success of the main German attack further south.
Again, the key here wasn’t the quality of German tanks, but instead where they chose to attack. Guderian’s tanks faced a reserve infantry division at Sedan. The French attempted to move reinforcements to the area, but they weren’t quick enough, and the Germans were soon across the Meuse. After that the Allies were never able to regain control of the situation, with the well known results.
This is a good tank based account of this campaign, with the focus on the performance of the German panzer divisions, compared to the lacklustre performance of the French armoured divisions.
Chapters
Doctrine and Organization
Technical Factors
The Campaign
Battle Analysis
Author: Steven J Zaloga
Edition: Paperback
Pages: 48
Publisher: Osprey
Year: 2024