Blitzkrieg or Bewegungskrieg is a word used to describe a combined arms surprise attack using a rapid, overwhelming force concentration that may consist of armored and motorized or mechanized infantry formations; together with artillery, air assault, and close air support; with intent to break through the opponent's lines of defense, dislocate the defenders, unbalance the enemies by making it difficult to respond to the continuously changing front, and defeat them in a decisive Vernichtungsschlacht: a battle of annihilation.
The charge at Krojanty, battle of Krojanty, the riding of Krojanty or skirmish of Krojanty was a Polish cavalry charge on the evening of 1 September 1939, the first day of the Second World War, near the Pomeranian village of Krojanty. It occurred at the start of the invasion of Poland and was part of the larger Battle of Tuchola Forest. Polish soldiers advanced east along the railway to a railroad crossroads 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) from the town of Chojnice, where elements of the Polish cavalry charged and dispersed a German infantry battalion. Machine gun fire from German armoured cars that appeared from a nearby forest forced the Poles to retreat. However, the attack delayed the German advance, allowing the Polish 1st Rifle Battalion and Czersk Operational Group to withdraw safely.
Heinz Wilhelm Guderian was a German general during World War II who, after the war, became a successful memoirist. An early pioneer and advocate of the "blitzkrieg" approach, he played a central role in the development of the panzer division concept. In 1936, he became the Inspector of Motorized Troops.
This article lists production figures for German armored fighting vehicles during the World War II era. Vehicles include tanks, self-propelled artillery, assault guns and tank destroyers.
The Battle of Moscow was a military campaign that consisted of two periods of strategically significant fighting on a 600 km (370 mi) sector of the Eastern Front during World War II, between September 1941 and January 1942. The Soviet defensive effort frustrated Hitler's attack on Moscow, the capital and largest city of the Soviet Union. Moscow was one of the primary military and political objectives for Axis forces in their invasion of the Soviet Union.
Paul Hausser also known as Paul Falk after taking his maiden name post war was a German general and then a high-ranking commander in the Waffen-SS who played a key role in the post-war efforts by former members of the Waffen-SS to achieve historical and legal rehabilitation.
Friedrich von Mellenthin was a German general during World War II. A participant in most of the major campaigns of the war, he became known afterwards for his memoirs Panzer Battles, first published in 1956 and reprinted several times since then.
The Battle of Tuchola Forest was one of the first battles of World War II, during the invasion of Poland. The battle occurred from 1 September to 5 September 1939 and resulted in a major German victory. Poor Polish command and control, as well as German numerical and tactical superiority, allowed the Germans to manage to cripple Poland's Armia Pomorze and, by breaking through the Polish Corridor, to connect mainland Germany with East Prussia.
A Panzer division was one of the armored (tank) divisions in the army of Nazi Germany during World War II. Panzer divisions were the key element of German success in the blitzkrieg operations of the early years of World War II. Later the Waffen-SS formed its own panzer divisions, and the Luftwaffe fielded an elite panzer division: the Hermann Göring Division.
The 6th Panzer Division was an armoured division in the German Army, the Heer, during World War II, established in October 1939.
The 12th Panzer Division was an armoured division in the German Army, established in 1940.
Panzerwaffe, later also Panzertruppe refers to a command within the Heer of the German Wehrmacht, responsible for the affairs of panzer (tank) and motorized forces shortly before and during the Second World War.
Kenneth John Macksey was a British author and historian who specialized in military history and military biography, particularly of the Second World War.
Leo Dietrich Franz Reichsfreiherr Geyr von Schweppenburg was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II, noted for his pioneering stance and expertise in the field of armoured warfare. He commanded the 5th Panzer Army during the Invasion of Normandy, and later served as Inspector General of Armoured Troops. After the war he was involved in the development of the newly built German Army (Bundeswehr).
The Manstein Plan or Case Yellow, was the war plan of the German armed forces for the Battle of France in 1940. The original invasion plan was an awkward compromise devised by General Franz Halder, the chief of staff of Oberkommando des Heeres that satisfied no one. Documents with details of the plan fell into Belgian hands during the Mechelen incident on 10 January 1940 and the plan was revised several times, each giving more emphasis to an attack by Army Group A through the Ardennes, which progressively reduced the offensive by Army Group B through the Low Countries to a diversion.
The 2nd Infantry Division of Nazi Germany's Army was created from components of the Reichswehr's old 2nd Division in 1934, at first under the cover name Wehrgauleitung Stettin and later Artillerieführer II; it did not take its real name until October 1935. It was upgraded to 2nd Motorized Infantry Division in 1937, and fought under that name in Heinz Guderian's XIX Corps during the 1939 Invasion of Poland, first in the cut across the Polish Corridor to reach East Prussia and then as support for the push on Brest-Litovsk. It was then transferred to the west, where it took part in the 1940 Battle of France.
The XIX Army Corps was an armored corps of the German Wehrmacht between 1 July 1939 and 16 November 1940, when the unit was renamed Panzer Group 2 and later 2nd Panzer Army. It took part in the Invasion of Poland and the Battle of France.
The Guderian Plan is a plan developed in the autumn of 1944 for the restoration and expansion of the eastern fortifications of the German Reich. The plan was named after its initiator General Heinz Guderian.
The LIII Army Corps was a corps of the German Army during World War II. It was first deployed in 1941 and was active as part of various armies under Army Group Centre until 1944, when it was destroyed during the Soviet Red Army operations Bagration and Kutuzov in June and July 1944. The corps suffered enormous casualties as a result of the Soviet attacks. All of its divisions were destroyed and all but a few of the soldiers were killed or captured by the Soviet Union. A new formation named LIII Army Corps was subsequently deployed in December 1944, when it was assigned to Seventh Army and fought on the western front until surrendering to United States Army forces in April 1945.
This is a Bibliography of World War II memoirs and autobiographies. This list aims to include memoirs written by participants of World War II about their wartime experience, as well as larger autobiographies of participants of World War II that are at least partially concerned with the author's wartime experience. Works on this list should be all those primary accounts of World War II wartime experience intended for publication. The list does not aim to include diaries, private letter collections or transcripts of private conversations. It also should not include any prewar writings, setting the earliest dates of publication available for this list at 1937, 1939 and 1941, depending on geographic context.
