Blitzkrieg. Explains how Germany's Blitzkrieg came to be the most dominating force in WWII and the history of tanks in Germany

Essay by Buckeye00830High School, 10th gradeA+, March 2006

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During World War II, Germany was the most powerful nation in the world. In a matter of days, Germany destroyed the Polish army. Later, they disposed of France and came within twenty-two miles of Britain. Without the interference of the United States, Germany may have conquered all of Europe. How did they do it? How did a nation who wasn't even supposed to have a standing army after the Treaty of Versaille manage to take over so much land?

The answer starts in Britain, 1919. Colonel John Fuller was the chief of staff of the British Tank Corps. He was disappointed by the lack of tanks used during the Great War. Not only that, but we didn't like how they were used. So he started on a plan to utilize tanks, in a combination with strong, mobile artillery support. He published his ideas in his book Reformations of War in 1923, and later in Foundation of the Science of War in 1926.

So what? Fuller has some new idea for tanks. Who cares? Obviously not Great Britain. John Fuller's ideas were ignored by the British army, but they caught the interest of German officials. In fact, in 1926, leaders of the German army asked the government to commission the production of new tanks that would enable them to use this tactic they called Blitzkrieg in any future conflicts.

Here's where Germany hit a snag. According to the Treaty of Versaille, Germany could not develop new weapons of war. In fact, they were only allowed an army of 100,000 soldiers, and no conscription, no tanks, no heavy artillery, no poison-gas supplies, no aircraft and no airships. But Germany was determined to get around this. These experimental new tanks were called tractors. The Light Tractor weighed ten tons and carried a...