ABSTRACT
During the first two years of war, Germany won a series of victories on the continent of Europe that staggered the world and made the Wehrmacht appear invincible. Apprehensive at the outset, the German people were intoxicated by military success; all that Hitler had done appeared justified. The nightmare that the experiences of the First World War would be repeated seemed for the Germans no more than a bad dream in 1940. Europe learned the reality of the Blitzkrieg. The Wehrmacht used the tactics of speedy penetration by tanks, followed by mechanised infantry and then more slowly by infantry on foot, supported closely by the Luftwaffe; towns were subjected to indiscriminate bombing, and the terrorised populations jammed the roads to escape the advancing Germans. The Blitzkrieg required careful planning, a well-coordinated command structure and highly disciplined, wellequipped troops. The armed forces, from the most senior officers to the newest conscripts, served Hitler’s cause, which they identified with Germany’s, with efficiency and the utmost devotion. The home front supplied the means. It was their war, too, though Hitler’s lightning wars did not require the entire mobilisation of the home front as in Britain. Women were not conscripted and luxury items continued to be produced to keep the Germans happy. Military victory alone made possible the horrors that Hitler’s regime inflicted on the millions of people who fell into Germany’s grasp.
