It’s a German word for a battle tactic in WW2. The first part of the word means “lightning” and it refers to a plan that involved moving one’s forces in a sudden surprise attack ("And then Robin and everyone swung from the trees in a sudden surprise attack. And they captured the Sherriff and all of his goods and they carried him off to their camp in the woods and the Sheriff was guest at their dinner and all but he wiggled away and he sounded the call and his men rushed in and the arrows flew! – Adolf Hitler did sort of that kind of thing, too …)
Anyhow, it comes from the second world war, related to aerial bombing of land targets, not strictly military targets, like bases, but civilian and factories
“Blitzkreig” is a German word for, literally, “Lightning war”, and refers to a combat style used by the Germans in WWII based on high mobility and rapid taking of territory before defenders are able to effectively respond.
Battle tactics employed by the Germans in WWII to avoid the long battle of attrition of WWI. General Dwight D. Eisenhower worked out that it’s defeat was built into its success.
Wait, what? I’ve never heard of anyone referring to the blitz (as in the American football defensive maneuver) as “blitzkrieg”. As far as I can tell it has always just been the blitz.
Not really that up on history, but Blitzkrieg sounds German so I’ll guess it had something to do with WWII. I had the impression it was some kind of massive overpowering onslaught, possibly by air bombs.
The word is German in origin.
It means “lighting war”.
It refers to the German Armed forces using Air, Armor and Infantry together in carefully coordinated plans to gain territory quickly.