A fascinating study of the devastating new form of warfare that redrew the map of Europe in the opening year of World War II, bringing about the military collapse and capitulation of seven modern industrialized nations.On 1 September 1939, Nazi Germany launched the invasion of Poland, employing a new type of offensive warfare: Blitzkrieg. So named by Allied observers because of the shock and rapidity of its effects, this new approach was based on speed, manoeuvrability and concentration of firepower. The strategy saw startling success as the panzer divisions, supported by Stuka dive-bombers, spread terror and mayhem, reaching Warsaw in just one week. Aided by the intervention of the Soviet Union in the east, the campaign was over in a mere 36 days.This astonishing feat was followed by Operation Weser-bung, the invasion of Denmark and then Norway in 1940, the first joint air-sea-land campaign in the history of warfare. Even
