During the years preceding World War II, Opel was Germany’s largest truck producer. The Blitz name, coined in a prize competition, was first applied to the new Opel truck presented in November 1930.[1] As part of the Nazi economy and the German re-armament efforts, the authorities ordered the construction of the Opelwerk Brandenburg facilities in 1935, and through 1944 more than 130,000 Blitz trucks and chassis were produced.
The word “Blitz” is intimately connected with the idea of using a truck to conduct rapid maneuver warfare in such a way that nullified brutally inefficient WW1 tactics and their ignorance of what the truck (and also honestly, horse) could do to the calculus of war. I agree though, “Blitz” still potentially carries Nazi and fascist undertones/context.
I am fine with using a different word than “Blitz”, but what should we use? “Armored maneuver warfare” doesn’t cover it because the Blitz is about the truck before even the armored vehicle even though armored vehicle rushes are what people mainly think of.
“Mechanized Warfare” is a good one? It points to tools not tactics though which misses a critical aspect.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opel_Blitz
an Opel Blitz
The word “Blitz” is intimately connected with the idea of using a truck to conduct rapid maneuver warfare in such a way that nullified brutally inefficient WW1 tactics and their ignorance of what the truck (and also honestly, horse) could do to the calculus of war. I agree though, “Blitz” still potentially carries Nazi and fascist undertones/context.
I am fine with using a different word than “Blitz”, but what should we use? “Armored maneuver warfare” doesn’t cover it because the Blitz is about the truck before even the armored vehicle even though armored vehicle rushes are what people mainly think of.
“Mechanized Warfare” is a good one? It points to tools not tactics though which misses a critical aspect.