: Rebounding from the 1941 winter disaster, German forces secured massive victories at Sevastopol and Kharkov, encircling entire Soviet armies.
: The traditional Auftragstaktik (mission-type tactics)—which allowed subordinate commanders great flexibility—was strangled by Hitler's increasing micromanagement and the rise of radio communication, which gave high command a "tight leash" on tactical movements.
Despite these wins, Citino identifies several fatal flaws that led to the "death" of the Wehrmacht as an effective fighting force: Death of the Wehrmacht :The German Campaigns of...
: Germany’s military was built for short, decisive "wars of movement." In 1942, they were forced into a war of attrition against the "industrial machines" of the US, UK, and USSR—a battle they simply could not win. Death of the Wehrmacht: The German Campaigns of 1942
The year began with a series of staggering, yet deceptive, German successes. Citino reconstructs these campaigns to show how the Wehrmacht still possessed lethal operational excellence: : Rebounding from the 1941 winter disaster, German
In his seminal work, Death of the Wehrmacht: The German Campaigns of 1942 , historian Robert M. Citino argues that the year 1942 was not just a turning point in World War II, but the final gasp of a centuries-old "German way of war". While 1941’s failure at Moscow hinted at the end, 1942 was when the traditional Prussian tactics of maneuver ( Bewegungskrieg ) finally collapsed under the weight of modern industrial warfare. The Illusion of Victory
: By 1942, Germany lacked the resources to launch offensives across the entire Eastern Front. They narrowed their focus to the southern sector (Operation Blue) to seize oil and grain, but even this limited goal proved too vast. Death of the Wehrmacht: The German Campaigns of
: General Erwin Rommel’s "reckless" drive captured Tobruk and Gazala, pushing deep into Egypt. The Structural Collapse