Military Power

I was watching a Modern Marvels documentary about Panzers on the History Channel the other day, and they talked about the origins of Blitzkrieg.

According to the History Channel, the biggest influence into the notion of Blitzkrieg was made by Heinz Guderian (who I believe was Chief of Staff of the Army at that time, correct me if I am wrong). His idea, to paraphrase what I remember from the documentary, was to group all the tanks and armored vehicles in front, and put artillery and infantry in the back, and using ground attack aircraft in the support role.

This didn't set well with other Commanders at the time, who believed the tank was only meant to support infantry and should be scattered across the battlefield to allow a greater area of coverage.

During the invasion of France, this theory was put to the test. The Germans quickly overwhelmed the French, who had (at that time) tanks that were superior and more powerful than what was (currently) in the German arsenal (keep in mind the Germans were currently using the Panzer II and the Panzer III at this time, they would go on later to make much better tanks). the French, despite having the more powerful tanks, were to spread out to repel the quick and concentrated onslaught of the Germans and were soon overran.

This is according to the history channel.

I would surmise the best counterattack to the blitzkrieg strategy would be either concentrated artillery fire or a massive air strike; since area affect weaponry tends to be effective against armored columns and tightly grouped targets.

I encourage anyone to research this for themselves, and would appreciate any factual corrections if needed.
Anyone have anything to add? Comments? Stories? Ideas?

Maximus the Destroyer wrote: The Germans quickly overwhelmed the French, who had (at that time) tanks that were superior and more powerful than what was (currently) in the German arsenal (keep in mind the Germans were currently using the Panzer II and the Panzer III at this time, they would go on later to make much better tanks).

Actually there were very few PzKfw III available in the spring of 1940. The bulk of the German Panzer strength being equipped with either the PzKfw II or the Czech built PzKfw 35 (t) or PzKfw 38(t), backed up with the heavier PzKfw IVD in the Heavy Tank Companies. It would not be until the 1941 campaign season that the PzKfw III would be encountered in significant numbers on the battlefield.

Correct. The Blitzkreig or "lightning war" was intended for use in situations where a quick breach of the enemy lines was imperative. The armored vehicles punch through quickly and then the infantry and artillery follow through. It provided a tactical advantage by 1)-Concentrating available firepower and 2)-Providing a flanking opportunity. As for a counterattack, the two best strategies are the one you mentioned and then a strategic retreat to a bottleneck where the defending forces can target the lead units, forcing the enemies to either retreat, find a way around the destroyed units, or perish.