Page "Blitzkrieg" Paragraph 89

There is the argument that the Heer ( the German army ) itself was not ready for blitzkrieg at the start of the war.

The blitzkrieg method called for a young, highly skilled mechanised army.

In 1939 – 40, 45 percent of the army was 40 years old, and 50 percent of all the soldiers had just a few weeks training.

The German Army, contrary to what the blitzkrieg legend suggests, was not fully motorised.

The German Army could muster only 120, 000 vehicles compared to the 300, 000 of the French Army.

The British also had an " enviable " contingent of motorised forces.

Thus, " the image of the German ' Blitzkrieg ' army is a figment of propaganda imagination ".

During the First World War the German army used horses for logistics, 1. 4 million of them, in the 1939 – 45 war it used 2. 7 million horses.

Moreover just 10 percent of the Army was motorised in 1940.