US military intelligence assessment of German mobile warfare tactics 1936 - Blitzkrieg 1.0, Guderian

Episode 130

This 1936 German training film called Schnelle Truppen shows prewar German tactics of using mobile military units in combat. This particular version is historically interesting because it was acquired by US military intelligence and an English assessment of the tactics have been added.

The smug use of humor likely means that war with Germany had already been declared and so the the assessment of the film was at least 5 years out of date. It would not be until Feb of 1943 when the Americans were first defeated by a German Panzer Division at Kasserine Pass that they would begin to understand the effective use of armor. Enjoy the assessment and the film.