(September 11, 2015 at 10:22 am)abaris Wrote: Where do you get that from? Yes, soldiers were on amphetamins because they had to stay awake and alert for a very long time. But the Blitzkrieg was mainly a result of a whole new tactic. Combining armored units, infantery and air force into one strike force was an entirely new concept the allies couldn't cope with at the start of the war. That's the lesson the German strategists, mainly people like Guderian, took from WWI. There are also small logistic details involved that contributed a lot to the initial success. Such as the German tanks being fueled up on the fly or that the german armored units were fully equipped with radios whereas the French still used flag signals.
I'm getting a lot of my info from back in the day when The History Channel used to actually do history stuff, so take that for what it is. What I meant by amphetamines being a strong contributor is that they provide focus and energy that allows a person to work at peak performance. Sure, the majority of why the Blitzkrieg was successful is due to their military tactics and technology, but at the heart of their military strikes, are the amphetamines flowing through their veins of their soldiers. It would make any soldier formidable, short-term that is.
That kind of thing has been accepted knowledge for a while, as far as I know.
Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver after the cozy indoor warmth of traditional humanizing myths, in the end the fresh air brings vigor, and the great spaces have a splendor of their own - Bertrand Russell
