[blits-kreeg] 
| blitz (defs. 1, 2, 5). |
| blitz·krieg (blĭts'krēg') n. A swift, sudden military offensive, usually by combined air and mobile land forces. [German : Blitz, lightning (from Middle High German blitze, from bliczen, to flash, from Old High German blekkazzen; see bhel-1 in Indo-European roots) + Krieg, war (from Middle High German kriec, from Old High German krēg, stubbornness; see gwerə-1 in Indo-European roots).] |
A form of warfare used by German forces in World War II. In a blitzkrieg, troops in vehicles, such as tanks, made quick surprise strikes with support from airplanes. These tactics resulted in the swift German conquest of France in 1940 (see fall of France). Blitzkrieg is German for “lightning war.”
