PANZER COMMANDER HERMANN BALCK - GERMANY'S MASTER TACTICIAN

摘要

Students of Second World War history - particularly of the Eastern Front - often list Hermann Balck as one of the greatest and simultaneously least known German armoured force commanders of the entire conflict. Names such as Manstein and Guderian come fairly quickly to mind, but the equally effective Balck - some might say even more so -remains a relatively obscure figure. His skill as a commander became broadly apparent during the May 1940 invasion of France and the Low Countries, during which numerically superior and better-equipped French and British forces were crushed within weeks. Balck had a decisive leadership style that saw him at the front line - even during heavy combat - using radios for communication while his opposing commanders were often at a distance relying on outmoded and vulnerable field telephones to stay in touch. In today's terminology, Balck always strived to have situational awareness and information superiority, even when this placed him physically at great risk.