Description

This colourful and well-designed pictorial map shows the itinerary of march of detachment of the Wehrmacht in advance and during Germany’s ‘Blitzkrieg’ invasion of France and Belgium, during which the Germans mowed down all opposition with amazing ease, in what was one of the most shocking events of the entire war.  While the invasion was actually a tragic scene (especially for the French, Belgians and their civilian populations), the present map, made by a ‘Lt. Beck’, portrays the event as something closer to a vacation, illustrated with brightly-coloured and even humorous vignettes.

The map shows the 1,587 km-long itinerary of the particular German army detachment, from its commencement, near Bonn, on September 1, 1939, then winding down through Belgium and France all the way to Arcachon, on the Bay of Biscay coast, concluding on July 22, 1940.

In the box in the lower right, the itinerary is divided into various chronological stages, being: ‘Die Bereitschaft’ (The Standby, September 1, 1939 to May 5, 1940); ‘Der Marsch’ (The March, May 10 to May 18, 1940); ‘Der Kampf’ (May 19 to June 7, 1940); and ‘Die Wacht’ (June 26 to July 7, 1940).

In the ‘Zeichenerklärung’ (Explanation of Symbols) below, the various signs used on the map are described, including: the Route of March; Distance Readings in kilometres; International Boundaries; the ‘Demarcation Line’ (between ‘direct Nazi-controlled’ and ‘Vichy’ France); Watch Points; Artillery Positions; Places of Accommodation; and Watercourses (rivers).

The large box in the upper left features the verses of Lt. Beck’s detachment’s ‘marching song’, an over-happy celebration of Germany’s triumph over France and England.

The present map was likely printed by an army or local press in France, in July or August 1940, as souvenir for the members of the army detachment.  Perhaps not surprisingly, it seems to be unrecorded, as it would have been made in only a very small number of examples and, as a wartime ephemeral workm would have had a low survival rate.

Blitzkrieg: From Shock and Awe to Overconfidence

The Third Reich’s stunning success during the first two years of the World War II was largely due to their successful prosecution of Blitzkrieg (‘Lightning War’), by which massive forces of tanks and armoured vehicles moved with great speed and precision to ruthlessly take out enemy target, after enemy target  before the opposition had time to respond, with the goal of overwhelming entire countries, or at least large coherent theatres.  This merciless form of war relied upon a nearly perfect marshalling and distribution of resources, with a particular emphasis on oil distribution, as well as the ability to rapidly repair vehicles in the field.  All activities of the army had to be perfectly choreographed, and any mistakes in organization or delays in one place could cause ripple effects that could upset an entire campaign.  Due to its extreme discipline and immense resources, the Wehrmacht was perfectly suited to Blitzkrieg, at least until Germany over-extended itself on the frozen plains of Russia.

On the eve of World War II, the Third Reich had developed the world’s greatest military-industrial complex.  While the rest of the world slumbered in the Great Depression, Germany’s massive civilian industrial conglomerates retooled their expertise for military applications in a ‘corporatist’ union with the new Nazi state.  All of Germany’s private and public industrial resources were placed under the administrative umbrella of the Organisation Todt (OT), which became the world’s largest manufacturing, construction and logistics enterprise.  Initially, the OT could rely upon 1.75 million conscripted German labourers (who served in lieu of military service), but during wartime the OT enslaved over a million people in occupied territories and in concentration camps, often in barbarously cruel conditions.

The OT geared the production and distribution of their martial resources towards supporting Blitztkrieg operations.  That the Nazis were able to complete their invasion of France and the Low Countries in only 46 days (from May 10 to June 25, 1940) was in large part due to OT’s amazing efficiency (as well as their brutal exploitation of slave labour) in supporting a mechanized, rapidly moving army.

However, it could be argued that Germany’s success in France ultimately proved to be pyrrhic, as it made Hitler and many of his key lieutenants extraordinarily over-confident (although many of the top German generals were more cautious, but they were overruled!).

This sense of giddy triumphalism (sentiments perfectly captured by the present map!) led Germany to mount a ‘Blitzkrieg’ invasion of the Soviet Union starting in June 1941, that proved far too ambitious, morphing into the greatest military disaster in world history, guaranteeing the fall of the Third Reich.

References: N / A – Map seemingly unrecorded.