rapid encirclement tactics to capture enemy combatants and civilians, alike
send the captured souls to work camps to engage in slave labor to further fuel the war machine and extend supply lines deeper into enemy territory

one particular nazi blitz was so intense, it is merely known as "the blitz". this particular action was part of the battle of brittain and lasted the entire war with the nazis developing new forms of weapons such as cruise missiles and ballistic missiles to assault women, children, and pets.

saying Ukraine is engaging in blitz tactics, as this headline does, is feeding russia's ridiculous de-nazification narrative. it also ignores the operational reality of who in this war has been employing blitz tactics and counter blitz tactics. russia is engaged in a war of imperial genocide that reflects the nazis' war aims very closely both in terms of ideological justification and tactics, where as Ukraine is engaged in a war of anti-colonial survival that doesn't look exactly like the battle of brittain due to Ukraine's lack of overseas colonies, but frankly has more in common with Ireland's Troubles, Cambodia and Laos struggles for independence, or Chinese resistance to the invading forces of imperial Japan.

[–] pelya@lemmy.world 23 points 3 days ago (1 children)

The word 'blitz' nowadays is used to describe an offensive tactics when you capture as much ground as possible when the enemy is unprepared. I would use the word 'blitzkrieg' to refer to the historic tactics used by WW2 Germany.

But anyway, it's not very fitting for drones, because they are not capturing any territory.

[–] supersquirrel@sopuli.xyz 4 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

But anyway, it's not very fitting for drones, because they are not capturing any territory.

Agreed, the entire aim of a Blitz or Blitzkrieg is territorial capture and encirclement of large portions of the enemy that can be isolated and forced to surrender rather than having to smash the enemy to bits piece by piece in a way that grinds down and degrades friendly forces.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blitzkrieg

This is complicated by the fact that people will often use the word "Blitz" in English in much more general contexts to imply a process done in a coordinated, surprise, overwhelming action, so this use of the word "Blitz" is kind of between a more precise and more general usage in an awkward spot for journalists.

It gets even more headache inducing when you keep reading about the history of the word lol (from the wikipedia article)

Despite being common in German and English-language journalism during World War II, the word Blitzkrieg was never used as an official military term by the Wehrmacht, except for propaganda, and it was never officially adopted as a concept or doctrine.[8][b] According to David Reynolds, "Hitler himself called the term Blitzkrieg 'a completely idiotic word' (ein ganz blödsinniges Wort)".[10] Some senior German officers, including Kurt Student, Franz Halder, and Johann Adolf von Kielmansegg, even disputed the idea that it was a military concept. Kielmansegg asserted that what many regarded as blitzkrieg was nothing more than "ad hoc solutions that simply popped out of the prevailing situation". Kurt Student described it as ideas that "naturally emerged from the existing circumstances" as a response to operational challenges.[11]