70 years later, Blitzkrieg still military model
HOUX, Belgium - Soon after nightfall on May 12, 1940, German scouts crept through war-torn countryside along the Meuse River, passing blown bridges and searching for a crossing to the western bank.
Suddenly they spotted an undamaged weir, moved quietly across the river and quickly established a bridgehead, unnoticed by French defenders nearby. The crossing that night 70 years ago Wednesday, the pivotal moment in one of the most important battles in modern history, gave rise to the doctrine of the "lightning war" - or Blitzkrieg - which many armies have since sought to emulate and even today holds relevance for campaigns in Afghanistan and elsewhere.
"Since 1940 the Blitzkrieg has been the benchmark of maneuver warfare," said Lloyd Clark, senior lecturer of war studies at Britain's Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst. "The Germans brought it to a pitch of excellence, and since then everyone's been trying to copy them."
