The German military was now embarked on the accelerated construction of a gigantic force, of which a significant element was explicitly intended for mobile, offensive operations. But we must clearly set aside any idea that the armaments effort of the Third Reich was carefully tailored towards the construction of a motorized ‘Blitzkrieg’ juggernaut. In quantitative terms the German army’s expansion undoubtedly set new standards. But in qualitative terms, even in its moments of most florid fantasy, the German army remained rooted in a society characterized by very uneven development.
