[Ads-l] Further Antedatings of "Blitzkrieg"

Shapiro, Fred fred.shapiro at YALE.EDU
Thu Mar 26 16:14:35 UTC 2015


blitzkrieg (OED 1939)



1938 H. V. Kaltenborn in _Escanaba (Mich.) Daily Press_ 3 May 8/1 (Newspapers.com)  The German General Staff is planning the Blitzkrieg  -- the only kind of war in which she would have a chance of success.  This means that she will strike instantly and without any such formality as a declaration of war.



1938 H. V. Kaltenborn in _Brooklyn Daily Eagle_ 21 July 13/1 (Newspapers.com)  She [Germany] is putting Europe on warning that at least one country is ready for the only kind of war in which the victor power could gain something worth while.  This is the Blitzkrieg, the lightning-like war, in which every military arm strikes at the enemy's vital nerve centers without so much as a declaration of war with the idea of paralyzing his offensive power within the first 48 hours of hostilities.

Fred Shapiro

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org



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