[MAGNA]

Good question. Elastic defence also requires good communication between various arms (radio again) and a clear understanding of doctrine. In other words, similar capabilities to Blitzkreig itself. Maybe one goes hand in hand with the other.

Another aspect of all this is unit independence through training and the allowance for local decision making. As I understand it, the Wermacht was trained in this way down to squad or section level so that even a non commissioned officer could take command of larger units where necessary.

The other thing that made a difference was the squad or section itself. Most tactics involved these units being dependant on each other at platoon level and commanded from further up. They required support at company level as far as reasonable firepower was concerned. Enter the MG 34. The section itself now had the necessary firepower which also happened to be an actual part of the section itself. A big shift as each section became far more capable by itself. My training in the reserves centered around this doctrine where the section's main aim was to get the gun into a position where it could dominate (M60 in this case but not much different if at all). This was a big change from the First World War expectations of many armies which did not have such a mobile and devastating infantry weapon.