The second, which culminated in World War I, was driven by massed firepower, and is expressed in the saying, reportedly coined at the Battle of Verdun in 1916, “artillery conquers, infantry occupies.” And the third generation – perfected by Germany with the “blitzkrieg” method employed in World War II – emphasized maneuver over force, with militaries using infiltration to bypass the enemy and collapse its force from the rear, rather than attacking frontally.
第一代现代战争由大规模军队交战的战斗组成，采用拿破仑时期的方阵。第二代现代战争在一战时发展到顶峰，由大规模火力推动，用起源于1916年凡尔登战役的说法说，就是“大炮征服，步兵占领”。第三代现代战争——以德国在二战时期所使用的“闪击战”方法为巅峰——更强调机动而不是武力，军队通过渗透绕过敌军，从敌军背后发起进攻瓦解他们，而不是正面对碰。