The "Wehrmacht" formed the heart of Germany's politico-military power. In the early part of the Second World War, the "Wehrmacht" employed combined arms tactics (close-cover air-support, tanks, and infantry) to devastating effect in what became known as "Blitzkrieg" (lightning war). Its campaigns in France (1940), the Soviet Union (1941), and &lt;a href="North%20African%20Campaign"&gt;North Africa (1941/42)&lt;/a&gt; are regarded by historians as acts of boldness. At the same time, the far-flung advances strained the "Wehrmacht's" capacity to the breaking point, culminating in its first major defeat in the Battle of Moscow (1941); by late 1942, Germany was losing the initiative in all theatres. The German operational art proved no match to the war-making abilities of the Allied coalition, making the "Wehrmacht's" weaknesses in strategy, doctrine, and logistics readily apparent.