Överraskning, den gyllene vägen till framgång? : en fallstudie av andra slaget vid EL Alamein och stormningen av fortet Eben Emael

Sammanfattning: The concept of surprise is as old as warfare itself. All battlefield commanders want to defeat their foe with the smallest number of lost lives and expenditure of resources. This study will analyse what factors are necessary to achieve surprise and what the effect of that surprise can be. This study will apply Jim Storr’s theory of surprise against two different cases where surprise can be found. The first case is when the German forces stormed the fortress of Eben Emael during the Second World War where a small force of 86 paratroopers successfully managed to defeat a garrison of about 1000 men. The second case is the second battle of El Alamein where the British 8th army beat Rommel and his Das Afrika Korps. The aim of the study is to see how surprise was achieved and what the effect of the surprise was in the two cases according to Jim Storrs theory of surprise. The result of the study indicates that there are some explanatory powers to these cases with Jim Storr’s theory of surprise. In the case of Eben Emael it is quite significant and in the case of El Alamein it is somewhat limited.