Heinz Guderian

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Guderian (credit: Ullstein Bilderdienst)

(born June 17, 1888, Kulm, Ger. — died May 14, 1954, Schwangau bei Füssen, W.Ger.) German general and tank expert. His book Attention! Tanks! (1937) incorporated theories by the British general J.F.C. Fuller and by Charles de Gaulle. As a principal architect of armoured warfare and the blitzkrieg, he contributed decisively to Germany's victories early in World War II in Poland, France, and the Soviet Union. In 1943, as inspector general of armoured troops, he simplified and accelerated tank production. After the July Plot against Adolf Hitler, he became acting chief of staff (1944 – 45).

For more information on Heinz Wilhelm Guderian, visit Britannica.com.

Guderian, Col-Gen Heinz Wilhelm (1888-1954). Guderian was born at Kulm in Prussia, son of an army officer. Although he was commissioned into the infantry in 1908, he took an early interest in the wireless, and in 1914 he went to war in France commanding the signals detachment of a cavalry division. An outburst of wrath (its astonished victim the divisional commander) saw him posted to HQ Fourth Army as assistant signals officer. He had begun a staff course before the war, and completed his studies during it, being posted to the general staff in February 1918.

After the war, after serving as COS to the ‘Iron Division’ of the Freikorps in the Baltic states, he was tasked with investigating mechanization to get around the Treaty of Versailles ban on tanks in the Reichswehr. He read about British experiments in armoured warfare, visited the USSR, and in 1929 experimented with mock-up vehicles, but even after Hitler came to power he had to work hard to persuade the Wehrmacht to see tanks as its ‘principal weapon … supplied with fully motorised supporting arms … permanently attached’. In 1935 he gained approval for the formation of the first three panzer divisions, and in 1937 he published Achtung! Panzer! which encapsulated his ideas on armoured warfare. These were neither wholly original nor part of a comprehensive official doctrine, but they fitted in with the Nazis' fascination with the tough and the radical. Guderian's theories embodied some of the characteristics of the manoeuvre warfare of a later generation. He argued that the panzer division should be used in ‘short well timed operations launched by brief orders. The principle of surprise [is essential] in order to avoid or avert enemy defensive action.’

Guderian commanded one of the first panzer divisions, and in 1939 led a corps of one panzer and two motorized infantry divisions into Poland. His was a bravura performance: he led from the front, overcoming the doubts of his subordinates to earn the nickname ‘Hurrying Heinz’. When Hitler, viewing the battlefield, asked whether the Luftwaffe had been responsible for some destroyed guns, Guderian replied: ‘No! Our panzers.’ In late 1939 he argued that the controversial Manstein plan was indeed feasible, and in May 1940 his panzer corps struck the campaign's decisive blow, crossing the Meuse at Sedan. During the advance he led with characteristic verve and, no less characteristically, had a spectacular row with Kluge, his immediate superior. For the second phase of the campaign he commanded a two-corps Panzergruppe and was promoted colonel-general at its end.

When he heard of plans for the invasion of the USSR, Guderian sent his COS to protest. Guderian commanded a three-corps Panzergruppe during the invasion, but he forfeited the support of CGS Halder when he failed to press Hitler to make Moscow, rather than the Ukraine, the campaign's principal objective. His group was approaching Moscow when it was sharply counter-attacked. Guderian demanded freedom of action, again clashed with Kluge, and was dismissed on Christmas Day 1941.

Recalled to service as inspector general of armoured troops in February 1943, Guderian had the right of direct access to Hitler, and did his best to develop and train the panzer arm but he was unable to prevent serious mishandling of armoured forces. He declined to support the July 1944 bomb plot, arguing that his honour as an officer forbade it. His honour did not prevent him issuing an order that all soldiers should regard themselves as Nazis when he was subsequently appointed CGS. No flunky, Guderian argued frequently with Hitler and in March 1945, after yet another quarrel, he was sent on leave, to surrender to the Americans on 10 May.

Guderian was not simply a notable theorist and organizer but a hard-driving armoured commander of rare talent: the Meuse crossing, a remarkable achievement, owed much to him. Yet he was headstrong and irascible, admired rather than liked, and, like so many German officers of the time, torn between the professional excitement of the wars Hitler declared and the cost to his honour and his country of serving him.

Bibliography

• Guderian, Heinz, Panzer Leader (London, 1953).
• Macksey, Kenneth, Guderian: Panzer General (London, 1975)

— Richard Holmes

General Heinz Guderian (1888-1953) is responsible for developing the concept of "blitzkrieg", or fast-moving mechanized warfare, which propelled the German army to early victories in World War II.

Apassionate military leader and strategist, Heinz Wilhelm Guderian revolutionized modern warfare by using tanks and air power to gain rapid victories. Unlike military theorists who merely hypothesized, Guderian saw his vision become a reality, as the Panzer divisions were developed within the German army. Sanctioned by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, the blitzkrieg led to stunning victories across Europe, which allowed Germany to control the continent for most of World War II. The Panzer forces were instrumental in Russia and North Africa as well.

A Born General

Guderian was born on June 7, 1888 in Kulm, Prussia. His close-knit family had roots in the military. His father, Friedrich, had been a colonel in the legendary Prussian army. Guderian attended the Principal Cadet School at Gross-Lichterfelde in Berlin. He was an ambitious and charming student, but determined and serious-minded as well.

In 1907, Guderian was sent to join the Tenth Battalion as a light infantry officer under his father's command. As a young officer, he had time to indulge in things he enjoyed, like riding horses, hunting, and architecture. He also learned a great deal under the tutelage of his father. A stern leader, Friedrich Guderian was both loved and feared by his troops and his family.

In 1909, Guderian's division was transferred to Goslar in the Harz Mountains. In one of the most scenic parts of Germany, he met and fell in love with Margarete Goerne, who he called Gretel. She was later called the perfect soldier's wife - cool and sensible - and able to console her husband during fits of anger. She shared his ambition and believed he had a great destiny. They married in 1913.

Prepared for War

In order to broaden his technical training, Guderian transferred to the Third Telegraph Battalion in 1912 to become a specialist in the new radio-signal equipment. Over the course of the next decade, the ambitious young man pushed himself hard. Soon, he learned both French and English and studied military tactics and theory.

Guderian's diligence paid off when he was chosen as the youngest of 168 officers to attend a three-year program at the War Academy in Berlin. Already gathering a reputation for moving fast, Guderian earned the nickname Schnelle Heinz (Quick Heinz). He liked to quote a saying by military leader Helmuth von Moltke: "First reckon, then risk," which summed up his thinking. Always the student, Guderian would study a situation intently and then strike at a moment's notice.

Guderian's study of military history and strategy was interrupted by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria at Sarajevo and the outbreak of World War I. Guderian joined the wireless staff, a difficult post, because the new technology did not have the support of those directing the war effort. Although an arduous task, Guderian's work in the communications division allowed him to witness almost every front where real fighting took place. The carnage he viewed was instrumental in developing his thoughts on mechanized warfare, which would protect the infantrymen and provide for quick victory.

In the later stages of the First World War, Guderian served as an intelligence officer. Then, in February, 1918, he became a General Staff officer. Guderian's next post was as a staff officer on the Eastern Frontier Protection Service, a group of volunteers combating the Bolsheviks and Poles on the Eastern Front. The battles were fierce and ruthless. The Germans believed they were preserving their sovereignty, while the Communists fought for worldwide revolution.

Blitzkrieg Theory Became Reality

When the war ended, Germany was permitted to train a small army for its national defense. After returning from the Baltics, Guderian served in a series of educational posts, teaching tactics and military history. It was during the ensuing years that he would digest the works on mechanized warfare of British theorist J.F.C. Fuller and interview German tank survivors. He began publishing articles in military journals at a prodigious rate and won a reputation for clear thinking on controversial matters.

Although he antagonized some older members of the German General Staff, Guderian became a catalyst for developing a Panzer division. Between the wars, German officers visited Swedish tank units, trained in secret bases in Russia, and studied all available foreign material about tanks. They formalized plans for armored warfare by 1929, but due to infighting and politics, the theories did not become a reality until 1934.

Guderian's ideas regarding mechanized forces were not based solely on tanks and air power, but were a balanced force of all arms equipped to run as a team. Using his background in wireless communications, Guderian realized the importance of radio for communicating between divisions and as they moved rapidly into enemy territory. As Guderian developed his military theories, Germany experienced political upheaval that would change the world. Hitler's rise touched off a renewed sense of power and national dignity for the German people and its military. Many young staff officers were drawn to the Nazi Party. Although Guderian was ardently anti-Communist, he was politically ambivalent. Patriotism was his principal political affiliation.

Slowly, Guderian's dream of a Panzertruppe came to fruition. In 1934, he was named the division's chief of staff. Three Panzer divisions were created, but without tanks since equipment, officers, and trained men were in short supply. By 1936, when Hitler aggressively pushed Germany toward war, the Panzer divisions were still lacking the firepower Guderian recommended. In his propaganda campaign, Hitler coined the term blitzkrieg, or the "lightning stroke" that would overwhelm a country by land and air.

To generate public support for the blitzkrieg, Guderian wrote Achtung! Panzer! The impact was incredible. The book became a military bestseller and essential reading for military leaders. In the book, Guderian summed up German military thinking, "Deeds are more important than words. The goddess of battle will crown only the most daring with laurels."

World War II

Hitler recognized Guderian's potential and promoted him quickly. By November, 1938, he was named general of Panzer troops. Germany prepared for war and Hitler launched an attack on Poland in 1939. Guderian put his theories into practice as he commanded a Panzer corps in the assault. After securing the Eastern Front, Hitler set his sights on the West.

In 1940, Guderian led a larger Panzer division through the Ardennes and across Northern France. The blitzkrieg worked to perfection. The German advance pushed through France and forced the British to evacuate at Dunkirk. Success on the Western Front, which the entire German army could not accomplish in all the years of World War I, made Guderian a national hero. His theories were vindicated.

When Hitler began planning an invasion of Russia, Guderian was outraged. He openly questioned the Nazi leader's plans. However, he soon acquiesced and led one of the four Panzer corps into Russia (later named the Second Panzer Army). In less than two months, Guderian won a number of important victories at Minsk and Smolensk and carried the battle to within 200 miles of Moscow.

German efforts in Russia soon fell apart. Political wrangling among German military leaders and ineffective supply lines caused dissension and chaos. When Guderian learned that Hitler intended to transfer his division to the South, he confronted the Nazi leader. Guderian felt the move would cost Germany the chance at total victory. Hitler, using his powers of persuasion, preyed on Guderian's Prussian discipline and loyalty and convinced him to back the move.

The move to the South was initially successful and Guderian played a major role in the victory at Kiev. Turning North once again, with weary soldiers and worn-out vehicles, he joined the delayed drive toward Moscow. Guderian's most explicit insurrection occurred when he defied Hitler's order to stand-fast during the harsh Russian winter. Guderian proved that a gradual retreat would work. Looking out for his men, he moved his troops back to safer positions.

Faced Defeat

Guderian's bravado cost him his position in the German army. Along with a list of other successful military leaders, Hitler forced Guderian to retire. The Nazi leader did, however, give the Panzer commander a 2,500-acre farm in Eastern Prussia. Guderian welcomed the relief from the German propaganda machine. The inactivity did little for his health. A heart condition slowed him down and gradually worsened.

Although German prospects for victory waned, they were able to repel Russian and British offensives in the winter of 1941 and into early 1942. The Germans pushed into Stalingrad after vicious, hand-to-hand combat in the streets and nearly reached the Suez Canal. Searching for someone to bring order to the German war effort, military leaders convinced Hitler that Guderian was needed. Hitler agreed and recalled Guderian in 1943 to be inspector general of Panzer forces. Soon, the general was back in the middle of Nazi political and military infighting, including open arguments with Hitler. A pervasive doom hung over Germany.

There is evidence that Guderian knew about the July 20, 1944, assassination plot against Hitler, but he did not participate. However, Guderian also did not warn Hitler or turn in the plotters. After the coup failed, Guderian was one of the leaders Hitler counted on for support. The Nazi leader appointed Guderian to be his army chief of staff, in addition to his job as inspector of Panzer forces. Guderian's main focus was the defense of the Eastern Front. Since Hitler took a strong personal interest in the events in Russia, Guderian had to put up with frequent intrusions, even though disagreeing with Hitler could be detrimental to his own well-being. Guderian, ever the patriot, hoped to save Germany from Russian occupation.

End of the War

Guderian knew the war could not be won, but still had not resolved himself to Germany's total defeat. In March, he flagrantly opposed Hitler in meetings. Hitler had to get rid of Guderian. With Berlin surrounded, Hitler ordered him to take six weeks' sick leave. The Guderians went to Munich where he underwent treatment for his heart condition. The American forces captured Guderian on May 10, 1945.

Once captured, Guderian risked prosecution for war crimes. His reputation as the designer of the blitzkrieg made him a favorite for interrogation. He spoke freely of his experiences. In fact, when Guderian heard whispers that he would be turned over as a criminal, he refused to cooperate with his questioners. Most of his captivity was spent writing articles on his experiences and commenting on the German war effort. He also learned to play bridge and gardened. He was not released until his 60th birthday in June 1948.

Once released, Guderian wrote his memoir, Panzer Leader, which was translated into ten languages and became an international best-seller in 1952. Soon after its publication, Guderian's health failed. He died in Schwangau bei Fussen, Germany on May 17, 1954.

Military Leader

Like American General George S. Patton, Guderian was a fiery leader. His personal motto was "Nicht kleckern, sondern klotzen" translated as "Don't tickle them - slug them!" A gifted military leader, he excelled at training his men to fight. In Russia, where his armies were often outnumbered and he had inadequate supplies, he won victory after victory by getting his men to give more than 100 percent. Although from an aristocratic background, he sympathized with his troops and was concerned about their well-being. He fought at their side in battle like few leaders would.

A true warrior, however, Guderian was difficult to command. Both calculating and impetuous, he had little time for those who did not share his beliefs. He held grudges and was not politically adept. Fellow German officers referred to Guderian as "Hothead." Throughout his career, he alienated more conservative generals with his audacious tactics, which they considered brash and offensive. Ultimately, many of the roadblocks he faced were a result of this animosity. One of Guderian's chiefs of staff, Walther Nehring, told the general's biographer, Kenneth Macksey, "His thoughts would race ahead and sometimes he had to be pulled back, and while he was a deep thinker he was also liable to act without thinking." As a military commander, this dichotomy led to success, but in the world of politics, Guderian was less successful.

Further Reading

Elting, John R., The Superstrategists: Great Captains, Theorists, and Fighting Men Who Have Shaped the History of Warfare, Scribner's, 1985.

Fischer, Klaus P., Nazi Germany: A New History, Continuum, 1995.

Keegan, John, and Andrew Wheatcroft, Who's Who in Military History: From 1453 to the Present Day, Routledge, 1996.

Macksey, Kenneth, Guderian: Panzer General, Stackpole, 1997.

Macksey, Kenneth, Guderian: Creator of the Blitzkrieg, Stein and Day, 1975.

World War II, July 1999.

This article is about the World War II general Heinz Guderian. For his son, see Heinz Günther Guderian.

Heinz Wilhelm Guderian
17 June 1888(1888-06-17) – 14 May 1954 (aged 65)
Nickname	Schneller Heinz
Place of birth	Kulm, West Prussia
Place of death	Schwangau, Allgäu
Allegiance	German Empire (to 1918)  Weimar Republic (to 1933)  Nazi Germany
Years of service	1907 – 1945
Rank	general chief of staff
Commands held	2. Panzer Division, XVI. Army-Corps, XIX. Army-Corps, Panzergruppe Guderian and Panzergruppe 2
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes mit Eichenlaub
Relations	Heinz Günther Guderian

Heinz Wilhelm Guderian (17 June 1888 – 14 May 1954) was a military theorist and innovative General of the German Army during the Second World War. Germany's panzer forces were raised and fought according to his works, best-known among them Achtung - Panzer!. He held posts as Panzer Corps commander, Panzer Army commander, Inspector-General of Armoured Troops, and Chief of Staff of the Army (Chef des Generalstabs des Heeres). He rose to the rank of full general (General der Panzertruppe) in July 1940 and was later promoted to Generaloberst. He later also became general chief of staff.

Contents 1 Early career 2 Guderian's Blitzkrieg 3 World War II 4 Life after the war 5 See also 6 Books by Heinz Guderian 7 References 8 Further reading 9 External links

Early career

Guderian was born in Kulm (now Chelmno in Poland), East Prussia^[1]. From 1901 to 1907 Guderian attended various military schools. He entered the Army in 1907 as an ensign-cadet in the (Hanoverian) Jäger Bataillon No. 10, commanded at that point by his father, Friedrich Guderian. After attending the war academy in Metz he was made a Leutnant (full Lieutenant) in 1908. In 1911 Guderian joined the 3rd Telegraphen-Battalion (Wireless-Battalion), Prussian Army Signal Corps. In October 1913 he married Margarete Goerne with whom he had two sons, Heinz Günter (1914-2004) and Kurt (born 1918) who would both become highly decorated Wehrmacht officers during World War II (and in the case of his older son, a Panzer general in the German Bundeswehr after the war).

During the First World War he served as a Signals and General Staff officer. This allowed him to get an overall view of battlefield conditions. He often disagreed with his superiors and ended up being transferred to the army intelligence department where he remained until the end of the war. This second assignment, while removed from the battlefield, sharpened his strategic skills.

After the war, Guderian stayed in the reduced 100,000-man German Army (Reichswehr), where he was made company commander of the 10th Jäger-Battalion after which he joined the 'General Staff'-in-waiting, the Truppenamt (a German General Staff being explicitly forbidden by the Versailles Treaty). In 1927 Guderian was promoted to major and transferred to the Truppenamt group for Army transport and Overseer of motorized tactics based in Berlin. This key role put him at the centre of the development of the resources that would later come to dominate what became known as blitzkrieg. Fluent in both English and French, he gathered ideas by the British maneuver warfare theorists J.F.C. Fuller and, debatably,^[2] B.H. Liddell Hart, as well as the writings, interestingly enough, of the then-unknown Charles de Gaulle. Their works were translated into German by Guderian. In 1931 he was promoted to Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant-Colonel) and became chief of staff to the Inspectorate of Motorized Troops under Generalleutnant (Major-General) Oswald Lutz and in 1933 promoted to Oberst (Colonel). In this time he had written many papers on motorised warfare which were seen as authoritative and moving the development of this area significantly. These papers were based on extensive wargaming without troops, with paper tanks and finally with armoured vehicles. In October 1935 he was posted to the newly created 2nd Panzer Division (one of three) as commander. On 1 August 1936 he was promoted to Generalleutnant, and on 4 February 1938 he was promoted to General and given command of the XVI Army Corps.^{[citation needed]}

Achtung - Panzer! was written in 1936-37 as an explanation of Guderian's theories on the role of tanks and aircraft in modern warfare. It was actually a compilation of not only Guderian's own theories but also the ideas of other proponents of armored and combined-arms warfare within the general staff, though the bulk of the credit rightly is Guderian's.^{[citation needed]} The panzer force he created would become the core of the German Army's power during the Second World War and would deliver the core of the fighting style known as blitzkrieg. To this day, his contributions to combined arms tactics are studied throughout military schools.^{[citation needed]}

Guderian's Blitzkrieg

Heinz Guderian in the Battle of France with the 'Enigma' machine

Although initially promoted and partially implemented by the British Army, the concepts of "blitzkrieg" were not fully developed. The German army of the First World War had worked out the complexities of breaking through a front with highly concentrated resources. This technique, however, failed the Germans in their Michael offensives of March 1918, largely because the breakthrough elements were on foot and could not sustain the impetus of the initial attack. Motorized infantry was the key to sustaining a breakthrough, and this would have to wait until the 1930s to have a chance at being realized. Tukhachevsky, in Russia, can be said to have already grasped this potential, but the influence of his military philosophy in the ongoing development of the Red Army diminished after he was no longer able to advocate for it personally (he was executed by Stalin in 1937). Guderian was the first who fully developed and advocated the strategy of blitzkrieg and put it into its final shape. He summarized the tactics of blitzkrieg as the way to get the mobile and motorized armored divisions to work together and support each other in order to achieve decisive success. In his book Panzer Leader he wrote:

In this year (1929) I became convinced that tanks working on their own or in conjunction with infantry could never achieve decisive importance. My historical studies; the exercises carried out in England and our own experience with mock-ups had persuaded me that the tanks would never be able to produce their full effect until weapons on whose support they must inevitably rely were brought up to their standard of speed and of cross-country performance. In such formation of all arms, the tanks must play primary role, the other weapons being subordinated to the requirements of the armor. It would be wrong to include tanks in infantry divisions: what was needed were armored divisions which would include all the supporting arms needed to fight with full effect.^[3]

Guderian believed that certain developments in technology needed to take place in conjunction with blitzkrieg in order to support the entire theory, especially in communication and special visual equipment with which the armored divisions in general, and tanks specifically, should be equipped. Guderian insisted in 1933, within the high command, that every tank in the German armored force must be equipped with radio and visual equipment in order to enable the tank commander to communicate and perform a decisive role in blitzkrieg.^[4]

World War II

Guderian (center) and Semyon Krivoshein (right) at the joint German-Soviet parade in Brest on September 22,1939.

In the Second World War, Guderian first served as the commander of the XIX Corps in the invasion of Poland. He personally led the German forces during the Battle of Wizna testing his theory against the reality of war for the first time. After the invasion he took property in the Warthegau area of occupied Poland, evicting the Polish estate owners.^[5] In the Invasion of France, he personally led the attack that traversed the Ardennes Forest, crossed the Meuse River and broke through the French lines at Sedan. During the French campaign, he led his panzer forces in rapid blitzkrieg-style advances and earned the nickname "Schneller Heinz" (Hurrying Heinz) among his troops.^[6] Guderian's panzer group led the "race to the sea" that split the Allied armies in two, depriving the French armies and the BEF in Northern France and Belgium of their fuel, food, spare parts and ammunition. Faced with orders from nervous superiors to halt on one occasion, he managed to continue his advance by stating he was performing a 'reconnaissance in force'. Guderian's column was famously denied the chance to destroy the Allied beachhead at Dunkirk by Hitler's personal order.^{[citation needed]}

In 1941 he commanded Panzergruppe 2, better known as Panzergruppe Guderian, in Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, receiving the 24th award of the Oak Leaves to his Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 17 July of that year. From 5 October 1941 he led the redesignated Second Panzer Army. His armored spearhead captured Smolensk in a remarkably short time and was poised to launch the final assault on Moscow when he was ordered to turn south towards Kiev (see Lötzen decision).

He protested against Hitler's decision and as a result lost the Führer's confidence.^{[citation needed]} He was relieved of his command on 25 December 1941 after Fieldmarshal Günther von Kluge, not noted for his ability to face up to Hitler,^{[citation needed]} claimed that Guderian had ordered a withdrawal in contradiction of Hitler's "stand fast" order. In Panzer Leader (da Capo Press), Guderian claims he told Hitler to his face that because Moscow had not been taken by Christmas 1941, the war would be lost. Guderian was transferred to the Oberkommando des Heeres (OKH) reserve pool, his chances of being promoted to fieldmarshal, which depended on Hitler's personal decision, possibly ruined forever. Guderian would deny that he ordered any kind of withdrawal^{[citation needed]}. Ironically this act of apparent insubordination is cited by his admirers as further proof of his independence of spirit when dealing with Hitler. Guderian's own view on the matter was that he had been victimized by von Kluge who was the commanding officer when German troops came to a standstill at the Moscow front in late autumn/winter 1941. At some point he so provoked von Kluge with accusations related to his dismissal that the field marshal challenged him to a duel, which Hitler forbade.

After his dismissal Guderian and his wife retired to a 2000 acre sequestered country estate at Deipenhof in the Reichsgau Wartheland.^[7]

In September 1942, when Erwin Rommel was recuperating in Germany from health problems, he suggested Guderian to OKW as the only one who could replace him temporarily in Africa, the response came in the same night: "Guderian is not accepted".^[8] Only after the German defeat at Stalingrad was Guderian given a new position. On 1 March 1943 he was appointed Inspector-General of the Armoured Troops. Here his responsibilities were to determine armoured strategy and to oversee tank design and production and the training of Germany's panzer forces.

According to Guderian, Hitler was easily persuaded to field too many new tank designs, and this resulted in supply and logistical problems for German forces in Russia.^[9] Guderian preferred large numbers of Panzer IIIs and IVs over smaller numbers of heavier tanks like the Tiger, which had limited range and could rarely go off-road without getting stuck in the Russian mud.

On 21 July 1944, after the failure of the July 20 Plot in which Guderian had no involvement,^[10] Guderian was appointed chief of staff of the army (Chef des Generalstabs des Heeres) as a successor to Kurt Zeitzler, who had departed July 1 after a nervous breakdown. During his tenure as chief of staff, he let it be known that any General Staff officer who wasn't prepared to be "a National Socialist officer" wasn't welcome on that body. He also served on the "Court of Military Honour," a drumhead court-martial that expelled many of the officers involved in the July 20 Plot from the Army before handing them over to the People's Court.

However, he had a long series of violent rows with Hitler over the way in which Germany should handle the war on both fronts. Hitler finally dismissed Guderian on 28 March 1945 after a shouting-match over the failed counterattack of General Theodor Busse's 9th Army to break through to units encircled at Küstrin; he stated to Guderian that "your physical health requires that you immediately take six weeks convalescent leave," ("Health problems" were commonly used as a facade in the Third Reich to remove executives who for some reason could not simply be sacked,^{[citation needed]} but from episodes Guderian describes in his memoirs it is evident that he actually did suffer from congestive heart failure.) He was replaced by General Hans Krebs.

Life after the war

Together with his Panzer staff, Guderian surrendered to American troops on 10 May 1945 and remained in U.S. custody as a prisoner of war until his release on 17 June 1948. Despite Soviet and Polish government protests, he was not charged with any war crimes during the Nuremberg Trials, as his actions and behavior were ruled to be consistent with those of a professional soldier.

After the war he was often invited to attend meetings of British veterans' groups, where he analyzed past battles with his old foes. During the early 1950s he was active in advising on the redevelopment of the German army: Bundeswehr (see Searle's Wermacht Generals).

Guderian died on 14 May 1954 at the age of 65, in Schwangau near Füssen (Southern Bavaria) and is buried at the Friedhof Hildesheimer Strasse in Goslar.

Guderian's son, Heinz Günther Guderian, became a prominent General in the post-war German Bundeswehr and NATO.

In 2000, a documentary titled Guderian, directed by Anton Vassil, was aired on French television. It featured Heinz-Guenther Guderian (Guderian's surviving son, the other died in the Second World War) along with other notables such as Field Marshal Lord Carver (129th British Field Marshal), expert historians Kenneth Macksey and Heinz Wilhelm. Using rarely seen photographs from Guderian's private collection, the documentary provides an inside view into the life and career of Guderian and draws a profile of Guderian's character and the moral responsibility of the German general staff under Hitler.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Nazi-Soviet military parade in Brześć

Books by Heinz Guderian

• Guderian, Heinz (1937). Achtung - Panzer! (reissue ed.). Sterling Press. ISBN 0-304-35285-3.  Guderian describes what he would do if he was in charge of German tank forces.
• Guderian, Heinz (1942). Mit Den Panzern in Ost und West. Volk & Reich Verlag. 
• Guderian, Heinz (1952). Panzer Leader. Da Capo Press Reissue edition, 2001. New York: Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-81101-4.  Guderian describes what he did when he was in charge of German tank forces. It was originally published with the German title Erinnerungen eines Soldaten (Memories of a Soldier) (Kurt Vowinckel Verlag, Heidelberg 1950; 10th edition 1977).

References

1. ^ Heinz Guderian Achtung Panzer! (Cassel Military paperbacks 1999)pg7
2. ^ Panzer Leader, Heinz Guderian, 1996, p. 7 where the p. 20 credit is ascribed to dogged suggestion at the time of the first English Publication with Liddell Hart's forward. The credit is of course therefore not present in the other language versions.
3. ^ p. 13
4. ^ Guderian, Panzer Leader, p. 20.
5. ^ James V. Koch, review of Guderian: Panzer General by Kenneth Macksey
6. ^ Guderian, Panzer Leader.
7. ^ Antony Beevor, "Berlin: The Downfall"(2002), page.13.
8. ^ the Rommel Papers,Arabic version,translated by Fathi Abdallah An Nimr,Maktabat Al-Anglo-Masriya,Cairo,1966,p.467
9. ^ Panzer Leader
10. ^ Guderian's opposition to the plotters and his actions to support further Nazification of the Wehrmacht are described in William L. Shirer (1990), The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (1st Touchstone Edition reprinted with afterword) (New York: Simon & Schuster), ISBN 067172868, pp. 1080-1082.

Bibliography

• Alman, Karl (2008). Panzer vor - Die dramtische Geschichte der deutschen Panzerwaffe und ihre tapferen Soldaten. Würzburg, Germany: Flechsig Verlag. ISBN 978-3-88189-638-2.
• Schaulen, Fritjof (2003). Eichenlaubträger 1940 - 1945 Zeitgeschichte in Farbe I Abraham - Huppertz (in German). Selent, Germany: Pour le Mérite. ISBN 3-932381-20-3.
• Williamson, Gordon and Bujeiro, Ramiro (2004). Knight's Cross and Oak Leaves Recipients 1939-40. Osprey Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-84176-641-0.
• Helden der Wehrmacht - Unsterbliche deutsche Soldaten (in German). München, Germany: FZ-Verlag GmbH, 2004. ISBN 3-924309-53-1.

Further reading

• Corum, James, The Roots of Bltzkrieg (1992)
• Macksey, Kenneth, Guderian: Panzer General (1992, revision of Guderian, Creator of the Blitzkrieg, 1976)
• Kershaw, Ian, Hitler 1936–1945: Nemesis (2001)
• Searle, Alaric, Wehrmacht Generals, West German Society, and the Debate on Rearmament, 1949-1959, Praeger Pub., (2003).
• Walde, Karl J., Guderian (1978)
• Antony Beevor, "Berlin: The Downfall"(2002)

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Heinz Guderian

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Heinz Guderian

• Personality Profile - General Heinz Guderian by the Journal of the Singapore Armed Forces
• Generaloberst Heinz Wilhelm Guderian at Achtung Panzer!
• Guderian's grave at Find-A-Grave

Military offices
Preceded by Kurt Zeitzler	Chief of Staff of the OKH July 1944 – March 1945	Succeeded by Hans Krebs
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Alexander Novikov	Cover of Time Magazine 7 August 1944	Succeeded by Sir Arthur Coningham

v • d • e German Colonel Generals and General Admirals of the Third Reich Colonel General (Generaloberst) of the Army Wilhelm Adam · Hans-Jürgen von Arnim · Ludwig Beck · Johannes Blaskowitz · Eduard Dietl · Nikolaus von Falkenhorst · Johannes Frießner · Werner von Fritsch · Friedrich Fromm · Heinz Guderian · Curt Haase · Franz Halder · Kurt von Hammerstein-Equord · Josef Harpe · Gotthard Heinrici · Walter Heitz · Carl Hilpert · Erich Hoepner · Karl-Adolf Hollidt · Hermann Hoth · Hans-Valentin Hube · Erwin Jaenecke · Georg Lindemann · Eberhard von Mackensen · Erhard Raus · Georg-Hans Reinhardt · Lothar Rendulic · Richard Ruoff · Hans von Salmuth · Rudolf Schmidt · Eugen Ritter von Schobert · Adolf Strauß · Karl Strecker · Heinrich von Vietinghoff · Walter Weiß · Kurt Zeitzler Colonel General (Generaloberst) of the Luftwaffe Otto Deßloch · Ulrich Grauert · Hans Jeschonnek · Alfred Keller · Günther Korten · Bruno Loerzer · Alexander Löhr · Günther Rüdel · Kurt Student · Hans-Jürgen Stumpff · Ernst Udet · Hubert Weise General Admiral (Generaladmiral) Conrad Albrecht · Hermann Boehm · Rolf Carls · Hans-Georg von Friedeburg · Oskar Kummetz · Wilhelm Marschall · Alfred Saalwächter · Otto Schniewind · Otto Schultze · Walter Warzecha · Karl Witzell Oberstgruppenführer of the SS, Police or Waffen-SS Kurt Daluege · Josef Dietrich · Paul Hausser · Franz Xaver Schwarz

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