Heinz Guderian
Overview
 
Heinz Wilhelm Guderian (17 June 1888 – 14 May 1954) was a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 general during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. He was a pioneer in the development of armored warfare
Armoured warfare
Armoured warfare or tank warfare is the use of armoured fighting vehicles in modern warfare. It is a major component of modern methods of war....

, and was the leading proponent of tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...

s and mechanization in the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...

 (German Armed Forces). Germany's panzer (armored) forces were raised and organized under his direction as Chief of Mobile Forces. During the war, he was a highly successful commander of panzer forces in several campaigns, became Inspector-General of Armored Troops, rose to the rank of Generaloberst, and was Chief of the General Staff
German General Staff
The German General Staff was an institution whose rise and development gave the German armed forces a decided advantage over its adversaries. The Staff amounted to its best "weapon" for nearly a century and a half....

 of the Heer in the last year of the war.
Guderian was born in Kulm, West Prussia
West Prussia
West Prussia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773–1824 and 1878–1919/20 which was created out of the earlier Polish province of Royal Prussia...

, (now Chełmno, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

).
Quotations

Klotzen, nicht Kleckern! (Boot'em, don't spatter'em!)

This is Guderian's most famous quote, which has become a stock phrase. It is said that Adolf Hitler was so impressed by the quote that he often used it. It roughly means "Don't do things by half." Quoted in "How Great Generals Win" - Page 227 - by Bevin Alexander - History - 1993

Es gibt keine verzweifelten Lagen, es gibt nur verzweifelte Menschen. (There are no desperate situations, there are only desperate people.)

Quoted in "Die Deutschen gepanzerten Truppen bis 1945" by Oskar Munzel - Tanks (Military science) - 1965

Der Motor des Panzers ist ebenso seine Waffe wie die Kanone. (The engine of the Panzer is a weapon just as the main-gun.)

Quoted in "Die Deutschen gepanzerten Truppen bis 1945" - Page 159 - by Oskar Munzel - Tanks (Military science) - 1965

Fahrkarte bis zur Endstation. (Ticket to the last station.)

Shouting to his Panzertroops when they were roaring past him, meaning that they should go as far as they could. Quoted in "Panzerkrieg: The Rise and Fall of Hitler's Tank Divisions" - Page 83 - by Peter McCarthy, Mike Syron - Technology - 2003

We have severely underestimated the Russians, the extent of the country and the treachery of the climate. This is the revenge of reality.

Quoted in "Images of Kursk: History's Greatest Tank Battle, July 1943" - Page 7 - by Nikolas Cornish - History - 2002

If the tanks succeed, then victory follows.

Quoted in "Panzerkrieg: The Rise and Fall of Hitler's Tank Divisions" - Page 33 - by Peter McCarthy, Mike Syron - Technology - 2003

Logistics is the ball and chain of armored warfare.

Quoted in "Sword Point" - Page 141 - by Harold Coyle - 1988

It's simply our duty to save these people, and we still have time to remove them! But it's useless to sacrifice men in this senseless way. It's high time! We must evacuate those soldiers at once!

To Adolf Hitler, about the German army being cut off in Courland. Quoted in "Inside the Third Reich: Memoirs" - Page 534 - by Albert Speer - National socialists - 1971

Man schlägt jemanden mit der Faust und nicht mit gespreizten Fingern. (You hit somebody with your fist and not with your fingers spread.)

Meaning that you should concentrate your Panzers for one mighty push in one direction and not distribute them over a large area. Quoted in "Die Deutschen gepanzerten Truppen bis 1945" - Page 209 - by Oskar Munzel - Tanks (Military science) - 1965

 
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