1954: Death of Heinz Guderian – Hitler’s “Panzer General”

The famous General Heinz Guderian died on this day in 1954. He is famous for German military successes at the beginning of World War II.

His strategy of rapid and deep penetration of tank units into the opponent’s territory was considered a successful strategy. He used tricks to beat opposing armies, and isolate them from their main forces.

Before World War II, Guderian received the rank of “General der Panzertruppe” (literally: General of the Armoured Corps). In 1940, he was promoted to the rank of colonel general (Generaloberst).

General Guderian was nicknamed “Schneller Heinz” (Fast Heinz) and “Panzer General”. It is interesting that he was born in Kulm (Chełmno), which now belongs to Poland.

Before the war, he wrote a famous work known as “Achtung-Panzer!” in which he described his ideas about the use of Panzer units during a war. He was in command of German troops while they were conquering Poland, Belgium, France, and parts of the USSR.

Later, Guderian was appointed the inspector general of Panzer Troops, which was a respectable position subordinate only to Führer. In 1944, he even became Chief of the General Staff of the German Army (German: Chef des Heeres Generalstabes). He held this position till the end of the war.

After the war, Guderian wasn’t been found guilty of war crimes. He continued to live in Germany. His son Heinz-Günther Guderian became a respected general in the Bundeswehr (“Federal Defence”), and served as inspector of Panzer Troops.