His views little endeared him to the French high command, but are claimed by some to have influenced Heinz Guderian.

Among them, Guderian claimed, was Chief of the General Staff Ludwig Beck ( 1935 – 38 ), who he alleged was skeptical that armored forces could be decisive.

He was relieved of his command on 25 December 1941 after Feldmarschall Günther von Kluge, not noted for his ability to face up to Hitler, claimed that Guderian had ordered a withdrawal in contradiction of Hitler's " stand fast " order.

However, there exists a memorandum from Heinz Guderian to Hitler claiming that an unofficial name, Hetzer, had spontaneously been coined by the troops.

The German troops, on the other hand, had their Truppenübungsplatz Gruppe exercise area there until 1919, and were familiar with it, like Heinz Guderian, who had been born in nearby Kulm.

By 13 July Guderian had passed Mogilev, trapped several Soviet divisions there and his spearhead unit, the 29th Mot.

From there, it was made the spearhead of Panzer Group Kleist, driving to Kiev from the south while Panzer Group Guderian drove behind the city from the north.

Heinz Guderian was probably the first to fully develop and advocate the principles associated with blitzkrieg.

Guderian said that the tank deployment was “ on too small a scale to allow accurate assessments to be made .” The true test of his “ armoured idea ” would have to wait for the Second World War.

The armoured and motorized units under Guderian and Rommel initially advanced far beyond the following divisions, and indeed far in excess of that with which German high command was initially comfortable.

Guderian expressed a hearty contempt for General Ludwig Beck, chief of the General Staff from 1935 to 1938, whom he characterized as hostile to ideas of modern mechanised warfare: quoting Guderian " He was a paralyzing element wherever he appeared .... ignificantly of his way of thought was his much-boosted method of fighting which he called delaying defense ".

Another theorist, Ernst Volckheim, was also used by Guderian, and wrote a huge amount on tank and combined arms tactics, and is not acknowledged by Guderian.

Guderian argued that the tank was the decisive weapon of war.

After an intense argument with General Heinz Guderian, who insisted on a change of command of the Army Group Vistula, Hitler assigned General Walther Wenck to Himmler's headquarters to take over command of a limited counter-offensive ; Hitler then observed that it was not possible for him to move the troops needed for Guderian's planned double pincer attack from neighbouring regions.

" Generaloberst Alfred Jodl, chief of staff of the German Army, stated that Patton " was the American Guderian.

In late 1944 General Heinz Guderian ordered that production of the Type 38 ( t ) Hetzer tank be modified to incorporate a Tatra Type 928 V-8 air-cooled diesel engine, though this order was delayed so production could continue uninterrupted.

The innovative German Major ( later General ) Heinz Guderian developed the motorised part of this strategy as the head of one of the Truppenamt groups and may have incorporated Fuller's and Liddell Hart's ideas to amplify the groundbreaking Blitzkrieg effect that was seen used by Germany against Poland in 1939 and later against France in 1940.

This was however prevented by personal intervention of Gen. Guderian, who in his memoirs stated that he encountered his staff " wearing helmets, preparing an anti-tank gun for a possible Polish cavalry attack ," and that " the panic of the first day of war was overcome quickly ".

General Ewald von Kleist was now to command Panzer ( Armoured ) Group Kleist, consisting of three armoured corps, led by Heinz Guderian, Georg-Hans Reinhardt and Hermann Hoth.

" Guderian objected vehemently to being ordered to halt, and Rundstedt was forced to mediate between Hitler and his impetuous armoured commanders, who were backed by Halder.

During the Invasion of Poland in 1939 the city was defended by a small garrison of four infantry battalions under General Konstanty Plisowski against the XIX Panzer Corps of General Heinz Guderian.

Heinz Wilhelm Guderian (; 17 June 1888 – 14 May 1954 ) was a German general during World War II.

Guderian was born in Kulm, West Prussia ( now Chełmno, Poland ).

Early in 1919, Guderian was assigned to serve on the staff of the central command of the Eastern Frontier Guard Service.

Plans to form a Landsturm national militia in Eastern Germany as a last resort to boost fighting strength initially came from Oberkommando des Heeres chief General Heinz Guderian in 1944.

Although some proponents of mobile warfare — such as J. F. C. Fuller — advocated building " tank fleets ", others — such as Heinz Guderian in Germany, Adna R. Chaffee Jr. in the United States, and Mikhail Tukhachevsky in the Soviet Union — recognized that tank units required close support from infantry and other arms, and that these supporting arms needed to maintain the same pace as the tanks.

Polish units were engaged in battle from 0500 against elements of German 76th Infantry Regiment ( Colonel Hans Gollnick ) of 20th Motorised Division under Lt. Gen. Mauritz von Wiktorin, which operated on the left ( northern ) flank of XIX Panzer Corps under Gen. Heinz Guderian.

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 ".

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, but from episodes Guderian describes in his memoirs it is evident that he actually did suffer from congestive heart failure.

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.

From Triumph to Disaster: The Fatal Flaws of German Generalship from Moltke to Guderian.

By May 1943, Goerdeler was well aware that Field Marshal Günther von Kluge, General Heinz Guderian and Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt had accepted 250, 000 Reichmark cheques as birthday presents from Hitler that were intended to bribe them into loyalty, and that in addition, Guderian had received an estate in Poland.

Guderian objected against the needless, in his eyes, diversion of resources from Panzer IV tank production, as the Stug III and Sturmgeschütz IV were still more than adequate for their role.

However, after the Battles of Wizna and Mława the German XIX Panzer Corps under General Heinz Guderian broke through Polish lines and sped southward with the aim of flanking Warsaw from the East and cutting Poland in two.

Guderian's troops crossed the Meuse River near Sedan on May 14 and advanced until General Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist ordered Guderian to halt and not attack the British fleeing from Dunkirk.

After the Kiev operation, Oberstleutnant Bayerlein was transferred from the Russian front and from the support of General Guderian to Generaloberst Erwin Rommel.

Though Hitler was committed to the attack based on political reasons to maintain the aura of German initiative on the Eastern Front he shared many reservations on military grounds with Guderian.

When Keitel explained the political importance of the offensive Guderian remarked " How many people do you think even know where Kursk is?

According to Guderian, Hitler was easily persuaded to field too many new tank designs, and this resulted in supply, logistical, and repair problems for German forces in Russia.

During this time, many of the future leaders of the Wehrmacht — such as Heinz Guderian — first formulated the ideas that they were to use so effectively a few years later.

Famous World War II General Heinz Guderian attended the same Cadet School, which produced many well-trained German officers.

When the antebellum concluded and Europe went again to war, many of the officers in high command in Germany ( chief among them General Heinz Guderian ) were all too aware of this doctrinal failure and had specific ideas for its replacement.

Whereas Germany, when it began rearming following Hitler's rise to power, eagerly embraced concepts of mechanised warfare as advocated by individuals such as Heinz Guderian, many high-ranking officers in Britain had little enthusiasm for armoured warfare, and the ideas of Basil Liddell Hart and J. F. C.