Heinz Guderian (1888 – 1954)
German WWII general and tank commander, theorist of tank combat and one of the founders of blitzkrieg strategy.
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We have severely underestimated the Russians, the extent of the country and the treachery of the climate. This is the revenge of reality.
Fahrkarte bis zur Endstation. (Ticket to the last station.)
Der Kampf gegen die eigenen Oberen macht manchmal mehr Arbeit als gegen die Franzosen. (It is sometimes tougher to fight my superiors than the French.)
Der Motor des Panzers ist ebenso seine Waffe wie die Kanone. (The engine of the Panzer is a weapon just as the main-gun.)
Nicht Kleckern sondern Klotzen! (Boot'em, don't spatter'em!)
Es gibt keine verzweifelten Lagen, es gibt nur verzweifelte Menschen. (There are no desperate situations, there are only desperate people.)
Man schlägt jemanden mit der Faust und nicht mit gespreizten Fingern. (You hit somebody with your fist and not with your fingers spread.)
If Guderian was not always successful in carrying out his theories everywhere during the war, it was due to the struggle against the mistrust of so many elderly officers who knew nothing, or little, about tanks. He was the creator and master-teacher of our Armoured Forces - and I lay particular stress on the word 'master'.
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!
It is decisive to completely destroy Warsaw.
Whenever in future wars the battle is fought, armored troops will play the decisive role...
If the tanks succeed, then victory follows.
Sixty per cent of what the German Panzer Forces became was due to him. Ambitious, brave, a heart for his soldiers, who liked and trusted him; rash as a man, quick in decisions, strict with officers, real personality, therefore many enemies. Blunt, even to Hitler. As a trainer - good; thorough; progressive. If you suggest revolutionary ideas, he will say in 95 per cent of cases, 'Yes', at once.
Logistics is the ball and chain of armored warfare.
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