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The Germans did not invent the tank, but were the first to
establish efficient armored troops in the early days of World War Two and
they also made the best use of this deadly weapon. And Heinz Guderian was
the best-known German tanker around. The tank did not come easy. Its birth
was difficult and belated with numerous drafts of what was initially called
a “land cruiser” all thrown out as unrealistic. Sifting through those early
blueprints, historians have come across a very interesting resolution someone
put on a very progressive draft of a new British tank. The resolution dismissed
the whole thing as “lunacy,” nothing more. With the outbreak of World War
One, however, weapons designers were desperately looking for an antidote
to the machine gun and barbed wire, which tuned warfare into a bloodbath.
The idea was to develop a machinegun buster mounted on to a caterpillar
tractor. That’s how the first tank actually came about. It was first
used in combat in 1916 and in the next two years the British and the French
already deployed hundreds of armored vehicles. The Germans appeared less
thrilled by the new invention though and only few people in Berlin realized
the tanks’ ability to radically change the very nature of war.
Following the 1918 German defeat in World War One, Heinz
Guderian, a Prussian nobleman, an army officer and the son of an army officer
sat down to analyze the role the tanks played in the war. He started writing
for military journals spreading the word about the tank’s strong points.
Some of the top military brass were pretty much wary of the young officer’s
drive, but he was consistently building up support among his colleagues
who were avidly reading the Statutes of the British armored corps – a must
reading for any “tankophile” of that year and age. Naturally enough, plans
were now apace to modernize the German armed forces. These plans were very
much boosted by Adolf Hitler’s rise to power in 1933. Seeking military
support, the Fuhrer unveiled grand programs of a military buildup and promised
never to meddle with army matters. The military buildup was creating new
jobs for the people in uniform and was opening up wide prospects for career
growth. Small wonder, therefore, that the generals were now foursquare
behind Hitler. Weak as the so-called tank lobby looked, it was lead by
Heinz Guderian, whose unstoppable drive had earned him the nickname of
“the Bull.” Indeed, his ability to get the big starred generals doing what
he wanted, his persuasive power eventually gained him political backing
from Adolf Hitler himself.
In 1935 three armor divisions were formed and Guderian, now
a General too, was appointed to command one of these. In 1936 he
published “Achtung! Panzer!” (“Attention, Armor!”) in which he advanced
his ideas for tank warfare. He used the proceeds from the book’s publication
to buy a car. The “motorization,” so to say, of Guderian’s family stemmed
directly from the motorization of the German army. Shortly after, the newly
formed German armored divisions rolled into Austria, then Czechoslovakia
and before long, they were already thrashing the Polish armies. France,
Western Europe’s number one tank power, was a big hurdle, but the French
army was vanquished in a matter of just a few days and the armor corps
under Guderian’s command, quickly crossed the Ardennes mountains and reached
the English Channel. Still not entirely happy with the German performance,
however, the “rapid Heinz” as his colleagues called him, believed Hitler
and his General Staff were downplaying the tank’s role and could have been
more straightforward in their military strategy. Guderian was seriously
worried learning about the planned attack on the Soviet Union. Just like
many of his colleagues who were immediately taken off by the idea of having
to fight on two fronts. Russia’s huge territory, the unnerving history
of crushing defeats dealt to King Charles XII of Sweden and to Napoleon’s
Grand Armee only added to that general uncertainty. And, as it often happens
in life, history repeated itself all over again… In December 1941 the Red
Army defeated the advancing German armies in the Battle of Moscow forcing
Guderian’s armor corps to fall back from the Soviet capital. Hitler turned
his wrath against Guderian whom he had always been suspicious of. Shaken
by the Stalingrad debacle, Hitler recalled Guderian to duty on March 1,
1943 as Inspector General of Panzer Troops. He wielded extensive powers
running all of the nation’s tank and reserve units. Small wonder
that Generals plotting to assassinate Hitler in 1944 sought his support.
Guderian turned down all those advances but he never reported them to his
superiors, which alone could be seen as a crime. On the day Hitler was
supposed to die, Guderian seemed to be taking his time. Hitler survived
and Guderian, who formally stayed true to the Fuhrer was now doomed for
promotion. Shortly after, he was made Chief of Army Staff, which was at
that time largely a puppet position because Hitler called all the shots.
His old forecast about tanks ruling supreme on the battlefield had perfectly
come true, but this time round, it was the enemy armor that ruled the plains…
Guderian was trying hard to get the Nazi leaders to think
about removing Hitler from commanding the armed forces. Hitler’s
lieutenants were too scared of their boss to do any such thing however.
Which eventually made him believe that a truce was the only way to save
the German neck. After having a hot discussion with Hitler, Guderian
was relieved from his new post in March of 1945. He left Berlin and on
May 10 surrendered to advancing US army units. Upon his release in
1948 he published his reminiscences and some other works and articles.
He died on May 14, 1954 in Schwangau, West Germany.
Lawyers are out to change the world with the help of laws;
warriors want to do the same thing with a sword. Heinz Guderian attempted
to make the world different using a tank. But did he, who easily committed
hundreds of armored vehicles to battle, ever hear the sound of human bones
being crushed by the tracks of a charging tank?
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