Existing comment:
General-Lietnant Heinz Guderian
(1888-1954)
Although Heinz Guderian witnessed the tank actions in World War I, he had no role in the development of armor. In 1923, he was assigned to the 7th (Bavarian) Motorized Transport Battalion. Appalled by the German casualties during the war, Guderian began to look at armor protection as a way to reduce future casualties.
By studying JFC Fuller, Guderian became the German expert in "Combined Arms" and he did much to build up German armor strength between the wars. He was also responsible for the development of the "Blitzkrieg" tactics used by the army.
Guderian was the first of the "Combined Arms" advocates to put the theory to the test -- first in Poland and then in the lowlands and France. These successes were the impetus for the creation of Chaffee's armored force in July of 1940. |