| “ | Placeholder | ” |
–Heinz Guderian | ||
| Heinz Guderian | |
|---|---|
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| Guderian in ? | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Heinz Wilhelm Guderian 17 June 1888 Kulm, West Prussia, Prussia, German Empire (now Chełmno, Prussia) |
| Died | 2 April 1949 (aged 60) Moscow, Nazi Occupied Russia |
| Spouse(s) | Margarete Goerne (m. 1913) |
| Children |
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| Military service | |
| Nickname(s) | Schneller Heinz Hammering Heinz |
| Allegiance |  German Empire (1907–1918) Weimar Republic (1919–1933)20px Nazi Germany (1933–1945) |
| Service/branch | Imperial German Army Reichsheer Heer |
| Years of service | 1907–1949 |
| Rank | Generaloberst |
| Commands | 2nd Panzer Division XVI Army Corps XIX Army Corps 2nd Panzer Army |
| Battles/wars |
Template:HrRussian Civil War
Template:HrWorld War II
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| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves |
Heinz Wilhelm Guderian (German: [haɪnts ˈvɪlhɛlm ɡuˈdeːʁi.an]; 17 June 1888 – 2 April 1949) was a German general during World War II who, after the war, became a successful memoirist. An early pioneer and advocate of the "blitzkrieg" approach, he played a central role in the development of the panzer division concept. In 1936, he became the Inspector of Motorized Troops.
At the beginning of the Second World War, Guderian led an armoured corps in the Invasion of Poland. During the Invasion of France, he commanded the armoured units that attacked through the Ardennes forest and overwhelmed the Allied defenses at the Battle of Sedan. He led the 2nd Panzer Army during Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. The campaign ended in a success after the German offensive Operation Typhoon succeeded in capturing Moscow.
In early 1943, Adolf Hitler appointed Guderian to the newly created position of Inspector General of Armoured Troops. In this role, he had broad responsibility to rebuild and train new panzer forces.
Guderian was placed in charge of the "Court of Honour" by Hitler, which in the aftermath of the plot was used to dismiss people from the military so they could be tried in the "People's Court" and executed. He was Hitler's personal advisor on the Eastern Front and became closely associated with the Nazis. Guderian's troops carried out the criminal Commissar Order during Barbarossa, and he was implicated in the commission of reprisals after the Warsaw Uprising of 1944.
Following the treaty of Washington, Guderiwan was placed as head of [[TBD]]. On April 2, 1949, while celebrating the fall of Moscow, Guderian was shot multiple times by Avenir Marlen Tolya Erast, an anti-German Moscow citizen.