MontyB
All-Blacks Supporter
Here is the introduction from the book Guderian: Panzer Pioneer or Myth Maker?
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HEINZ GUDERIAN has been lionized by many as the legendary father of the German armored force and brilliant practitioner of Blitzkrieg maneuver warfare. Guderian created this legend with his own highly influential, yet self-serving and distorted memoir, which remains one of the most widely read accounts of the Second World War.
Unfortunately, too many of Guderian’s biographers have accepted Guderian’s view of his accomplishments without sufficient critical scrutiny.
The result has been an undeserved hagiography of Guderian. While undoubtedly a great military figure, Guderian was a man of appreciable ego and ambition—a volatile, impetuous, and difficult personality determined to achieve his vision of a war-winning armored force, irrespective of the consequences.
He proved naive enough to fall under the sway of Hitler and National Socialism, yet arrogant enough to believe, late in the war, that he could save Germany from inevitable defeat despite Hitler.
In spite of his later disapproval of Hitler, he proved unwilling either to participate in attempts to remove him or to denounce as traitors the conspirators that did.
In the end, he proved to be a man prepared to distort the truth in order to establish his place in history. In doing so, he denigrated the myriad important contributions of other Germans as he took personal credit for what were, in reality, collective accomplishments. He succeeded in creating a legend that has endured long after his death.
This brief biography begins to put the record straight by endeavoring to place Guderian’s career and accomplishments into sharper and more accurate relief.
It seeks the real Heinz Guderian, not the man of legend.
Hart, Russell (2006-10-31). Guderian: Panzer Pioneer or Myth Maker? (Brassey's Military Profiles) (pp. 3-4). Potomac Books Inc.
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Guderian has sold himself as the "father of Blitzkrieg" yet if you study the development of the German army in between the world wars I am not sure you could reach this conclusion.
In fact I am beginning to think that the title of "father of Blitzkrieg" should go to Hans von Seeckt, Ernst Volckheim and Helmut Wilberg.
Or at least this would be my choice having finally gotten around to reading von Seeckts 1928 book "Thoughts of a Soldier" where he states...
In my opinion von Seeckt's forward thinking supported by Ernst Volckheim's work on armoured doctrine and Helmut Wilburg's tactical air knowledge were the roots of German blitzkrieg, Guderian may have refined this work but he did not create it and as such he can not be "the father of blitzkrieg".
Any one have an opinion on this?
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HEINZ GUDERIAN has been lionized by many as the legendary father of the German armored force and brilliant practitioner of Blitzkrieg maneuver warfare. Guderian created this legend with his own highly influential, yet self-serving and distorted memoir, which remains one of the most widely read accounts of the Second World War.
Unfortunately, too many of Guderian’s biographers have accepted Guderian’s view of his accomplishments without sufficient critical scrutiny.
The result has been an undeserved hagiography of Guderian. While undoubtedly a great military figure, Guderian was a man of appreciable ego and ambition—a volatile, impetuous, and difficult personality determined to achieve his vision of a war-winning armored force, irrespective of the consequences.
He proved naive enough to fall under the sway of Hitler and National Socialism, yet arrogant enough to believe, late in the war, that he could save Germany from inevitable defeat despite Hitler.
In spite of his later disapproval of Hitler, he proved unwilling either to participate in attempts to remove him or to denounce as traitors the conspirators that did.
In the end, he proved to be a man prepared to distort the truth in order to establish his place in history. In doing so, he denigrated the myriad important contributions of other Germans as he took personal credit for what were, in reality, collective accomplishments. He succeeded in creating a legend that has endured long after his death.
This brief biography begins to put the record straight by endeavoring to place Guderian’s career and accomplishments into sharper and more accurate relief.
It seeks the real Heinz Guderian, not the man of legend.
Hart, Russell (2006-10-31). Guderian: Panzer Pioneer or Myth Maker? (Brassey's Military Profiles) (pp. 3-4). Potomac Books Inc.
==================================================
Guderian has sold himself as the "father of Blitzkrieg" yet if you study the development of the German army in between the world wars I am not sure you could reach this conclusion.
In fact I am beginning to think that the title of "father of Blitzkrieg" should go to Hans von Seeckt, Ernst Volckheim and Helmut Wilberg.
Or at least this would be my choice having finally gotten around to reading von Seeckts 1928 book "Thoughts of a Soldier" where he states...
He predicted that:
In my opinion von Seeckt's forward thinking supported by Ernst Volckheim's work on armoured doctrine and Helmut Wilburg's tactical air knowledge were the roots of German blitzkrieg, Guderian may have refined this work but he did not create it and as such he can not be "the father of blitzkrieg".
Any one have an opinion on this?
