Heinz Guderian Quotes

Heinz Guderian's quotes strike as blunt military advice mixed with gritty realism.

21 quotes

1. Klotzen, nicht Kleckern! (Boot'em, don't spatter'em!)

2. Es gibt keine verzweifelten Lagen, es gibt nur verzweifelte Menschen. (There are no desperate situations, there are only desperate people.)

3. Der Motor des Panzers ist ebenso seine Waffe wie die Kanone. (The engine of the Panzer is a weapon just as the main-gun.)

4. Fahrkarte bis zur Endstation. (Ticket to the last station.)

5. We have severely underestimated the Russians, the extent of the country and the treachery of the climate. This is the revenge of reality.

6. If the tanks succeed, then victory follows.

7. Logistics is the ball and chain of armored warfare.

8. 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!

9. Man schlagt jemanden mit der Faust und nicht mit gespreizten Fingern. (You hit somebody with your fist and not with your fingers spread.)

10. 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.)

11. Whenever in future wars the battle is fought, armored troops will play the decisive role...

12. It is decisive to completely destroy Warsaw.

13. 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'.

14. 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.

15. The engine of the tank is a weapon just as the main-gun.

16. The Eastern front is like a house of cards. If the front is broken through at one point all the rest will collapse.

17. Actions speak louder than words. In the days to come the Goddess of Victory will bestow her laurels only on those who prepared to act with daring.

18. Strike hard and fast and do not separate.

19. New weapons require new tactics. Never put new wine into old bottles.

20. When the situation is obscure, attack

21. As a result of the cold, the machine-guns were no longer able to fire...the result of all this was a panic...The battle worthiness of our infantry is at an end