Heinz Guderian was born in 1888 at Chulm, on the Vistula, in Poland. In 1907 he joined the 10th Hanoverian Jaeger Battalion as an ensign and completed a course at the War Academy just before the beginning of WWI. During that conflict he was employed as a signals officer both at the front and at Army headquarters. The signals experience he gained was to stand him in good stead in his later handling of armored formations.
Following the war Guderian became a staunch advocate of the introduction of the panzer arm. In 1929 he was given command of the 3rd Prussian Motorized Battalion. In 1931 he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and was made Chief of Staff to General of Panzer Troops, Oswald Lutz. In 1933 he demonstrated the earliest Mark I tanks to Hitler at Kummersdoff and the new Chancellor told him excitedly: 'That's what I need! That's what I want to have!'
In the spring of 1934 a Motorized Troops Command Staff was set up under Lutz, in preparation for the formation of the first three Panzer Divisions in October of that year. Guderian remained in this post for over two years, becoming a Major General in 1936. In 1937 he published a book entitled 'Achtung-Panzer! The Development of Armoured Forces, Their Tactics and Operational Potential.' The book outlined his theories on armoured warfare which he evolved from British and French experiences during WWI. At the time his ideas were considered revolutionary, even foolhardy. In 1938 Guderian, having been promoted to Lieutenant General, succeeded Lutz as General of Panzer Troops.
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