Heinz Guderian - master of Blitzkrieg and father of modern tank warfare - commanded the German XIX Army Corps as it rampaged across Poland in 1939. Personally leading the devastating attack which traversed the Ardennes Forest and broke through French lines, he was at the forefront of the race to the Channel coast.
General Heinz Guderian commanded the German panzer forces in Operation Barbarossa, but was dismissed for taking a timely step backward instead of pandering to Hitler's illusions. Guderian was adjudged free of any connection to war crimes, and did not stand trial at Nuremberg.