One on the most admired German officers produced by the Wehrmacht in World War II. His daring command of the spearheading panzer group crushed the French in little time. Commanding Panzer Group 2 Guderian stopped short of Moscow's southern area. Hitler appointed him Army Chief of Staff OKH Oberkommando des Heeres in 1944. Captured by the Allies in May 1945, Guderian was repatriated back to Germany in 1948. Both Poland and the USSR wished to place Guderian on trial as a war criminal. However, many in the West considered Guderian's service as honorable and of the upmost military professionalism. Generaloberst Heinz Wilhelm Guderian died on May 14, 1954, almost to the day of his Sedan breakthrough in France 1940. (less info)