1) Name
Ludwig Ritter von Eimannsberger
2) Reason for inclusion
Little known but equally advanced in thinking as Guderian and others was the Austrian Ludwig Ritter von Eimannsberger. As an Austrian general, von Eimannsberger had few prospects for developing a Panzer arm in the anti-war Austrian republic following WW I. But in 1934, he published his book, Tank Warfare (Kampfwagenkrieg), clearly aimed at a German audence.
Von Eimannsberger also incorporated the need for motorized or mechanized infantry into his blueprint. His panzer battalion called for infantry companies with anti tank weapons, anti tank guns, and even pioneer companies. His division called for 9 battalions of such infantry, pioneer and anti-tank/artillery infantry, somewhat lighter than would be employed by the German combined Kampfgruppes later in the war.
Another visionary topic brought forth by von Eimannsberger was the use of multi-purpose guns rather than a myriad of artillery pieces, anti-aircraft (AA) guns and anti-tank (AT) guns. His ideas may have formed the precedent for the soon-to-be famous German 88.
In all, Ludwig Ritter von Eimannsberger was truly a visionary. His ideas were directly on line with the most advanced thinkers in Germany, France, Russia and Britain. We may never know how much his thoughts and ideas, as published in Kampfwagenkrieg, influenced the development of modern armored warfare.
3)
Activity (start date-end date)
19. November 1878 in Wien; † 31. Juli 1945
4) Skill and specialities proposed
Skill 7 specialities: combined_arms_focus;small_unit_tactics;decentralized_execution;training
5) References
http://history.sandiego.edu/GEN/st/~cshimp/eimannsberger.htm ;
http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Personenregister/E/EimannsbergerLRv.htm; http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_von_Eimannsberger;
6) Link to a picture
http://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php...imannsberger.jpg&filetimestamp=20091218162228
