Erich Von Lewinski
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Fritz Erich Georg Eduard von Manstein (born Fritz Erich Georg Eduard von Lewinski; 24 November 1887 – 9 June 1973) was a
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
military officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent c ...
of
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...
descent who served as a ''
Generalfeldmarschall ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (; from Old High German ''marahscalc'', "marshal, stable master, groom"; ; often abbreviated to ''Feldmarschall'') was a rank in the armies of several German states and the Holy Roman Empire, (''Reichsgeneralfeldmarsch ...
'' (
Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...
) in the '' Heer'' (Army) of
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. He was subsequently convicted of war crimes and sentenced to 18 years imprisonment. Born into an aristocratic
Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
n family with a long history of military service, Manstein joined the army at a young age and saw service on both the
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
and Eastern Front during the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
(1914–18). He rose to the rank of captain by the end of the war and was active in the
inter-war period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...
helping Germany rebuild its armed forces. In September 1939, during the
invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...
at the beginning of the Second World War, he served as Chief of Staff to
Gerd von Rundstedt Karl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt (12 December 1875 – 24 February 1953) was a German ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (Field Marshal) in the ''German Army (1935–1945), Heer'' (Army) of Nazi Germany and OB West, ''Oberbefehlshaber West'' (Commande ...
's
Army Group South Army Group South () was the name of one of three German Army Groups during World War II. It was first used in the 1939 September Campaign, along with Army Group North to invade Poland. In the invasion of Poland, Army Group South was led by Ge ...
.
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
chose Manstein's strategy for the
invasion of France France has been invaded on numerous occasions, by foreign powers or rival French governments; there have also been unimplemented invasion plans. * The 978 German invasion during the Franco-German war of 978–980 * The 1230 English invasion of ...
of May 1940, a plan later refined by
Franz Halder Franz Halder (30 June 1884 – 2 April 1972) was a German general and the chief of staff of the Oberkommando des Heeres, Army High Command (OKH) in Nazi Germany from 1938 until September 1942. During World War II, he directed the planning and i ...
and other members of the
OKH The (; abbreviated OKH) was the high command of the Army of Nazi Germany. It was founded in 1935 as part of Adolf Hitler's rearmament of Germany. OKH was ''de facto'' the most important unit within the German war planning until the defeat ...
. Anticipating a firm Allied reaction should the main thrust of the invasion take place through the Netherlands, Manstein devised an innovative
operation Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...
to invade Francelater known as the ''Sichelschnitt'' ("sickle cut")that called for an attack through the woods of the
Ardennes The Ardennes ( ; ; ; ; ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, extending into Germany and France. Geological ...
and a rapid drive to the
English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...
, thus cutting off the French and Allied armies in
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
and
Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...
. Attaining the rank of
general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
at the end of the campaign, he was active in the
invasion of the Soviet Union Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along a ...
in June 1941. He led the
Axis An axis (: axes) may refer to: Mathematics *A specific line (often a directed line) that plays an important role in some contexts. In particular: ** Coordinate axis of a coordinate system *** ''x''-axis, ''y''-axis, ''z''-axis, common names ...
forces in the
siege of Sevastopol (1941–1942) The siege of Sevastopol, also known as the defence of Sevastopol () or the Battle for Sevastopol (; ), was a military engagement that took place on the Eastern Front of the Second World War. The campaign was fought by the Axis powers of Germa ...
and the
Battle of the Kerch Peninsula The Battle of the Kerch Peninsula, which commenced with the Soviet Kerch-Feodosia Landing Operation () and ended with the German Operation Bustard Hunt (), was a World War II battle between Erich von Manstein's Nazi Germany, German and Kingdom o ...
, and was promoted to field marshal on 1 July 1942, after which he participated in the
siege of Leningrad The siege of Leningrad was a Siege, military blockade undertaken by the Axis powers against the city of Leningrad (present-day Saint Petersburg) in the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front of World War II from 1941 t ...
. In December 1942, during the catastrophic
Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad ; see . rus, links=on, Сталинградская битва, r=Stalingradskaya bitva, p=stəlʲɪnˈɡratskəjə ˈbʲitvə. (17 July 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II, ...
, Manstein commanded a failed relief effort ("
Operation Winter Storm Operation Winter Storm (), a German offensive in December 1942 during World War II, involved the German 4th Panzer Army failing to break the Soviet encirclement of the German 6th Army during the Battle of Stalingrad. In late November 1942 the ...
"). Later known as the "backhand blow", Manstein's counteroffensive in the
Third Battle of Kharkov The Third Battle of Kharkov was a series of battles on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front of World War II, undertaken by Nazi Germany's Army Group South against the Soviet Red Army, around the city of Kharkov between 19 February ...
(February–March 1943) regained substantial territory and resulted in the destruction of three Soviet armies and the retreat of three others. He was one of the primary commanders at the
Battle of Kursk The Battle of Kursk, also called the Battle of the Kursk Salient, was a major World War II Eastern Front battle between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in southwestern Russia during the summer of 1943, resulting in ...
(July–August 1943). His ongoing disagreements with Hitler over the conduct of the war led to his dismissal in March 1944. He never obtained another command and was taken prisoner by the British in August 1945, three months after Germany's defeat. Manstein gave testimony at the main
Nuremberg trials #REDIRECT Nuremberg trials {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from move ...
of war criminals in August 1946, and prepared a paper that, along with his later memoirs, helped cultivate the myth of the clean ''Wehrmacht''the myth that the German armed forces were not culpable for the atrocities of
the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...
. In 1949 he was tried in
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
for war crimes and was convicted on nine of seventeen counts, including the poor treatment of prisoners of war and failing to protect civilian lives in his sphere of operations. His sentence of eighteen years in prison was later reduced to twelve, and he served only four years before being released in 1953. As a military advisor to the
West German West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republic after its capital c ...
government in the mid-1950s, he helped re-establish the armed forces. His memoir, '' Verlorene Siege'' (1955), translated into English as ''Lost Victories'', was highly critical of Hitler's leadership, and dealt with only the military aspects of the war, ignoring its political and ethical contexts. Manstein died near
Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
in 1973.


Early life

Manstein was born Fritz Erich Georg Eduard von Lewinski in
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
into the noble Lewinski family, the tenth son of a
Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...
n
aristocrat The aristocracy (''from Greek'' ''ἀριστοκρατία'' ''aristokratía'', "rule of the best"; ''Latin: aristocratia'') is historically associated with a "hereditary" or a "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the ...
and
artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...
general,
Eduard von Lewinski Eduard Julius Ludwig von Lewinski (22 February 1829 – 17 September 1906) was a Prussian general. His younger brother also became a Prussian general. Early life Lewinski was born in Münster in the Province of Westphalia on 22 February 1 ...
(1829–1906), and Helene von Sperling (1847–1910). His father's family had Kashubian ancestry and was entitled to use the
Brochwicz coat of arms Brochwicz is a Polish coat of arms. It was used by several szlachta families. History According to Tomasz Jurek, both, the coat of arms Brochwicz (Stag; ) and its name could have been shaped already in the 12th century. According to this researc ...
(Brochwicz III). Hedwig von Sperling (1852–1925), Helene's younger sister, was married to Lieutenant General Georg von Manstein (1844–1913); the couple was unable to have children, so they adopted Erich. They had previously adopted Erich's cousin Martha, the daughter of Helene's and Hedwig's deceased brother. Manstein's biological and adoptive fathers were both Prussian generals, as were his mother's brother and both his grandfathers (His paternal grandfather,
Albrecht Gustav von Manstein Albert Ehrenreich Gustav von Manstein (24 August 1805 in Willkischken – 11 May 1877 in Flensburg) was a Prussian general who served during the Austro-Prussian War and the Franco-Prussian War. He was the adoptive grandfather of Erich von Mans ...
, had led a corps in the
Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...
of 1870–71, and maternal grandfather, Oskar von Sperling, was the chief of staff of First Army). Sixteen relatives on each side of his family were military officers, many of whom rose to the rank of general.
Paul von Hindenburg Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg (2 October 1847 – 2 August 1934) was a German military and political leader who led the Imperial German Army during the First World War and later became President of Germany (1919 ...
, the future ''Generalfeldmarschall'' and
President of Germany The president of Germany, officially titled the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany (),The official title within Germany is ', with ' being added in international correspondence; the official English title is President of the F ...
, was his uncle; Hindenburg's wife, Gertrud, was the sister of Hedwig and Helene. Manstein attended the Imperial ''Lyzeum'', a Catholic '' Gymnasium'' in
Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...
, from 1894 to 1899. Then he entered the cadet corps. As a cadet, Manstein was reported to be intelligent and capable. In March 1906, after six years in the cadet corps in
Plön Plön (; ) is the district seat of the Plön district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, and has about 8,700 inhabitants. It lies right on the shores of Schleswig-Holstein's biggest lake, the Great Plön Lake, as well as on several smaller lakes, ...
and Groß-Lichterfelde, he was commissioned into the Third Foot Guards Regiment (''Garde zu Fuß'') as an ensign. He was promoted to lieutenant in January 1907 and in October 1913 began the three-year officer training programme at the
Prussian War Academy The Prussian Staff College, also Prussian War College () was the highest military facility of the Kingdom of Prussia to educate, train, and develop German General Staff, general staff officers. Location It originated with the ''Akademie für ...
. However, Manstein only completed the first year of the programme, as when the
First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
began in August 1914 all students of the academy were ordered to report for active service. He never completed the remainder of his general staff officer training.


Early military career


First World War

During the First World War, Manstein served on both the
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
and
Eastern Eastern or Easterns may refer to: Transportation Airlines *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 192 ...
Fronts. At the beginning of the war, he was promoted to lieutenant and participated in the invasion of
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
with the 2nd Guard Reserve Infantry Regiment. In August 1914, he took part in the capture of
Namur Namur (; ; ) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is the capital both of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Namur stands at the confl ...
, the site of a massive citadel surrounded by outlying forts. In September, Manstein's unit was one of two transferred to
East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...
and attached to the Eighth Army, commanded by Hindenburg. After seeing action in the
First Battle of the Masurian Lakes The First Battle of the Masurian Lakes was a German offensive in the Eastern Front 2–16 September 1914, during the Russian invasion of East Prussia. It took place only days after the Battle of Tannenberg where the German Eighth Army encir ...
, his unit was soon reassigned to the Ninth Army, which was in the process of advancing from
Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( ; ; ; ; Silesian German: ; ) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located today mostly in Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic. The area is predominantly known for its heav ...
to
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
. Overstretched, the Ninth Army was forced to withdraw in the face of a Russian counterattack, and on 16 November, Manstein was wounded during the retreat when he was among a detachment that stormed a Russian entrenchment. He was shot in the left shoulder and the left knee; one bullet hit his
sciatic nerve The sciatic nerve, also called the ischiadic nerve, is a large nerve in humans and other vertebrate animals. It is the largest branch of the sacral plexus and runs alongside the hip joint and down the right lower limb. It is the longest and widest ...
, causing the leg to be numb. Recovery took six months in hospital in
Beuthen Bytom (Polish pronunciation: ; Silesian language, Silesian: ''Bytōm, Bytōń'', ) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. Located in the Silesian Voivodeship, the city is 7 km northwest of Katowice, the regional capital. It is one ...
and
Wiesbaden Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...
. After a period of home leave, on 17 June 1915, Manstein was reassigned as an assistant general staff officer of operations to the Tenth Army, commanded by
Max von Gallwitz Max Karl Wilhelm von Gallwitz (2 May 1852 – 18 April 1937) was a German general from Breslau (Wrocław), Silesia, who served with distinction during World War I on both the Eastern and Western Fronts. Biography Gallwitz grew up in a Catho ...
. Soon promoted to captain, he learned first-hand how to plan and conduct offensive operations as the Tenth Army undertook successful attacks on Poland,
Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
,
Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...
, and
Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...
. During offensive operations at
Verdun Verdun ( , ; ; ; official name before 1970: Verdun-sur-Meuse) is a city in the Meuse (department), Meuse departments of France, department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. In 843, the Treaty of V ...
in early 1916, Manstein was stationed with Gallwitz and his staff at a new headquarters near the action. He next served as a staff supply officer under General
Fritz von Below Fritz Theodor Carl von Below (23 September 1853 – 23 November 1918) was a Kingdom of Prussia, Prussian general in the German Army (German Empire), German Army during the World War I, First World War. He commanded troops during the Battle of th ...
and chief of staff Fritz von Lossberg at a command post near the
River Somme The Somme ( , ; ) is a river in Picardy, northern France. The river is in length, from its source in the high ground of the former at Fonsomme near Saint-Quentin, to the Bay of the Somme, in the English Channel. It lies in the geologica ...
; the area was the scene of several battles over the course of the war. British and French operations from July to November 1916 forced a German withdrawal over the winter to the
Hindenburg Line The Hindenburg Line (, Siegfried Position) was a German Defense line, defensive position built during the winter of 1916–1917 on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front in France during the First World War. The line ran from Arras to ...
, a series of defensive positions between Verdun and
Lens A lens is a transmissive optical device that focuses or disperses a light beam by means of refraction. A simple lens consists of a single piece of transparent material, while a compound lens consists of several simple lenses (''elements'') ...
. Manstein continued to serve under Below until October 1917, when he was transferred as chief of staff to the 4th Cavalry Division, serving in
Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...
during the German occupation of the area. As a result of the signing of the
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a separate peace treaty signed on 3 March 1918 between Soviet Russia and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria), by which Russia withdrew from World War I. The treaty, whi ...
in March 1918, Manstein's unit was no longer needed on the Eastern Front; he was reassigned to the 213th Infantry Division near
Reims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...
. The German Imperial Army saw some minor successes in the area but was beginning to lose the war. The
armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from t ...
was signed on 11 November 1918.


Inter-war era

Manstein married Jutta Sibylle von Loesch, the daughter of a
Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...
n landowner, in 1920. He proposed marriage after having known her for only three days. She died in 1966. They had three children: a daughter, Gisela (born 1921), and two sons, Gero (born 1922) and Rüdiger (born 1929). Gero died on the battlefield in the northern sector of the Eastern Front on 29 October 1942 while serving as a lieutenant in the ''Wehrmacht''. Gisela was married to Major Edel-Heinrich Zachariae-Lingenthal, a highly decorated officer who commanded II. Panzer-Regiment 15 during the Second World War. Manstein remained in the armed forces after the war ended. In 1918 he volunteered for a staff position with the Frontier Defence Force in Breslau and served there until 1919. As part of ''Gruppenkommando'' II, he participated in the restructuring of the German Imperial Army of 500,000 men into the ''
Reichswehr ''Reichswehr'' (; ) was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first two years of Nazi Germany. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshaped ...
'', the army of the
Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...
(restricted to 100,000 men by the
Versailles Treaty The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace of Versailles, exactl ...
). Recognised from an early age as a talented and intelligent commander, Manstein was chosen as one of only 4,000 officers permitted under the treaty. In 1921 he was appointed company commander of the sixth company of the 5th Prussian Infantry Regiment and next served as a staff officer for ''Wehrkreiskommando'' II and IV, teaching military history and tactics until 1927. That year he was promoted to major and served with the
General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, Enlisted rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...
at the ''Reichswehr'' Ministry in Berlin, visiting other countries to learn about their military facilities and helping to draft mobilisation plans for the army. Promoted to lieutenant colonel, he was given command of the light infantry battalion of the 4th Infantry Regiment, serving with that unit until 1934. In 1933 the
Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...
seized power in Germany, ending the Weimar period. In violation of the Versailles treaty, the ''Reichswehr'' had been secretly re-arming since the 1920s; the new government formally renounced the Treaty and proceeded with large scale re-armament and expansion of the military. Manstein was moved back to Berlin as full colonel in February 1934, serving as chief of staff of ''Wehrkreiskommando'' III. On 1 July 1935 he was appointed the Head of the Operations Branch of the Army General Staff (''Generalstab des Heeres''), part of the Army High Command (''
Oberkommando des Heeres The (; abbreviated OKH) was the high command of the Army of Nazi Germany. It was founded in 1935 as part of Adolf Hitler's rearmament of Germany. OKH was ''de facto'' the most important unit within the German war planning until the defeat ...
'' – OKH). During his tenure there, Manstein was one of the people responsible for the development of ''
Fall Rot ''Fall Rot'' (Case Red) was the plan for a German military operation after the success of (Case Yellow), the Battle of France, an invasion of the Benelux countries and northern France. The Allied armies had been defeated and pushed back in t ...
'' (Case Red), a defensive plan to protect Germany from attack by France. During this period Manstein came into contact with
Heinz Guderian Heinz Wilhelm Guderian (; 17 June 1888 – 14 May 1954) was a German general during World War II who later became a successful memoirist. A pioneer and advocate of the "blitzkrieg" approach, he played a central role in the development of ...
and
Oswald Lutz Oswald Lutz (6 November 1876 – 26 February 1944) was a German General who oversaw the motorization of the German Army in the late 1920s and early 1930s and was appointed as the commander of the Wehrmacht's Panzer Troops Command in 1935. ...
, who advocated drastic changes in warfare, emphasising the role of the
Panzer {{CatAutoTOC, numerals=no Words and phrases Germanic words and phrases Words and phrases by language la:Categoria:Verba Theodisca ...
. However, officers like
Ludwig Beck Ludwig August Theodor Beck (; 29 June 1880 – 20 July 1944) was a German general who served as Chief of the German General Staff from 1933 to 1938. Beck was one of the main conspirators of the 20 July plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler. ...
, Chief of the Army General Staff, were against such drastic changes, and therefore Manstein proposed an alternative: the development of ''
Sturmgeschütz (abbreviated StuG) meaning "assault gun" was a series of armored fighting vehicles used by both German ''Wehrmacht'' and ''Waffen-SS'' formations during the Second World War (1939–1945). The main StuGs were the StuG III and StuG IV bas ...
e'' (StuG), self-propelled assault guns that would provide heavy direct-fire support to infantry. In World War II, the resulting StuG vehicles proved to be among the most successful and cost-effective German weapons. He was promoted to
Generalmajor is the Germanic languages, Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central Europe, Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and R ...
in October 1936, becoming the Deputy Chief of Staff (''Oberquartiermeister I'') to General Beck. On 4 February 1938, Manstein was transferred to the command of the 18th Infantry Division in
Liegnitz Legnica (; , ; ; ) is a city in southwestern Poland, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the Kaczawa River and the Czarna Woda. As well as being the seat of the county, since 1992 the city has been the seat of the Diocese of Legnica. L ...
,
Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...
, with the rank of
Generalleutnant () is the German-language variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO ...
. The transfer meant that Manstein did not receive Beck's post as Chief of the Army General Staff that August (Beck had resigned, despite Manstein's urgings not to do so, as he felt Hitler's intended invasion of
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
that October would be premature). The position was given to General
Franz Halder Franz Halder (30 June 1884 – 2 April 1972) was a German general and the chief of staff of the Oberkommando des Heeres, Army High Command (OKH) in Nazi Germany from 1938 until September 1942. During World War II, he directed the planning and i ...
, who had taken Manstein's former post as Deputy Chief of Staff. The incident created a lasting hatred between the two men. On 20 April 1939, Manstein delivered a speech at the celebration of Hitler's 50th birthday, in which he praised Hitler as a leader sent by God to save Germany. He warned the "hostile world" that if it kept erecting "ramparts around Germany to block the way of the German people towards their future", then he would be quite happy to see the world plunged into another world war. Israeli historian
Omer Bartov Omer Bartov ( ; born 1954) is an Israeli-American historian. He is the Dean's Professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Brown University, where he has taught since 2000. Bartov is a historian of the Holocaust and is considered a leading au ...
notes that the rise of officers such as Manstein was part of a tendency for technocratic officers, usually ardent Nazis, to come to the fore; his opinion is that the ''Wehrmacht'' was fully integrated into
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
, not a separate apolitical organisation independent of the Nazi regime.


Second World War


Invasion of Poland

On 18 August 1939, in preparation for ''Fall Weiss'' (Case White)the German
invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...
Manstein was appointed Chief of Staff to
Gerd von Rundstedt Karl Rudolf Gerd von Rundstedt (12 December 1875 – 24 February 1953) was a German ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (Field Marshal) in the ''German Army (1935–1945), Heer'' (Army) of Nazi Germany and OB West, ''Oberbefehlshaber West'' (Commande ...
's
Army Group South Army Group South () was the name of one of three German Army Groups during World War II. It was first used in the 1939 September Campaign, along with Army Group North to invade Poland. In the invasion of Poland, Army Group South was led by Ge ...
. Here he worked along with Rundstedt's Chief of Operations, Colonel
Günther Blumentritt Günther Blumentritt (10 February 1892 – 12 October 1967) was an officer in World War I, who became a Staff Officer under the Weimar Republic and went on to serve as a general for Nazi Germany during World War II. He served throughout the war, ...
, to develop the operational plan. Rundstedt accepted Manstein's plan calling for the concentration of the majority of the army group's armoured units into
Walter von Reichenau Walter Karl Gustav August Ernst von Reichenau (8 October 1884 – 17 January 1942) was a German Generalfeldmarschall (Field Marshal) in the '' Heer'' (Army) of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was nicknamed "The Bull" ( German: ''Der Bulle ...
's 10th Army, with the objective of a decisive breakthrough which would lead to the encirclement of Polish forces west of the
River Vistula The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra i ...
. In Manstein's plan, two other armies comprising Army Group South,
Wilhelm List Siegmund Wilhelm Walther List (14 May 1880 – 17 August 1971) was a German ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (Field Marshal) of the ''Wehrmacht'' during World War II. List was a professional soldier in the Bavarian Army and served as a staff officer o ...
's 14th Army, and
Johannes Blaskowitz Johannes Albrecht Blaskowitz (10 July 1883 – 5 February 1948) was a German ''Generaloberst'' during World War II. After joining the Imperial German Army in 1901, Blaskowitz served throughout World War I, where he earned the Iron Cross for brav ...
's 8th Army, would provide flank support for Reichenau's armoured thrust towards
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
, the Polish capital. Privately, Manstein was lukewarm about the Polish campaign, thinking that it would be better to keep Poland as a buffer between Germany and the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
. He also worried about an Allied attack from the west once the Polish campaign was underway, which would draw Germany into a two-front war. Manstein took part in a conference on 22 August 1939 where Hitler underlined to his commanders the need for the physical destruction of Poland as a nation. After the war, he would state in his memoirs that he did not recognise at the time of this meeting that Hitler was going to pursue a policy of extermination against the Poles. He did become aware of the policy later on, as he and other ''Wehrmacht'' generals received reports on the activities of the ''
Einsatzgruppen (, ; also 'task forces') were (SS) paramilitary death squads of Nazi Germany that were responsible for mass murder, primarily by shooting, during World War II (1939–1945) in German-occupied Europe. The had an integral role in the imp ...
'', the ''
Schutzstaffel The ''Schutzstaffel'' (; ; SS; also stylised with SS runes as ''ᛋᛋ'') was a major paramilitary organisation under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe during World War II. It beg ...
'' (SS) death squads tasked with following the army into Poland to murder intellectuals and other civilians. These squads were also assigned to round up Jews and others for relocation to
ghetto A ghetto is a part of a city in which members of a minority group are concentrated, especially as a result of political, social, legal, religious, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished than other ...
s and
Nazi concentration camps From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps (), including subcamp (SS), subcamps on its own territory and in parts of German-occupied Europe. The first camps were established in March 1933 immediately af ...
. Manstein would later face three charges of war crimes relating to Jewish and civilian deaths in the sectors under his control, and the mistreatment and deaths of prisoners of war. Launched on 1 September 1939, the invasion began successfully. In Army Group South's area of responsibility under Rundstedt, the 8th, 10th and 14th Armies pursued the retreating Poles. The initial plan was for the 8th Army, the northernmost of the three, to advance towards
Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...
. The 10th Army, with its motorised divisions, was to move quickly towards the Vistula, and the 14th Army was to advance and attempt to encircle the Polish troops in the
Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
area. These actions led to the encirclement and defeat of Polish forces in the
Radom Radom is a city in east-central Poland, located approximately south of the capital, Warsaw. It is situated on the Mleczna River in the Masovian Voivodeship. Radom is the fifteenth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in its province w ...
area on 8–14 September by six German corps. Meanwhile, the German Eighth Army was under attack from the north, so elements of the Fourth, Eighth and Tenth Armies were quickly redeployed with air support in an improvised attempt to cut off any Polish break-out back towards Warsaw. The flexibility and agility of the German forces led to the defeat of nine Polish infantry divisions and other units in the resulting
Battle of the Bzura The Battle of the Bzura (or the Battle of Kutno) was both the largest battle and Polish counter-attack of the German invasion of Poland and was fought from 9 to 19 September.''The Second World War: An Illustrated History '', Putnam, 1975, Goog ...
(8–19 September), the largest engagement of the war thus far. The conquest of Poland was quickly over, with the last Polish military units surrendering on 6 October.


The Offensive in the West

''Fall Gelb'' ("Case Yellow"), the initial plan for the invasion of France, was prepared by Commander-in-Chief of the Army
Colonel General Colonel general is a military rank used in some armies. It is particularly associated with Germany, where historically General officer#Old European system, general officer ranks were one grade lower than in the Commonwealth and the United States, ...
(''Generaloberst'')
Walther von Brauchitsch Walther Heinrich Alfred Hermann von Brauchitsch (4 October 1881 – 18 October 1948) was a German ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (Field Marshal) and Commander-in-Chief (''Oberbefehlshaber'') of the German Army during the first two years of World War ...
, Halder, and other members of the OKH in early October 1939. Like the
Schlieffen Plan The Schlieffen Plan (, ) is a name given after the First World War to German war plans, due to the influence of Field Marshal Alfred von Schlieffen and his thinking on an invasion of France and Belgium, which began on 4 August 1914. Schlieffe ...
of World War I, it called for an encirclement attack through the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
and
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
. Hitler was not satisfied, so revisions of the plan continued throughout October. Manstein was not satisfied with the plan either, as it focused heavily on the northern wing; he felt an attack from this direction would lack the element of surprise and would expose the German forces to counterattacks from the south. The terrain in Belgium was not well-suited as a base of operations for further attacks on France, so Manstein felt the operation would fail to wipe out the enemyas it did in the First World Warleading to only partial success and trench warfare. By the end of October Manstein had prepared the outline of a different plan and submitted it to the OKH via his superior, Rundstedt, for whom he was now serving as chief of staff of
Army Group A Army Group A () was the name of three distinct army groups of the ''German Army (1935–1945), Heer'', the ground forces of the ''Wehrmacht'', during World War II. The first Army Group A, previously known as "Army Group South", was active from Oct ...
. Manstein's plan, developed with the informal co-operation of
Heinz Guderian Heinz Wilhelm Guderian (; 17 June 1888 – 14 May 1954) was a German general during World War II who later became a successful memoirist. A pioneer and advocate of the "blitzkrieg" approach, he played a central role in the development of ...
, suggested that the Panzer divisions attack through the wooded hills of the
Ardennes The Ardennes ( ; ; ; ; ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, extending into Germany and France. Geological ...
where no one would expect them, then establish bridgeheads on the
Meuse The Meuse or Maas is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a total length of . History From 1301, the upper ...
and rapidly drive to the
English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...
. The ''Wehrmacht'' would thus cut off the French and Allied armies in Belgium and
Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...
. This part of the plan later became known as the ''Sichelschnitt'' ("sickle cut"). Manstein's proposal also included a second thrust outflanking the
Maginot Line The Maginot Line (; ), named after the Minister of War (France), French Minister of War André Maginot, is a line of concrete fortifications, obstacles and weapon installations built by French Third Republic, France in the 1930s to deter invas ...
, which would allow the ''Wehrmacht'' to force any future defensive line much further south. The OKH originally rejected the proposal; Halder in particular said the plan was entirely without merit. However, on 11 November, Hitler ordered the reallocation of the forces needed to make a surprise thrust in Sedan, thus pushing the plan in the direction that Manstein had suggested. When documents outlining details of ''Fall Gelb'' fell into the hands of the Belgians on 10 January 1940, Hitler became even more receptive to change. But Manstein's superiors, Generals Halder and Brauchitsch, resented Manstein's repeated insistence that his plan be implemented in place of theirs. Halder had Manstein removed from Rundstedt's headquarters and sent to
Stettin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major seaport, the largest city of northwestern Poland, and se ...
to command the XXXVIII Army Corps on 27 January. Hitler, still looking for a more aggressive plan, approved a modified version of Manstein's ideas, today known as the Manstein Plan, after meeting with him on 17 February. Manstein and his corps played a minor role during the operations in France, serving under
Günther von Kluge Günther Adolf Ferdinand von Kluge (30 October 1882 – 19 August 1944) was a German '' Generalfeldmarschall'' (Field Marshal) during World War II who held commands on both the Eastern and Western Fronts, until his suicide in connection with ...
's 4th Army. His corps helped achieve the first breakthrough east of
Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...
during ''
Fall Rot ''Fall Rot'' (Case Red) was the plan for a German military operation after the success of (Case Yellow), the Battle of France, an invasion of the Benelux countries and northern France. The Allied armies had been defeated and pushed back in t ...
'' ("Case Red"the second phase of the invasion plan), and was the first to reach and cross the
River Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres p ...
. The invasion of France was an outstanding military success; Manstein was promoted to full
general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...
and awarded the
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. While it was order of precedence, lower in preceden ...
.


Battle of Britain

Manstein was a proponent of the prospective German invasion of Great Britain, named
Operation Sea Lion Operation Sea Lion, also written as Operation Sealion (), was Nazi Germany's code name for their planned invasion of the United Kingdom. It was to have taken place during the Battle of Britain, nine months after the start of the Second World ...
. He considered the operation risky but necessary. Early studies by various staff officers determined that air superiority was a prerequisite to the planned invasion. His corps was to be shipped across the English Channel from
Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...
to Bexhill as one of four units assigned to the first wave. But as the Luftwaffe failed to overcome the
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
during the
Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain () was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended the United Kingdom (UK) against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force ...
, Operation Sea Lion was postponed indefinitely on 12 October. For the rest of the year, Manstein, with little to do, spent time in Paris and at home.


Invasion of the Soviet Union

In July 1940 the German High Command commenced planning
Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...
, the invasion of the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
. On 15 March 1941 Manstein was appointed commander of the
LVI Panzer Corps LVI Panzer Corps was a panzer corps in the German Army during World War II. This corps was activated in February 1941 as the LVI Army Corps (mot.), for the German invasion of the Soviet Union, which commenced on 22 June 1941. Erich von Manstein ...
; he was one of 250 commanders to be briefed for the upcoming major offensive, first seeing detailed plans of the offensive in May. His corps was part of the Fourth Panzer Group under the command of General
Erich Hoepner Erich Kurt Richard Hoepner (14 September 1886 – 8 August 1944) was a German general during World War II. An early proponent of mechanisation and armoured warfare, he was a Wehrmacht Heer army corps commander at the beginning of the war, lead ...
in
Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb Wilhelm Josef Franz Ritter von Leeb (5 September 1876 – 29 April 1956) was a German ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (Field marshal, Field Marshal) of the ''Wehrmacht'' during the Second World War, who was subsequently convicted of war crimes. Leeb w ...
's
Army Group North Army Group North () was the name of three separate army groups of the Wehrmacht during World War II. Its rear area operations were organized by the Army Group North Rear Area. The first Army Group North was deployed during the invasion of Pol ...
. The Army Group was tasked with thrusting through the
Baltic States The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...
and then advancing on
Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
. Manstein arrived at the front only six days prior to the launch of the offensive. Operation Barbarossa commenced on 22 June 1941 with a massive German attack along the whole front line. Manstein's corps was to advance with
Georg-Hans Reinhardt Georg-Hans Reinhardt (1 March 1887 – 23 November 1963) was a German general of the ''Wehrmacht'' during World War II, who was subsequently convicted of war crimes. He commanded the 3rd Panzer Army from 1941 to 1944, and Army Group Centre in 1 ...
's
XLI Panzer Corps XXXXI Panzer Corps (also written as: XLI Panzer Corps) was a Panzer (armoured) corps in the German Army during World War II. Operational history The corps was originally formed, as the XXXXI Corps, on 5 February 1940 in ''Wehrkreis'' VIII (Sile ...
to the Dvina River to secure the bridges near the town of
Daugavpils Daugavpils (see also other names) is a state city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city derives its name. The parts of the city to the north of the river belong to the historical Latvian region ...
. The Soviet forces mounted a number of counterattacks, but those were aimed against Reinhardt's corps, leading to the
Battle of Raseiniai The Battle of Raseiniai (23–27 June 1941) was a large tank battle that took place in the early stages of Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union. The battle was fought between the elements of the German 4th Panzer Group an ...
. Manstein's corps advanced rapidly, reaching the Dvina River, distant, in just 100 hours. Overextended and well ahead of the rest of the army group, he fended off a number of determined Soviet counterattacks. After Reinhardt's corps closed in, the two corps were tasked with encircling the Soviet formations around Luga in a pincer movement. Again having penetrated deep into the Soviet lines with unprotected flanks, his corps was the target of a Soviet counteroffensive from 15 July at
Soltsy Soltsy () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Soletsky District in Novgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Shelon River, southwest of Veliky Novgorod, the administrative center of ...
by the
Soviet 11th Army The 11th Army was an army of the Red Army during World War II. The army was formed in the Belarusian Military District, Belarusian Special Military District (BSMD) in 1939 from the former Minsk Army Group. It fought in the Soviet invasion of Pola ...
, commanded by
Nikolai Vatutin Nikolai Fyodorovich Vatutin (; 16 December 1901 – 15 April 1944) was a Soviet Union, Soviet military commander during World War II who was responsible for many Red Army operations in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ukrainian SSR as th ...
. Manstein's
8th Panzer Division The 8th Panzer Division was a formation of the ''Wehrmacht'' German Army (Wehrmacht), ''Heer''. The division was formed by reorganising the 3rd Light Division (Wehrmacht), 3rd Light Division in October 1939. It was transferred to the west and fo ...
was cut off. Although it was able to fight its way free, it was badly mauled, and the Red Army succeeded in halting Manstein's advance at Luga. The corps regrouped at
Dno DNO may refer to: * Danish Nurses' Organization, a trade union for nurses in Denmark * Director of Naval Ordnance, British Admiralty administration *Distribution network operator, companies licensed to distribute electricity in Great Britain * Dno ( ...
. The 8th Panzer was sent on anti-partisan duties and Manstein was given the
4th SS Polizei Division The 4th SS Polizei Panzergrenadier Division (4. SS-Polizei-Panzergrenadier-Division) or SS Division Polizei was one of the thirty-eight divisions fielded as part of the Waffen-SS during World War II. Formation The division was formed in October ...
. The attack on Luga was repeatedly delayed. The assault on Luga was still underway when Manstein received orders on 10 August that his next task would be to begin the advance toward Leningrad. No sooner had he moved to his new headquarters at Lake Samro than he was told to send his men towards
Staraya Russa Staraya Russa (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Novgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Polist, Polist River, south of Veliky Novgorod, the administrative center of the oblast. Its population has steadily decreased over ...
to relieve the X Corps, which was in danger of being encircled. On 12 August the Red Army had launched an offensive with the 11th and 34th Armies against Army Group North, cutting off three divisions. Frustrated with the loss of the 8th Panzer and the missed opportunity to advance on Leningrad, Manstein returned to Dno. His counteroffensive led to a major Soviet defeat when his unit encircled five Soviet divisions, receiving air support for the first time on that front. They captured 12,000 prisoners and 141 tanks. His opponent, General Kuzma M. Kachanov of the 34th Army, was subsequently court martialed and executed for the defeat. Manstein tried to obtain rest days for his men, who had been constantly fighting in poor terrain and increasingly poor weather since the start of the campaign, but to no avail. They were ordered to advance to the east on
Demyansk Demyansk () is an urban locality (a work settlement) and the administrative center of Demyansky District of Novgorod Oblast, Russia, located along the Yavon River. Municipally, it is incorporated as Demyanskoye Urban Settlement, the only urba ...
. On 12 September, when he was near the city, he was informed that he would take over 11th Army of
Army Group South Army Group South () was the name of one of three German Army Groups during World War II. It was first used in the 1939 September Campaign, along with Army Group North to invade Poland. In the invasion of Poland, Army Group South was led by Ge ...
in Ukraine.


Crimea and the Battle of Sevastopol

In September 1941 Manstein was appointed commander of the 11th Army after its previous commander, Colonel-General
Eugen Ritter von Schobert Eugen Siegfried Erich Ritter von Schobert (13 March 1883 – 12 September 1941) was a German general during World War II. He commanded the 11th Army during Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. Schobert died when his observati ...
, perished when his plane landed in a Soviet minefield. The 11th Army was tasked with invading the
Crimean Peninsula Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrai ...
, capturing
Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...
, and pursuing enemy forces on the flank of Army Group South during its advance into the Soviet Union. Hitler aimed to prevent the Red Army from using airbases in the Crimea and to cut off the Soviet supply of oil from the Caucasus. Manstein's forcesmostly infantryachieved a rapid breakthrough during the first days against heavy Soviet resistance. After most of the neck of the
Perekop Isthmus The Isthmus of Perekop, literally Isthmus of the Trench (; transliteration: ''Perekops'kyi pereshyiok''; ; transliteration: ''Perekopskiy peresheek,'' , ; ; transliteration: ''Taphros''), is the narrow, wide strip of land that connects the Cr ...
had been taken, his forces were substantially reduced, leaving six German divisions and the Romanian Third Army. The rest of the Perekop Isthmus was captured slowly and with some difficulty; Manstein complained of a lack of air support to contest Soviet air superiority in the region. He next formed a mobile reconnaissance unit to press down the peninsula, cutting the road between
Simferopol Simferopol ( ), also known as Aqmescit, is the second-largest city on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, but controlled by Russia. It is considered the cap ...
and
Sevastopol Sevastopol ( ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea and a major port on the Black Sea. Due to its strategic location and the navigability of the city's harbours, Sevastopol has been an important port and naval base th ...
on 31 October 1941. Axis forces captured Simferopol the next day. The 11th Army had captured all of the Crimean Peninsula—except for Sevastopol—by 16 November. Meanwhile, the Red Army had evacuated 300,000 personnel out of the city by sea. Manstein's first attack on Sevastopol in November failed, and with insufficient forces left for an immediate assault, he ordered an
investment Investment is traditionally defined as the "commitment of resources into something expected to gain value over time". If an investment involves money, then it can be defined as a "commitment of money to receive more money later". From a broade ...
of the heavily fortified city. By 17 December 1941 he launched another offensive, which also failed. On 26 December Soviet troops landed on the
Kerch Strait The Kerch Strait is a strait in Eastern Europe. It connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, separating the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea in the west from the Taman Peninsula of Russia's Krasnodar Krai in the east. The strait is to wide and up ...
s to retake
Kerch Kerch, also known as Keriç or Kerich, is a city of regional significance on the Kerch Peninsula in the east of Crimea. It has a population of Founded 2,600 years ago as the Colonies in antiquity#Greek colonies, ancient Greek colony Pantik ...
and its peninsula, and on 30 December 1941 executed another landing near
Feodosiya Feodosia (, ''Feodosiia, Teodosiia''; , ''Feodosiya''), also called in English Theodosia (from ), is a city on the Crimean coast of the Black Sea. Feodosia serves as the administrative center of Feodosia Municipality, one of the regions into w ...
. Only a hurried withdrawal from the Kerch Peninsula, in contravention of Manstein's orders, by the 46th Infantry Division under General
Hans Graf von Sponeck Hans Emil Otto Graf von Sponeck (12 February 1888 – 23 July 1944) was a German general during World War II who was imprisoned for disobeying orders and later executed. Pre-World War II career Hans Graf von Sponeck was born in 1888 in Düsse ...
, prevented an Axis collapse in the eastern part of the Crimea; the division lost most of its heavy equipment. Manstein cancelled a planned resumption of the attack and sent most of his forces east to destroy the Soviet bridgehead. The Soviet forces were in a superior position regarding men and materiel as they were able to re-supply by sea; accordingly, Stalin pushed them to conduct further offensives. However, the Soviet troops were unable to capture the critical rail- and road-access points which would have cut the German lines of supply. For the
Battle of the Kerch Peninsula The Battle of the Kerch Peninsula, which commenced with the Soviet Kerch-Feodosia Landing Operation () and ended with the German Operation Bustard Hunt (), was a World War II battle between Erich von Manstein's Nazi Germany, German and Kingdom o ...
, launched on 8 May 1942, Hitler finally assigned Manstein major air support. The 11th Army was outnumbered on the ground, so Manstein had them feint an attack in the north while the bulk of the force attacked to the south. The Soviet troops soon fled. Manstein recorded in his memoirs the capture of "170,000 prisoners, 1,133 guns and 258 tanks". Kerch was captured on 16 May. The ''Wehrmacht'' lost only 8,000 men. After a month's delay, Manstein turned his attention once more to the capture of Sevastopol, a battle in which Germany used some of the largest guns ever built. Along with large numbers of regular artillery pieces, super-heavy
Karl-Gerät ''Karl-Gerät'' (040/041) ( in German), also known as ''Mörser Karl'', was a World War II German Self-propelled gun, self-propelled siege Mortar (weapon), mortar (''Mörser'') designed and built by Rheinmetall. Its heaviest munition was a di ...
mortars and the "Dora"
railway gun A railway gun, also called a railroad gun, is a large artillery piece, often surplus naval artillery, mounted on, transported by, and fired from a specially designed railroad car, railway wagon. Many countries have built railway guns, but the ...
were brought in for the assault. A furious barrage began on the morning of 2 June 1942. All of the resources of the ''
Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
''s ''
Luftflotte 4 ''Luftflotte'' 4For an explanation of the meaning of Luftwaffe unit designation see Luftwaffe Organisation (Air Fleet 4) was one of the primary divisions of the German Luftwaffe in World War II. It was formed on 18 March 1939, from Luftwaffenkomm ...
'', commanded by
Wolfram von Richthofen Wolfram Karl Ludwig Moritz Hermann Freiherr von Richthofen (10 October 1895 – 12 July 1945) was a German World War I flying ace who rose to the rank of ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (Field Marshal) in the Luftwaffe during World War II. In the ...
, were committed; the barrage continued for five days before the ground assault began. The 11th Army gained ground during mid-June, focusing their attention on the northern approaches to the city. Casualties were high on both sides as the month dragged on. Aware of the need to act before the German offensive of 1942 reduced the availability of reinforcements and supplies, Manstein ordered a surprise attack across using amphibious landings on 29 June 1942. The operation was a success; Soviet resistance crumbled. On 1 July 1942 German forces entered the city while the Soviet forces conducted a disorganised evacuation, and Hitler promoted Manstein to ''Generalfeldmarschall'' the same day. The entire city was in German hands by 4 July 1942. During the Crimean campaign Manstein was indirectly involved in atrocities against the Soviet population, especially those committed by ''
Einsatzgruppe (, ; also 'task forces') were (SS) paramilitary death squads of Nazi Germany that were responsible for mass murder, primarily by shooting, during World War II (1939–1945) in German-occupied Europe. The had an integral role in the impl ...
'' D, one of several
Schutzstaffel The ''Schutzstaffel'' (; ; SS; also stylised with SS runes as ''ᛋᛋ'') was a major paramilitary organisation under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe during World War II. It beg ...
(SS) groups that had been tasked with the elimination of the Jews of Europe. ''Einsatzgruppe'' D travelled in the wake of Manstein's 11th Army and were provided by Manstein's command with vehicles, fuel, and drivers. Military police cordoned off areas where the ''Einsatzgruppe'' planned to shoot Jews to prevent anyone from escaping. Captain Ulrich Gunzert, shocked to have witnessed ''Einsatzgruppe'' D massacre a group of Jewish women and children, went to Manstein to ask him to do something to stop the murders. Gunzert states that Manstein told him to forget what he had seen and to concentrate on fighting the Red Army. Eleven of the seventeen charges against Manstein at his later war crimes trial related to Nazi maltreatment and murder of Jews and prisoners-of-war in the Crimea.


Siege of Leningrad

After the capture of Sevastopol, Hitler felt Manstein was the right man to command the forces at
Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
, which had been under siege since September 1941. With elements of the 11th Army, Manstein was transferred to the Leningrad front, arriving on 27 August 1942. Manstein again lacked the proper forces to storm the city, so he planned Operation Nordlicht, a bold plan for a thrust to cut off Leningrad's supply line at
Lake Ladoga Lake Ladoga is a freshwater lake located in the Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia, in the vicinity of Saint Petersburg. It is the largest lake located entirely in Europe, the second largest lake in Russia after Lake ...
. However, on the day of his arrival, the Red Army launched the Sinyavin Offensive. Originally planned as a spoiling attack against
Georg Lindemann Georg Lindemann (8 March 1884 – 25 September 1963) was a German general during World War II. He commanded a division in Poland and France, a corps in the Balkans and Russia, 18th Army outside Leningrad, and later Army Group North. His cousi ...
's 18th Army in the narrow German salient west of Lake Ladoga, the offensive appeared able to break through the German lines, lifting the siege. Hitler, bypassing the usual chain of command, telephoned Manstein directly and ordered him to take offensive action in the area. After a series of heavy battles, he launched a counterattack on 21 September 1942 that cut off the two Soviet armies in the salient. Fighting continued throughout October 1942. Although the Soviet offensive was fended off, the resulting attrition meant that the ''Wehrmacht'' could no longer execute a decisive assault on Leningrad, and ''Nordlicht'' was put on hold. The siege was finally lifted by the Soviet forces in January 1944.


Battle of Stalingrad

In an attempt to resolve their persistent shortage of oil, the ''Wehrmacht'' had launched ''Fall Blau'' (
Case Blue Case Blue (German: ''Fall Blau'') was the ''Wehrmacht'' plan for the 1942 strategic summer offensive in southern Russia between 28 June and 24 November 1942, during World War II. The objective was to capture the oil fields of Baku ( Azerb ...
), a massive offensive aimed against the Caucasian oilfields, in 1942. After German air attacks, the 6th Army, led by
Friedrich Paulus Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Paulus (23 September 1890 – 1 February 1957) was a German ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (Field Marshal) during World War II who is best known for his surrender of the German 6th Army (Wehrmacht), 6th Army during the Battle ...
, was tasked with capturing
Stalingrad Volgograd,. geographical renaming, formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area o ...
, a key city on the
River Volga The Volga (, ) is the longest river in Europe and the longest endorheic basin river in the world. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Caspian Sea. The Volga has a length of , and a catchment a ...
. His troops, supported by
4th Panzer Army The 4th Panzer Army (), operating as Panzer Group 4 () from its formation on 15 February 1941 to 1 January 1942, was a German panzer formation during World War II. As a key armoured component of the Wehrmacht, the army took part in the crucial ...
, entered the city on 12 September. Hand-to-hand combat and street fighting ensued. The Red Army launched a huge counteroffensive on 19 November, codenamed
Operation Uranus Operation Uranus () was a Soviet 19–23 November 1942 strategic operation on the Eastern Front of World War II which led to the encirclement of Axis forces in the vicinity of Stalingrad: the German Sixth Army, the Third and Fourth Romani ...
, which was designed to encircle the German armies and trap them in the city; this goal was accomplished on 23 November. Hitler, aware that if Stalingrad were lost it would likely never be retaken, appointed Manstein as commander of the newly created
Army Group Don Army Group Don () was a short-lived army group of the German Army during World War II. It existed between November 1942 and February 1943 and was primarily concerned with the Battle of Stalingrad, which was concurrently fought. History After a ...
(''Heeresgruppe Don''), tasked with mounting a relief operation named ''Unternehmen Wintergewitter'' (
Operation Winter Storm Operation Winter Storm (), a German offensive in December 1942 during World War II, involved the German 4th Panzer Army failing to break the Soviet encirclement of the German 6th Army during the Battle of Stalingrad. In late November 1942 the ...
), to reinforce the German hold on the city. Manstein's initial assessment on 24 November was that the 6th Army, given adequate air support, would be able to hold on. In October 1942, his son, Gero, was killed in battle. He later described this as "The worst thing that happened to me personally during the war". Launched on 12 December, Winter Storm achieved some initial success. Manstein's three Panzer divisions (comprising the 23rd, 6th, and 17th Panzer Divisions) and supporting units of the LVII Panzer Corps advanced to within of Stalingrad by 20 December at the Myshkova River, where they came under assault by Soviet tanks in blizzard conditions. Manstein made a request to Hitler on 18 December that 6th Army should attempt to break out. Hitler was against it, and both Manstein and Paulus were reluctant to openly disobey his orders. Conditions deteriorated inside the city; the men suffered from lice, the cold weather, and inadequate supplies of food and ammunition. Reichsminister of Aviation
Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician, aviator, military leader, and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which gov ...
had assured Hitler that the trapped 6th Army could be adequately supplied by air, but due to poor weather, a lack of aircraft, and mechanical difficulties, this turned out not to be the case. On 24 January, Manstein urged Hitler to allow Paulus to surrender, but he refused. In spite of Hitler's wishes, Paulus surrendered with his remaining 91,000 soldiers on 31 January 1943. Some 200,000 German and Romanian soldiers died; of those who surrendered, only 6,000 survivors returned to Germany after the end of the war. Manstein believed he had done his best for the 6th Army. The encircled men saw it differently: American historians
Williamson Murray Williamson "Wick" Murray (November 23, 1941 – August 1, 2023) was an American historian and author. He authored numerous works on history and strategic studies, and served as an editor on other projects extensively. He was professor emeritus o ...
and Allan Millett wrote that Manstein's message to Hitler on 24 November advising him that the 6th Army should not break out, along with Göring's statements that the Luftwaffe could supply Stalingrad, "... sealed the fate of Sixth Army". Historians, including
Gerhard Weinberg Gerhard Ludwig Weinberg (born 1 January 1928) is a German-born American Diplomatic history, diplomatic and Military History, military historian noted for his studies in the history of Nazi Germany and World War II. Weinberg is the William Rand Ke ...
, have pointed out that Manstein's version of the events at Stalingrad in his memoir is distorted and several events described there were probably made up. "Because of the sensitivity of the Stalingrad question in post-war Germany, Manstein worked as hard to distort the record on this matter as on his massive involvement in the murder of Jews", wrote Weinberg. Meanwhile, the Red Army launched an offensive of their own.
Operation Saturn Operation Little Saturn () was a Red Army offensive on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front of World War II that led to battles in Don and Chir rivers region in German-occupied Soviet Union territory in 16–30 December 1942. The suc ...
was intended to capture
Rostov Rostov-on-Don is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East European Plain on the Don River, from the Sea of Azov, directly north of t ...
and thus cut off the German
Army Group A Army Group A () was the name of three distinct army groups of the ''German Army (1935–1945), Heer'', the ground forces of the ''Wehrmacht'', during World War II. The first Army Group A, previously known as "Army Group South", was active from Oct ...
. However, after the launch of Winter Storm, the Soviet army had to reallocate forces to prevent the relief of Stalingrad, so the operation was scaled down and redubbed "Little Saturn". The offensive forced Manstein to divert forces to avoid the collapse of the entire front. The attack also prevented the
XLVIII Panzer Corps XXXXVIII Panzer Corps (also: XXXXVIII Army Corp or XXXXVIII. Armeekorps), was a corps-level formation of the German Army which saw extensive action on both the Eastern and Western Fronts during World War II. History The corps was originally f ...
(comprising the 336th Infantry Division, the 3rd Luftwaffe Field Division, and the
11th Panzer Division The 11th Panzer Division () was an armoured division in the German Army during World War II, established in 1940. The division saw action on the Eastern and Western Fronts during the Second World War. The 11th Panzer Division did not partici ...
), under the command of General
Otto von Knobelsdorff Otto von Knobelsdorff (31 March 1886 – 21 October 1966) was a German general during World War II who led the 19th Panzer Division and then held a series of higher commands. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Le ...
, from joining up with the LVII Panzer Corps as planned to aid the relief effort. Instead, the XLVIII Panzer Corps held a line along the
Chir River The Chir () is a river in Rostov and Volgograd oblasts of Russia. It is a right tributary of the Don, and is long, with a drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such ...
, beating off successive Soviet attacks. General
Hermann Balck Georg Otto Hermann Balck (7 December 1893 – 29 November 1982) was a highly decorated officer of the German Army who served in both World War I and World War II, rising to the rank of General der Panzertruppe. Early career Balck was born in ...
used the 11th Panzer Division to counterattack Soviet salients. On the verge of collapse, the German units were able to hold the line, but the Italian 8th Army on the flanks was overwhelmed and subsequently destroyed. Spurred on by this success, the Red Army planned a series of follow-up offensives in January and February 1943 intended to decisively beat the German forces in southern Russia. After the destruction of the remaining Hungarian and Italian forces during the Ostrogozhsk–Rossosh Offensive,
Operation Star Operation Star or Operation Zvezda () was a Red Army offensive on the Eastern Front of World War II begun on 2 February 1943. The attack was the responsibility of the Voronezh Front under the command of Filipp Golikov and a part of the larger ...
and
Operation Gallop Operation Gallop () was a Soviet Army operation on the Eastern Front of World War II. The operation was part of a series of counteroffensives after the encirclement of Stalingrad (now Volgograd) following the German Summer offensive in 1942 ...
were launched to recapture
Kharkov Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.
and
Kursk Kursk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur (Kursk Oblast), Kur, Tuskar, and Seym (river), Seym rivers. It has a population of Kursk ...
and to cut off all German forces east of
Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; ; ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin, and Stalino, is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine located on the Kalmius River in Donetsk Oblast, which is currently occupied by Russia as the capita ...
. Those operations succeeded in breaking through the German lines and threatened the whole southern part of the German front. To deal with this threat, Army Group Don,
Army Group B Army Group B () was the name of four distinct German Army Group, army group commands that saw action during World War II. The first Army Group B was created on 12 October 1939 (from the former Army Group North) and fought in the Battle of France ...
, and parts of Army Group A were united as
Army Group South Army Group South () was the name of one of three German Army Groups during World War II. It was first used in the 1939 September Campaign, along with Army Group North to invade Poland. In the invasion of Poland, Army Group South was led by Ge ...
(''Heeresgruppe Süd'') under Manstein's command in early February.


Kharkov counter-offensive

During their offensives in February 1943, the Red Army broke through the German lines, retaking Kursk on 9 February. As Army Groups B and Don were in danger of being surrounded, Manstein repeatedly called for reinforcements. Although Hitler called on 13 February for Kharkov to be held "at all costs", ''
SS-Oberst-Gruppenführer ''SS-Oberst-Gruppenführer'' () was (from 1942 to 1945) the highest commissioned rank in the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS), with the exception of ''Reichsführer-SS'', which became a commissioned rank when held by SS commander Heinrich Himmler. The ...
''
Paul Hausser Paul Hausser, also known by his birth name Paul Falk post war (7 October 1880 – 21 December 1972), was a German general and, together with Sepp Dietrich, one of the two highest ranking commanders in the Waffen-SS. He played a key role in the ...
, commander of the
II SS Panzer Corps The II SS Panzer Corps was a German ''Waffen-SS'' armoured corps which saw action on both the Eastern and Western Fronts during World War II. It was commanded by Paul Hausser during the Third Battle of Kharkov and the Battle of Kursk in 1943 and ...
, ordered the city evacuated on 15 February. Hitler arrived at the front in person on 17 February, and over the course of three days of exhausting meetings, Manstein convinced him that offensive action was needed in the area to regain the initiative and prevent encirclement. Troops were reorganised and reinforcements were pulled into the zone from neighbouring armies. Manstein immediately began planning a counteroffensive, launched on 20 February, that later became known as the "backhand blow"; Vatutin and the Soviet forces, believing that Manstein would retreat, were taken completely by surprise. By 2 March, the ''Wehrmacht'' had captured 615 tanks and had killed some 23,000 Soviet soldiers. To reinforce the point that the recapture of Kharkov was important politically, Hitler travelled again to the front lines in Ukraine on 10 March 1943 where he met with Manstein to review the situation. Manstein carefully assembled his available forces along a wide front to prevent their encirclement and the Germans recaptured Kharkov on 14 March, after bloody street fighting in the
Third Battle of Kharkov The Third Battle of Kharkov was a series of battles on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front of World War II, undertaken by Nazi Germany's Army Group South against the Soviet Red Army, around the city of Kharkov between 19 February ...
. For this accomplishment, he received the Oak Leaves for the Knight's Cross. Hausser's II SS Panzer Corps captured
Belgorod Belgorod (, ) is a city that serves as the administrative center of Belgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Seversky Donets River, approximately north of the border with Ukraine. It has a population of It was founded in 1596 as a defensiv ...
on 18 March. Manstein's counteroffensive had not only prevented the disintegration of the entire front, it had regained substantial territory and resulted in the destruction of three Soviet armies and the retreat of three others. Soviet casualties for the preceding month in that sector had been 46,000 dead and 14,000 taken prisoner. Captured or destroyed were 600 tanks and 1,200 pieces of artillery. The spring thaw began by 23 March, ending operations in the area for the time being. Planning was then undertaken to eliminate the enemy salient at Kursk.


Operation Citadel

Manstein favoured an immediate pincer attack on the Kursk salient after the battle at Kharkov, but Hitler was concerned that such a plan would draw forces away from the industrial region in the
Donets Basin The Seversky Donets () or Siverskyi Donets (), usually simply called the Donets (), is a river on the south of the East European Plain. It originates in the Central Russian Upland, north of Belgorod, flows south-east through Ukraine (Kharkiv ...
. In any event, the ground was still too muddy to move the tanks into position. In lieu of an immediate attack, the OKH prepared Operation Citadel, the launching of which would be delayed while more troops were gathered in the area and the mud solidified. Meanwhile, the Red Army, well aware of the danger of encirclement, also moved in large numbers of reinforcements, and their intelligence reports revealed the expected locations and timing of the German thrusts. Citadel was the last German strategic offensive on the Eastern Front, and one of the largest battles in history, involving more than four million men. By the time the ''Wehrmacht'' launched their initial assault on 5 July 1943, the Soviet forces outnumbered them by nearly three to one.
Walter Model Otto Moritz Walter Model (; 24 January 1891 – 21 April 1945) was a German during World War II. Although he was a hard-driving, aggressive panzer commander early in the war, Model became best known as a practitioner of defensive warfare. H ...
was in command of the northern pincer, with the Ninth Army, while Manstein's Army Group South formed the southern pincer. Both armies were slowed as the tanks were blown up in minefields and caught up in combat on a series of prepared Soviet defensive lines. After five days of fighting Model's advance was stopped, with the Ninth Panzers suffering 25,000 casualties. By 13 July Model's forces were being drawn away towards Orel, where the Soviet army had launched
Operation Kutuzov Operation Kutuzov was the first of the two counteroffensives launched by the Red Army as part of the Kursk Strategic Offensive Operation. It commenced on 12 July 1943, in the Central Russian Upland, against Army Group Center of the German ''Ger ...
. Manstein's forces were able to penetrate the Soviet lines, causing heavy casualties. He reached, but did not enter or capture,
Prokhorovka Prokhorovka () is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. ;Urban localities *Prokhorovka, Belgorod Oblast, a settlement in Prokhorovsky District of Belgorod Oblast ;Rural localities * Prokhorovka, Irkutsk Oblast, a village in Osin ...
, his first major objective, on 11 July, inflicting serious Soviet losses in the resulting
Battle of Prokhorovka The Battle of Prokhorovka was fought on 12 July 1943 near Prokhorovka, Belgorod Oblast, Prokhorovka, southeast of Kursk, in the Soviet Union, during the Second World War. Taking place on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front, the e ...
. However, on 13 July Hitler called off the failed Kursk offensive; the Allies had landed in Sicily, so he issued the order for a withdrawal. Manstein protested; he felt that the Soviet forces had exhausted all their reserves in the area, and he did not want to stop until all his own reserves had been committed. Hitler, however, insisted on calling off the operation. Although Soviet casualties were indeed heavy, modern historians discount the possibility of a successful German continuation of the offensive.


Retreat to the Dnieper

Manstein regarded the Battle of Kursk as something of a German victory, as he believed that he had destroyed much of the Red Army's offensive capacity for the rest of 1943. This assessment turned out to be incorrect, as the Red Army was able to recover much faster than Manstein expected. Manstein moved his panzer reserves to the
Mius River The Mius (; ) is a river in Eastern Europe that flows through Ukraine and Russia. It is long, and has a drainage basin of .Миус
and the lower Dnieper, not realising the Soviet activities there were a diversion. A Soviet offensive that began on 3 August put Army Group South under heavy pressure. After two days of heavy fighting, the Soviet troops broke through the German lines and retook
Belgorod Belgorod (, ) is a city that serves as the administrative center of Belgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Seversky Donets River, approximately north of the border with Ukraine. It has a population of It was founded in 1596 as a defensiv ...
, punching a wide hole between the Fourth Panzer Army and the
Army Detachment Kempf Army Detachment Kempf was an army-sized formation of the ''Wehrmacht'' on the Eastern Front during World War II. As part of Army Group South, Detachment Kempf saw action during Operation Citadel, the German attempt to cut off the Kursk salient ...
, tasked with holding Kharkov. In response to Manstein's demands for reinforcements, Hitler sent the ''Großdeutschland'', 7th Panzer, SS 2nd ''Das Reich'', and SS 3rd ''Totenkopf'' Divisions. Construction began of defensive positions along the Dnieper, but Hitler refused requests to pull back, insisting that Kharkov be held. With reinforcements trickling in, Manstein waged a series of counterattacks and armoured battles near
Bohodukhiv left Bohodukhiv ( ; ) is a city in Kharkiv Oblast, eastern Ukraine. It is the administrative centre of Bohodukhiv Raion. Bohodukhiv hosts the administration of Bohodukhiv urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Current population: Hist ...
and
Okhtyrka Okhtyrka (, ; ) is a city in Sumy Oblast, Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Okhtyrka Raion within the oblast. Okhtyrka was once home to Hussars and Cossacks. It was also in the past a regional seat of the Sloboda Ukraine Imperia ...
between 13 and 17 August, which resulted in heavy casualties as they ran into prepared Soviet lines. On 20 August he informed the OKH that his forces in the Donets river area were holding a too-wide front with insufficient numbers, and that he needed to either withdraw to the
Dnieper River The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called Dnipro ( ), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately long, with ...
or receive reinforcements. Continuous pressure from the Soviet forces had separated Army Group Centre from Army Group South and severely threatened Manstein's northern flank. When the Red Army threw their main reserves behind a drive to retake Kharkov on 21–22 August, Manstein took advantage of this to close the gap between the 4th Panzer and 8th Armies and reestablish a defensive line. Hitler finally allowed Manstein to withdraw back across the Dnieper on 15 September. During the withdrawal, Manstein ordered
scorched earth A scorched-earth policy is a military strategy of destroying everything that allows an enemy military force to be able to fight a war, including the deprivation and destruction of water, food, humans, animals, plants and any kind of tools and i ...
actions to be taken in a zone from the river, and later faced charges at his war crimes trial for issuing this order. Soviet losses in July and August included over 1.6 million casualties, 10,000 tanks and self-propelled artillery pieces, and 4,200 aircraft. German losses, while only one-tenth that of the Soviet losses, were much more difficult to sustain, as there were no further reserves of men and materiel to draw on. In a series of four meetings that September, Manstein tried unsuccessfully to convince Hitler to reorganise the high command and let his generals make more of the military decisions.


Battle of the Dnieper

In September 1943 Manstein withdrew to the west bank of the Dnieper in an operation that for the most part was well-ordered, but at times degenerated into a disorganised rout as his exhausted soldiers became "unglued". Hundreds of thousands of Soviet civilians travelled west with them, many bringing livestock and personal property. Manstein correctly deduced that the next Soviet attack would be towards
Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...
, but as had been the case throughout the campaign, the Red Army used ''
maskirovka Russian military deception, sometimes known as (), is a military doctrine developed from the start of the 20th century. The doctrine covers a broad range of measures for military deception, from camouflage to denial and deception. Deceptive me ...
'' (deception) to disguise the timing and exact location of their intended offensive. Historians
Williamson Murray Williamson "Wick" Murray (November 23, 1941 – August 1, 2023) was an American historian and author. He authored numerous works on history and strategic studies, and served as an editor on other projects extensively. He was professor emeritus o ...
and Allan Reed Millett wrote that many German generals' "fanatical belief" in
Nazi racial theories The German Nazi Party adopted and developed several Racial hierarchy, racial hierarchical categorizations as an important part of its racist ideology (Nazism) in order to justify enslavement, genocide, extermination, racism, ethnic persecut ...
" ... made the idea that Slavs could manipulate German intelligence with such consistency utterly inconceivable". The
1st Ukrainian Front The 1st Ukrainian Front (), previously the Voronezh Front (), was a major formation of the Red Army during World War II, being equivalent to a Western army group. They took part in the capture of Berlin, the capital of Nazi Germany. Wartime ...
, led by Nikolai Fyodorovich Vatutin, met the outnumbered Fourth Panzer Army near Kiev. Vatutin first made a thrust near Liutezh, just north of Kiev, and then attacked near Bukrin, to the south, on 1 November. The German troops, thinking Bukrin would be the location of the main attack, were taken completely by surprise when Vatutin captured the bridgehead at Liutezh and gained a foothold on the west bank of the Dnieper. Kiev was liberated on 6 November. The 17th Army was cut off and isolated in the Crimea by the attacking
4th Ukrainian Front The 4th Ukrainian Front () was the name of two distinct Red Army strategic army groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The front was first formed on 20 October 1943, by renaming the Southern Front and was involved in the Lower ...
on 28 October. Under the guidance of General
Hermann Balck Georg Otto Hermann Balck (7 December 1893 – 29 November 1982) was a highly decorated officer of the German Army who served in both World War I and World War II, rising to the rank of General der Panzertruppe. Early career Balck was born in ...
, the cities of
Zhytomyr Zhytomyr ( ; see #Names, below for other names) is a city in the north of the western half of Ukraine. It is the Capital city, administrative center of Zhytomyr Oblast (Oblast, province), as well as the administrative center of the surrounding ...
and
Korosten Korosten (, ), also historically known as Iskorosten (), is a historic city and a large transport hub in Zhytomyr Oblast, northern Ukraine. It is located on the Uzh (Pripyat), Uzh River. Korosten serves as the Capital city, administrative center ...
were retaken in mid-November, but after receiving reinforcements Vatutin resumed the offensive on 24 December 1943, and the Red Army continued its successful advance. Manstein's repeated requests to Hitler for more reinforcements were turned down. On 4 January 1944 Manstein met with Hitler to tell him that the Dnieper line was untenable and that he needed to retreat in order to save his forces. Hitler refused, and Manstein again requested changes in the highest levels of the military leadership, but was turned down, as Hitler believed that he alone was capable of managing the wider strategy. In January Manstein was forced to retreat further west by the Soviet offensive. Without waiting for permission from Hitler, he ordered the German XI and XXXXII Corps (consisting of 56,000 men in six divisions) of Army Group South to break out of the
Korsun Pocket Korsun may refer to: ;Places * Korsun, Slavic name for the ancient Greek colony of Chersonesos Taurica in Crimea * a name of Korsun-Shevchenkivskyi, Ukraine before 1944 * Korsun, Donetsk Oblast, an urban-type settlement in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine * ...
during the night of 16–17 February 1944. By the beginning of March, the Soviet forces had driven the ''Wehrmacht'' well back of the river. Because of Hitler's directive of 19 March that from that point forward all positions were to be defended to the last man, Manstein's
1st Panzer Army The 1st Panzer Army () was a German tank army that was a large armoured formation of the Wehrmacht during World War II. When originally formed on 1 March 1940, the predecessor of the 1st Panzer Army was named Panzer Group Kleist (''Panzergruppe ...
became encircled on 21 March when permission to break out was not received from Hitler in time. Manstein flew to Hitler's headquarters in
Lvov Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...
to try to convince him to change his mind. Hitler eventually relented, but relieved Manstein of his command on 30 March 1944. Manstein appeared on the cover of the 10 January 1944 issue of ''Time'' magazine, above the caption "Retreat may be masterly, but victory is in the opposite direction".


Dismissal

Manstein received the Swords of the Knight's Cross on 30 March 1944 and handed over control of Army Group South to Model on 2 April during a meeting at Hitler's mountain retreat, the Berghof. Model's adjutant, Günther Reichhelm, later described the scene and Manstein's response: While on medical leave after surgery to remove a cataract in his right eye, Manstein recovered at home in
Liegnitz Legnica (; , ; ; ) is a city in southwestern Poland, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the Kaczawa River and the Czarna Woda. As well as being the seat of the county, since 1992 the city has been the seat of the Diocese of Legnica. L ...
and in a medical facility in
Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...
. He suffered from an infection and for a time was in danger of losing his sight. On the day of the failed
20 July plot The 20 July plot, sometimes referred to as Operation Valkyrie, was a failed attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler, the chancellor and leader of Nazi Germany, and overthrow the Nazi regime on 20 July 1944. The plotters were part of the German r ...
, an assassination attempt on Hitler's life that was part of a planned military ''coup d'état'', Manstein was at a seaside resort on the Baltic. Although he had met at various times with three of the main conspirators
Claus von Stauffenberg Claus Philipp Maria Justinian Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg (; 15 November 1907 – 21 July 1944) was a German army officer who is best known for his failed attempt on 20 July 1944 to assassinate Adolf Hitler at the Wolf's Lair, part of Op ...
,
Henning von Tresckow Henning Hermann Karl Robert von Tresckow (; 10 January 1901 – 21 July 1944) was a German military officer with the rank of major general in the German Army who helped organize German resistance against Adolf Hitler. He attempted to assassin ...
, and
Rudolf Christoph Freiherr von Gersdorff Rudolf Christoph Freiherr von Gersdorff (27 March 1905 – 27 January 1980) was an officer in the German Army. As a Wehrmacht intelligence officer, he attempted to assassinate Adolf Hitler by suicide bombing on 21 March 1943; the plan failed w ...
Manstein was not involved in the conspiracy; he later said ''"Preussische Feldmarschälle meutern nicht"''—"Prussian field marshals do not mutiny." Still, the
Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...
placed Manstein's house under surveillance. When it became obvious that Hitler was not going to appoint him to a new post, Manstein bought an estate in East Pomerania in October 1944, but he was soon forced to abandon it when Soviet forces overran the area. His home at Liegnitz had to be evacuated on 22 January 1945, and he and his family took refuge temporarily with friends in Berlin. While there, Manstein tried to get an audience with Hitler in the ''
Führerbunker The () was an air raid shelter located near the Reich Chancellery in Berlin, Germany. It was part of a subterranean bunker complex constructed in two phases in 1936 and 1944. It was the last of the Führer Headquarters (''Führerhaupt ...
'' but was turned away. He and his family continued to move farther west into Germany until the war in Europe ended with a German defeat in May 1945. Manstein suffered further complications in his right eye and was receiving treatment in a hospital in
Heiligenhafen Heiligenhafen (; Holsatian: ''Hilligenhaven'') is a town in the district of Ostholstein, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is situated on the Baltic Sea coast, opposite the island Fehmarn, approx. 60 km northeast of Lübeck, and 55 km ...
when he was arrested by the British and transferred to a prisoner of war camp near
Lüneburg Lüneburg, officially the Hanseatic City of Lüneburg and also known in English as Lunenburg, is a town in the German Bundesland (Germany), state of Lower Saxony. It is located about southeast of another Hanseatic League, Hanseatic city, Hambur ...
on 26 August.


Post-war


Trial and conviction

Manstein was moved to
Nuremberg Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...
in October 1945. He was held at the Palace of Justice, the location of the
Nuremberg trials #REDIRECT Nuremberg trials {{redirect category shell, {{R from other capitalisation{{R from move ...
of major Nazi war criminals and organisations. While there, Manstein helped prepare a 132-page document for the defence of the General Staff and the OKW, on trial at Nuremberg in August 1946. The myth that the ''Wehrmacht'' was "clean"not culpable for the events of the Holocaustarose partly as a result of this document, written largely by Manstein, along with General of Cavalry
Siegfried Westphal __NOTOC__ Siegfried Carl Theodor Westphal (18 March 1902 – 2 July 1982) was a German general in the Wehrmacht during World War II. Upon the outbreak of the war, Westphal, then a major, served as the operations officer 58th Infantry Division ...
. He also gave oral testimony about the ''Einsatzgruppen'', the treatment of prisoners of war, and the concept of military obedience, especially as related to the
Commissar Order The Commissar Order () was an order issued by the German High Command ( OKW) on 6 June 1941 before Operation Barbarossa. Its official name was Guidelines for the Treatment of Political Commissars (''Richtlinien für die Behandlung politischer Ko ...
, an order issued by Hitler in 1941, requiring all Soviet political commissars to be shot without trial. Manstein admitted that he received the order, but said he did not carry it out. Documents from 1941 presented at Nuremberg and at Manstein's own later trial contradict this claim: He actually received regular reports throughout that period regarding the execution of hundreds of political commissars. He denied any knowledge of the activities of the ''Einsatzgruppen'', and testified that soldiers under his command were not involved in the murder of Jewish civilians.
Otto Ohlendorf Otto Ohlendorf (; 4 February 1907 – 7 June 1951) was a German Schutzstaffel, SS functionary and Holocaust perpetrator during the Nazi era. An economist by education, he was head of the Sicherheitsdienst#Inland-SD, (SD) Inland, responsible ...
, commander of ''Einsatzgruppe'' D, contradicted this during his testimony, saying that not only was Manstein aware of what was happening but that the Eleventh Army was involved. In September 1946, the General Staff and the OKW were declared to not be a criminal organisation. Their decision was that a collection of military officers was not a group or organisation as defined by article 9 of their charter. After his testimony at Nuremberg, Manstein was interned by the British as a prisoner of war at
Island Farm Island Farm, also called Camp 198, was a prisoner of war camp on the outskirts of the town of Bridgend, South Wales. It hosted a number of Axis Powers, Axis prisoners, mainly German, and was the scene of the largest escape attempt by German POWs ...
(also known as Special Camp 11) in
Bridgend Bridgend (; or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in the Bridgend County Borough of Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the Old Bridge, Bridgend, medieval bridge over the River Og ...
,
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
, where he awaited the decision as to whether or not he would face a war crimes trial. He mostly kept apart from the other inmates, taking solitary walks, tending a small garden, and beginning work on the drafts of two books. British author B. H. Liddell Hart was in correspondence with Manstein and others at Island Farm and visited inmates of several camps around Britain while preparing his best-selling 1947 book ''On the Other Side of the Hill''. Liddell Hart was an admirer of the German generals; he described Manstein as an operational genius. The two remained in contact, and Liddell Hart later helped Manstein arrange the publication of the English edition of his memoir, '' Verlorene Siege'' (''Lost Victories''), in 1958. The British cabinet, under pressure from the Soviet Union, finally decided in July 1948 to prosecute Manstein for war crimes. He and three other senior officers (
Walther von Brauchitsch Walther Heinrich Alfred Hermann von Brauchitsch (4 October 1881 – 18 October 1948) was a German ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (Field Marshal) and Commander-in-Chief (''Oberbefehlshaber'') of the German Army during the first two years of World War ...
, Gerd von Rundstedt and Adolf Strauss) were transferred to ''
Munsterlager The Munster Training Area (German: ''Truppenübungsplatz Munster'') is a military training area in Germany on the Lüneburg Heath. It comprises two separate areas with different purposes: Munster North (''Munster-Nord'') (size: ) and Munster ...
'' to await trial. Brauchitsch died that October and Rundstedt and Strauss were released on medical grounds in March 1949. Manstein's trial was held in Hamburg from 23 August to 19 December 1949. Manstein faced seventeen charges at the trial, three of which pertained to events in Poland and fourteen regarding events in the Soviet Union. Charges included maltreatment of prisoners of war, co-operation with the ''Einsatzgruppe'' D in murdering Jewish residents of the Crimea, and disregarding the welfare of civilians by using "scorched earth" tactics while retreating from the Soviet Union. The prosecution, led by senior counsel
Arthur Comyns Carr Sir Arthur Strettell Comyns Carr (19 September 1882 – 20 April 1965) was a British Liberal politician and lawyer. Family and education Comyns Carr was the son of J. Comyns Carr, a dramatist and art critic. His mother, Alice Comyns Carr (18 ...
, used an order Manstein had signed on 20 November 1941, based on the
Severity Order The Severity Order or Reichenau Order was the name given to an order promulgated within the German Sixth Army on the Eastern Front during World War II by ''Generalfeldmarschall'' Walter von Reichenau on 10 October 1941. Text of the order The ...
that had been issued by Field Marshal
Walther von Reichenau Walter Karl Gustav August Ernst von Reichenau (8 October 1884 – 17 January 1942) was a German Generalfeldmarschall (Field Marshal) in the '' Heer'' (Army) of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was nicknamed "The Bull" ( German: ''Der Bulle) ...
, to build their case that Manstein had known about and was complicit with the genocide. The order called for the elimination of the "Jewish Bolshevik system" and the "harsh punishment of Jewry". Manstein claimed that he remembered asking for a draft of such an order but had no recollection of signing it. American historians
Ronald Smelser Ronald Smelser (born 1942) is an American historian, author, and former professor of history at the University of Utah. He specializes in modern European history, including the history of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust, and has written several ...
and
Edward J. Davies Edward J. Davies (born 1947) is an American historian, author, and professor of history at the University of Utah. He specialises in modern American history and has written several books on the subject. Davies is the author, together with fellow ...
wrote in 2008 that Manstein agreed with Hitler's idea that the war against the Soviet Union was a war to exterminate Judeo-Bolshevism and that he committed perjury when he claimed not to remember signing his version of the Severity Order. Manstein's defence, led by the lawyer Reginald Thomas Paget, argued that the order was justified because many partisans were Jews, and therefore Manstein's order calling for all Jews to be executed was justified by his desire to protect his men from partisan attacks. He argued that Manstein was not compelled to disobey orders given by his sovereign government, even if such orders were illegal. Manstein, speaking in his defence, stated that he found the
Nazi racial policy The racial policy of Nazi Germany was a set of policies and laws implemented in Nazi Germany under the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler, based on pseudoscientific and racist doctrines asserting the superiority of the putative "Aryan race", which cl ...
to be repugnant. Sixteen other witnesses testified that Manstein had no knowledge of or involvement in genocide. Paget called the Soviets "savages", arguing that Manstein showed restraint as a "decent German soldier" in upholding the laws of war when fighting against the Soviets, who displayed "appalling savagery". Whether or not Manstein was responsible for the activities of ''Einsatzgruppe'' D, a unit not under his direct control but operating in his zone of command, became one of the key points of the trial. The prosecution claimed it was Manstein's duty to know about the activities of this unit and also his duty to put a stop to their genocidal operations. Recent scholars, including
Ronald Smelser Ronald Smelser (born 1942) is an American historian, author, and former professor of history at the University of Utah. He specializes in modern European history, including the history of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust, and has written several ...
and Benoît Lemay, are of the opinion that he almost certainly perjured himself at his trial and at Nuremberg. Manstein was found guilty on nine of the charges and was sentenced to eighteen years in prison. The charges for which he was found guilty included shooting Soviet war prisoners; carrying out the
Commissar Order The Commissar Order () was an order issued by the German High Command ( OKW) on 6 June 1941 before Operation Barbarossa. Its official name was Guidelines for the Treatment of Political Commissars (''Richtlinien für die Behandlung politischer Ko ...
; and allowing subordinates to shoot civilians. Manstein's supporters in Britain and in Germany protested. Liddell Hart lobbied in the British press, and in Germany the sentence was seen as a political decision. The sentence was reduced to 12 years in February 1950. Paget published a best-selling book in 1951 about Manstein's career and trial which portrayed Manstein as an honourable soldier fighting heroically despite overwhelming odds on the Eastern Front and who had been convicted of crimes that he did not commit. The book helped to contribute to the growing cult surrounding Manstein's name. His release on 7 May 1953 was partly a result of a recurrence of his eye problems but also the result of pressure by
Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
,
Konrad Adenauer Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a German statesman and politician who served as the first Chancellor of Germany, chancellor of West Germany from 1949 to 1963. From 1946 to 1966, he was the first leader of th ...
, Liddell Hart, Paget, and others. Also, the British wanted Germany to take part in the defence of Western Europe, and Adenauer made Germany's re-armament contingent on the release of their war criminals.


Antisemitism

Manstein believed that
Bolshevism Bolshevism (derived from Bolshevik) is a revolutionary socialist current of Soviet Leninist and later Marxist–Leninist political thought and political regime associated with the formation of a rigidly centralized, cohesive and disciplined p ...
and
Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
were inextricably linked, that there was a global conspiracy led by the Jews, and that in order to stop the spread of communism it was necessary to remove the Jews from European society. His order of 20 November 1941, based on the Severity Order of Reichenau, reads in part: Manstein did nothing to prevent the murder of Jews and other civilians in the areas where his units were operating, and in which his Eleventh Army actively participated. That Manstein was well aware of the ''Einsatzgruppen'' massacres is demonstrated by a 1941 letter he sent to
Otto Ohlendorf Otto Ohlendorf (; 4 February 1907 – 7 June 1951) was a German Schutzstaffel, SS functionary and Holocaust perpetrator during the Nazi era. An economist by education, he was head of the Sicherheitsdienst#Inland-SD, (SD) Inland, responsible ...
, in which Manstein demands Ohlendorf hand over the wristwatches of murdered Jews. Manstein felt his men deserved the watches, since they were doing so much to help Ohlendorf's men with their work. Smelser and Davies note that this letter was the only time that Manstein ever complained about the activities of the ''Einsatzgruppen''. Manstein later stated that he felt the number of Jews murdered in the Holocaust was exaggerated.
Antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
was common in Germany and throughout Europe during this period, and Manstein's attitude towards the Jews had its roots in his exposure to and assimilation of these views. Biographer Benoît Lemay describes Manstein's actions as a reflection of his loyalty toward Hitler and the Nazi regime and of his grounding in a sense of duty based on traditional Prussian military values. His criticism of Hitler was based solely on their disagreements over the conduct of the war, not about the regime's racial policies. Some historians, including
Antony Beevor Sir Antony James Beevor, (born 14 December 1946) is a British military historian. He has published several popular historical works, mainly on the Second World War, the Spanish Civil War, and most recently the Russian Revolution and Civil War. ...
and Benoît Lemay, are of the opinion that Manstein had some Jewish ancestry. Manstein was the only ''Reichswehr'' officer who opposed the introduction of the
Aryan paragraph An Aryan paragraph () was a clause in the statutes of an organisation, corporation, or real estate deed that reserved membership or right of residence solely for members of the "Aryan race" and excluded from such rights any non-Aryans, particula ...
in 1934. He sent a letter of protest to General Beck, commenting that anyone who had volunteered to serve in the armed forces had already proven their worth. Lemay speculated that Manstein may have been interested in protecting his two ''
Mischlinge (; ; ) was a pejorative legal term which was used in Nazi Germany to denote persons of mixed "Aryan" and "non-Aryan", such as Jewish, ancestry as they were classified by the Nuremberg racial laws of 1935. In German, the word has the general ...
'' grandnephews who were already serving in the Reichswehr. He may have also been concerned about the possibility that he had distant Jewish ancestry. The SS carried out an investigation into Manstein's ancestry but the report was not completed and the results remain unknown.


Post-war life and memoirs

Along with ten other former senior officers, Manstein was called on in 1955 by the
Amt Blank The Federal Ministry of Defence (, ; abbreviated BMVg) is a top-level federal agency, headed by the Federal Minister of Defence as a member of the Cabinet of Germany. The ministry is headquartered at the Hardthöhe barracks itself located at t ...
to formulate plans for the re-founding of the German army. On 20 June 1953, he spoke to the ''
Bundestag The Bundestag (, "Federal Diet (assembly), Diet") is the lower house of the Germany, German Federalism in Germany, federal parliament. It is the only constitutional body of the federation directly elected by the German people. The Bundestag wa ...
'', giving his analysis of strategic power considerations and the country's defence and spoke about whether the country should have a professional army or a conscripted army. His opinion was that the length of service for ''
Bundeswehr The (, ''Federal Defence'') are the armed forces of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. The is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part consists of the four armed forces: Germ ...
'' conscripts should be at least 18 months, preferably 24 months. His idea to form a reserve force was later implemented. Manstein's war memoir, '' Verlorene Siege'' (''Lost Victories''), was published in West Germany in 1955 and was later translated into several other languages. The book was a highly acclaimed best-seller, critical of Hitler and his leadership style. Historians such as Liddell Hart saw Manstein's emphasis on the purely military aspects of the war, while ignoring the political and moral aspects, as a way for him to absolve himself and the high command of any responsibility for the events of the Holocaust. Over the years, he became the centre of a "military cult" which cast him not only as one of Germany's greatest generals, but also one of the greatest in history. He has been described as a ''militärische Kult- und Leitfigur'' ("military cult figure and leading personality"), a general of legendaryalmost mythicalability, much honoured by both the public and historians. Biographers, including Benoît Lemay, feel that his narrow focus on military matters to the exclusion of moral issues cannot be considered ethical. Manstein and his wife moved several times after his release from prison, living in
Essen Essen () is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Dortmund, as well as ...
and
Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...
for a time before settling into a house near Munich in 1958. The second volume of his memoirs, ''Aus einem Soldatenleben'' ("A Soldier's Life"), covering the period from 1887 to 1939, was published in 1958. His wife, Jutta Sibylle von Manstein, died in 1966. On Manstein's 80th birthday, he received congratulations from the ''Bundeswehr''s supreme high commander, General
Ulrich de Maizière Karl Ernst Ulrich de Maizière (; 24 February 1912 – 26 August 2006) was a German general. He served in the army of three German states: the '' Reichswehr'' of the Weimar Republic, the ''Wehrmacht'' of Nazi Germany, and the German Army of W ...
, with entourage. Erich von Manstein died of a stroke on the night of 9 June 1973 at the age of 85. As the penultimate surviving German field marshal (
Ferdinand Schörner Ferdinand Schörner (12 June 1892 – 2 July 1973) was a German military commander and convicted war criminal, who held the rank of ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (Field Marshal) in the ''Wehrmacht'' of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was the on ...
died 2 July 1973), he was buried with full military honours. His funeral was attended by hundreds of soldiers of all ranks. In Manstein's obituary, ''
Spiegel Spiegel is German, Yiddish, and Dutch for "mirror". More specifically, it may refer to: Publications * ''Der Spiegel'', a weekly German magazine * ''Der Spiegel'' (website), the online sibling of ''Der Spiegel'' Political * Spiegel scandal, a 1 ...
'' magazine said, "He assisted in the march to catastrophe—misled by a blind sense of duty."


Awards

*
Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...
of 1914, 1st and 2nd class * Knight's Cross of the Royal
House Order of Hohenzollern The House Order of Hohenzollern ( or ') was a dynastic order of knighthood of the House of Hohenzollern awarded to military commissioned officers and civilians of comparable status. Associated with the various versions of the order were crosses an ...
with Swords * Knight's Cross, First Class of the
Friedrich Order The Friedrich Order ( or ''Friedrichsorden'') was an order of merit of the German Kingdom of Württemberg. It was instituted on 1 January 1830 by the second king of Württemberg, Wilhelm I in remembrance of his father, King Friedrich I. In 1918, ...
with Swords *
Hanseatic Cross The Hanseatic Cross () was a military decoration of the three Hanseatic city-states of Bremen, Hamburg and Lübeck, who were members of the German Empire during World War I. Each republic established its own version of the cross, but the design ...
(Hamburg version) *
Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 The Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 (), commonly referred to as the Hindenburg Cross or the German WWI Service Cross, was established by Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, President of the German Weimar Republic, by an order dated 13 July ...
*
Clasp to the Iron Cross Clasp, clasper or CLASP may refer to: * Book clasp, fastener for a book cover * Folding clasp, a device used to close a watch strap * Lobster clasp, fastener for jewellery * Wrist clasp, a dressing accessory * Medal bar, an element in militar ...
(1939) 2nd Class (16 September 1939) and 1st Class (21 September 1939) *
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. While it was order of precedence, lower in preceden ...
** Knight's Cross on 19 July 1940 as ''General der Infanterie'' and commanding general of the XXXVIII Army Corps ** Oak Leaves on 14 March 1943 as ''Generalfeldmarschall'' and commander-in-chief of Army Group South ** Swords on 30 March 1944 as ''Generalfeldmarschall'' and commander-in-chief of Army Group South


References


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Further reading


Official records

* The British records of the Manstein trial are now housed in the
Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives The Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives (LHCMA) at King's College London was set up in 1964. The Centre holds the private papers of over 700 senior British defence personnel who held office since 1900. Individual collections range in size fr ...
,
King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...
. * Manstein's testimony at Nuremberg is contained in three files at the
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
Avalon Project The Avalon Project is a digital library of documents relating to law, history and diplomacy. The project is part of the Yale Law School Lillian Goldman Law Library. The project contains online electronic copies of documents dating back to the b ...

9 August 194610 August 1946
an
12 August 1946


Books and articles

* * * * * . English translation: ''Lost Victories''. First published 1958. Zenith Press 2004, The book (in German) had its 8th ed. in 1964 and its 12th in 1991. Bernhard & Graefe 2009, . Here is one contemporary review (in
Der Spiegel (, , stylized in all caps) is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of about 724,000 copies in 2022, it is one of the largest such publications in Europe. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...
3/1959)
In Treue kess
* (first published in 1958 as ''Aus einem Soldatenleben'' (Athenäum,
Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...
)) * * *


External links

*
"How Wrong Was Churchill?"
by
Noel Annan Noel Gilroy Annan, Baron Annan OBE (25 December 1916 – 21 February 2000) was a British military intelligence officer, author, and academic. During his military career, he rose to the rank of colonel and was appointed to the Order of the Briti ...
, ''
The New York Review of Books ''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of ...
'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Manstein, Erich Von 1887 births 1973 deaths Erich German people of Polish descent Antisemitism in Germany German Army World War II field marshals German anti-communists German male non-fiction writers German Army personnel of World War I German military writers German Protestants German untitled nobility German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United Kingdom People convicted in the Curiohaus trials Military personnel from the Province of Brandenburg Prussian Army personnel Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords Recipients of the Order of Michael the Brave, 2nd class Writers from Berlin Military personnel from Berlin