As we all know, during the Second World War, the three famous german generals were Manstein, Guderian and Rommel. And what we will introduce to you today is Manstein, who was one of the three famous German generals of World War II. Manstein was loyal to Hitler at the beginning, why did he help the United States and Britain unite against the Soviet Union after germany's defeat in World War II?
Manstein is different from guderian and Rommel's commoner status, he was born in Germany's famous aristocrats, the status is noble, his family is a military family, his parents are very fond of him from childhood, let him receive a very good education, Manstein under the influence of his family, but also established a lofty ambition to become a soldier when he grew up.
(Manstein in his youth)
Manstein was rarely defeated in the countless wars of his life. His military talent was very high, not only that, but his strategic thinking was also very strong, whether in the First World War or in many wars of the Second World War, even if Manstein's army was at a disadvantage, he could rely on his strategic thinking to turn the disadvantage into an advantage and achieve the final victory of the war.
During World War I, Manstein was merely a lieutenant lieutenant aide-de-camp. But because of his outstanding military talents, he was retained in the army as a military elite, and he planned the operational strategies for the invasion of Austria and other countries, and then planned the invasion of Poland, and these strategies and plans were perfectly successful.
Later, Manstein proposed the "Manstein Plan", which was purposeful and fought against the West, and at first Hitler adopted this plan very well, and this plan also showed very good results, and even the powerful country at that time, France, surrendered. However, Hitler's arrogance did not follow the Manstein plan until the end of the war, which eventually indirectly led to the defeat of Germany in World War II.
During World War II, although Manstein was Hitler's right-hand man, Hitler did not fully trust him, because Manstein did not join the Nazi Party, and Hitler's attitude towards him was hot and cold, and even interfered with his command, which put a lot of pressure on Manstein.
Manstein was very difficult in his battle against the famous Soviet general Zhukov, and eventually he disobeyed Hitler's orders, and Hitler dismissed him from his post.
After this, Manstein never went to war again, and after the defeat of Germany, Manstein was sent to a military court. During the course of the trial, by surprise, Manstein was forgiven by most of the people present, and since he had never joined the Nazi Party, many also defended him. Then British Prime Minister Winston Churchill even raised defense funds for Manstein.
As a result, Manstein was not sentenced to death, but sentenced to 18 years in prison, after which he was released early.
In his later years, Manstein became a military adviser to the Federal Republic of Germany's Ministry of Defense, working with some Western countries against the Soviet Union. But his role was minimal, because Manstein was old at this time, and he had no intention of going to war.
Manstein's life was an extremely legendary one, he was born for war, and he was a true military genius.