Manstein was born in 1887 to a prominent Prussian aristocrat, and his grandfather was a well-known general and marshal. Although it was passed on to his uncle, it did not affect Manstein's superior education from an early age. In 1914, Manstein graduated from the prestigious Berlin Military Academy, at the outbreak of World War I, and Manstein, who had been promoted to captain, and Corporal Hitler, experienced the brutal war together. More coincidentally, Hitler was gassed, and Manstein was wounded by a shell, both sent back to the rear for treatment due to their serious injuries, and both the captain and the corporal saved their lives.
In 1933, corporal Hitler, a former corporal, came to power in Germany and began to reorganize the German army with great fanfare. During this period, Manstein served in the Army Staff Headquarters, and was promoted to the head of the First Department in charge of operations for reconstruction, and was promoted to major general in 1936. As the clouds of european land warfare became thick, Manstein's outstanding military prowess began to flourish:
In August 1939, Manstein, who had been promoted to lieutenant general, formulated the "White Plan" for a blitzkrieg against Poland. On September 1, Manstein's "masterpiece" kicked off World War II. During the battle, the German army formed a north-south attack on Poland, and soon divided and surrounded its troops and annihilated them, and Poland "fell by lightning".
Carefully nurtured Poland was taken, and Britain and France had to declare war on Germany. Although it was only a silent war, Hitler's war machine had no intention of stopping. You know, attacking France is a must for the Germans forever. To this end, Manstein developed a bold surprise attack plan: German armored forces crossed the Ardennes Forest to Sedan and plunged into the Atlantic coast to cut France in half. In the end, this undesirable plan was adopted by Hitler, replacing the Schlieffen Plan and successfully "blitzing" France. The "Maginot Line" painstakingly run by the French has become a laughing stock for generations, and Manstein has earned the nickname "Count of Lightning".
On 22 June 1941, Operation Barbarossa began, and Manstein finally got his wish to command an armored army. In the 4 days after the start of the war, the 56th Panzer Army led by him drove 200 kilometers straight into the Territory of the Soviet Union, which stunned both the Soviet Union and Germany. The following year, in order to eliminate the Soviet threat of bombing the Romanian oil fields, Hitler appointed Manstein as commander of the 11th Army to attack the Soviet naval and air base on the Crimean Peninsula. With the Soviets gaining air and sea superiority, Manstein's 11th Army charged left and right, not only defeating the Soviet army 3-4 times its strength, but also capturing the fortress of Sevastopol and capturing 170,000 Soviet troops. After this battle, Manstein received his Marshal Scepter and successfully reached the pinnacle of his military career.
In February 1943, after the tragic Battle of Stalingrad, the German army on the Eastern Front was defeated and the German Army Group South was facing collapse. In a critical moment, Hitler thought of his "firefighter" Manstein. After three days of bickering, Hitler finally agreed to Manstein's plan to fight back. On 19 February, Manstein ordered a shift from defense to attack, and the "blindly retreating" Germans suddenly launched a fierce attack on the Soviet troops who were chasing from thousands of miles away, and when the Tiger tanks of the SS Skeleton Division suddenly rushed south towards the Soviet Southwestern Front, Zhukov to Stalin was stunned. In the Kharkov counterattack, Manstein caught the Soviets off guard with a beautiful "right hook punch", successfully stabilized the German southern front, and won valuable breathing time for the "Third Reich".
Despite his successes, Manstein never joined the Nazi Party, which may have been one reason why he could not gain Hitler's full trust. On 31 March 1944, Manstein was relieved of command by Hitler and retired from service. In January 1945, when the Red Army attacked East Prussia, Manstein, who had retired here, was so knowledgeable about the Russians' methods of revenge that he evacuated his family to western Germany and surrendered to British Field Marshal Montgomery.
In 1946, Manstein was sent to the Nuremberg Military Tribunal as a war criminal. There, he unexpectedly gained allied forgiveness, and the court regarded him as a professional soldier rather than a Nazi. During this period, Churchill raised a special defense fund for him, Labor MP Paget even defended him, and many of Manstein's subordinates also stood up for him. In the end, half of the 17 charges were not found, and Manstein was sentenced to 18 years in prison, which was later reduced to 12 years.
The world changed, the hot war had just ended, and the prelude to the Cold War had begun. The Soviet Union and the West faced each other across the "Iron Curtain", and the two sides were once tense. Marshal Zhukov, Manstein's old rival was already the Soviet defense minister, and his large army held NATO's breath. Zhukov described Manstein as a "respectable enemy", and he once said at the end of the war: "The only enemy I respect is Marshal Manstein." ”
<h1>His military prowess was valued by the West, and Manstein was released from prison after serving only four years in prison, and the genius behind the invasion of Western Europe became a defender of Western democracy. In the subsequent confrontation between NATO and the Soviet Union, Manstein, as a military adviser, made an important contribution. </h1>