Advanced
Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.
Title details for Erich von Manstein by Benoît Lemay - Available

Erich von Manstein

Hitler's Master Strategist

by Benoît Lemay
ebook
4 of 4 copies available
Borrow Read a sample Read a sample
4 of 4 copies available
A selection of the Military Book Club: An “informative and objective” biography of a genius commander and a study of his loyalty to the Nazi cause (Library Journal).
 
To many close students of World War II, Erich von Manstein is considered the greatest commander of the war, if not the entire twentieth century. He devised the plan that conquered France in 1940 and led an infantry corps in that campaign. At the head of a panzer corps, he reached the gates of Leningrad in 1941, then took command of 11th Army and conquered Sevastopol and the Crimea. After destroying another Soviet army in the north, he was given command of the ad hoc Army Group Don to retrieve the German calamity at Stalingrad, whereupon he launched a counteroffensive that, against all odds, restored the German front. Afterward, he commanded Army Group South, nearly crushing the Soviets at Kursk, and then skillfully resisted their relentless attacks as he traded territory for coherence in the East.
 
Though an undoubtedly brilliant military leader—whose achievements, considering the forces at his disposal, rivaled of Patton, Rommel, MacArthur, and Montgomery—surprisingly little is known about Manstein himself, save for his own memoir and the accolades of his contemporaries. In this book, we finally have a full portrait of the man, including his campaigns, and an analysis of what precisely kept a genius like Manstein harnessed to such a dark cause.
 
A great military figure, but a man who lacked a sharp political sense, Manstein was very much representative of the Germano-Prussian military caste of his time. Though Hitler was uneasy about the influence he’d gained throughout the German Army, Manstein ultimately declined to join any clandestine plots against his Führer, believing they would simply cause chaos, the one thing he abhorred. Though he constantly opposed Hitler on operational details, he considered it a point of loyalty to simply stand with the German state, in whatever form. Though not bereft of personal opinions, his primary allegiances were, first, to Deutschland and, second, to the soldiers under his command, who’d been committed against an enemy many times their strength.
 
It is thus through Manstein that the attitudes of other high-ranking officers who fought during the Second World War, particularly on the Eastern Front, can be illuminated. This book is a “well-researched, convincingly reasoned analysis of a general widely considered one of WWII’s great commanders” (Publishers Weekly).
 
Includes photographs.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    July 27, 2010

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9781935149552

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9781935149552
      • File size: 1062 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      May 24, 2010
      Lemay, well regarded in France as a military historian, offers a well-researched, convincingly reasoned analysis of a general widely considered one of WWII's great commanders, whose memoir is regarded as a classic. Lemay depicts Manstein, who served Hitler to the end, as a master strategist and an inspired general, "the most accomplished product of the Prussian military caste of his time." His talent and achievements gained the respect of his enemies. Hitler himself feared Manstein's independent spirit and strong character. Yet Manstein never addressed the wider aspects of the war he fought and the regime he served; he insisted on restricting himself to military matters, and attributed Germany's defeat to Hitler's incompetent meddling. He insisted the army remained "honorable and upright." So Lemay does a service in carefully compiling, from documents and testimony at Nuremberg, evidence of Manstein's participation in the extermination of the Jews in Ukraine and Crimea. Manstein considered the battlefield "a sort of autonomous territory," separate from politics. In this way, Lemay concludes, he made himself "an obedient instrument in a criminal enterprise." 16 pages of illus.

    • Library Journal

      August 1, 2010

      In a general staff featuring many talented strategists, Manstein was one of Hitler's most exceptional. A veteran of World War I, he attained the rank of field marshal before being dismissed by Hitler in 1944 for frequently challenging Hitler's military decisions. But for all of Manstein's brilliance, Lemay (history, Univ. of Montreal) demonstrates that he was also a willing servant who carried out Hitler's most heinous orders. Manstein saw himself as merely a military officer uninvolved in any political or ideological issues. He was aware of massacres and war crimes carried out by his own men and even refused to forward complaints about such actions to his superiors. Despite Manstein's insistence that he was merely a soldier serving the state, Lemay never lets us forget that he was morally responsible for his own actions. Though informative and objective, Lemay's work will compete with Mungo Melvin's recent Manstein: Hitler's Greatest General, published in the United Kingdom and written with the cooperation of Manstein family members. VERDICT A worthwhile addition for World War II enthusiasts, but readers should consider Melvin's biography as well.--Matthew J. Wayman, Penn State Schuylkill Lib., Schuylkill Haven

      Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Loading
Check out what's being checked out right now