Because of his mastery of strategy and tactics, intelligence, quick response and superhuman military imagination, Manstein was recognized as the most capable commander in the German army, and some people commented that he was the best general in World War II. He stood out among many German generals and even the whole forest of World War II, because he was both a military genius and a military generalist.
After the outbreak of World War II, he assisted Marshal Lunstead to command the German army to quickly sweep Poland and capture Warsaw, giving full play to the role of the Chief of Staff. What really made him famous in the world was his battle plan of invading France, the famous "Manstein Plan". It was according to this bold plan that the German army quickly attacked northern France (crossing Ardennes) with tanks, giving full play to the power of "blitzkrieg"-the German army defeated the British and French allied forces in six weeks, invaded the Netherlands and Belgium, and conquered France, which is known as "the first military power in Europe". Since then, manstein has become one of the best strategists in the history of European wars, although he served the war of aggression.
Many strategists are only suitable for strategizing, and manstein is not worse than him in personally leading the troops in making battle plans. As a front-line commander, he suffered repeated defeats in the wars of invading the Soviet Union, especially the Crimean War, which caused heavy losses to the Soviet Union. Even though the German army suffered repeated defeats in the Soviet-German battlefield, his troops could still resist the Soviet attack and win, which is rare in military history. It is more appropriate to compare Manstein to a sword of German Blitzkrieg.
Tactics are mostly the most conventional actual combat tactics, such as gathering earthquakes. The real example of innovation is Ardennes' detour to France, but the guiding theory of this tactic has been deeply studied. He didn't jump out of that frame. To put it simply, Manstein's strategic and tactical thoughts did not really form an effective war system, but only enriched the content of the Blitzkrieg system. [Transferred from the Iron Blood Community/] His stuff is still a "desert fox" dominated by blitzkrieg-Rommel Rommel (1891-kloc-0/944), German marshal. During World War II, he served as the commander of the German "African Army" and the commander of the B Army Group.
Rommel was the most famous German general in World War II. Anyone with a little knowledge of world military history will know his famous nickname-"Desert Fox". Because of his amazing achievements in the desert battlefield in North Africa and the crazy propaganda of German media and allied media, he became a legendary soldier and an idol worshipped by Germans when they were alive.
Variability and boldness are his greatest characteristics in using troops. His military command was revealed in the invasion of France. At that time, he was just a teacher, and his troops stormed all the way, making rapid progress and defeating the French army, so they were called "the devil's teacher". After coming to North Africa, facing the powerful British army, he quickly maneuvered his tank forces and broke through the defense line of the other side. He either cheated or stormed, and the British army was caught off guard several times and had little chance to breathe. His army once arrived in Alaman and approached Cairo, which shocked the whole Britain. Even after being defeated by Montgomery's British army for lack of supplies, he can still organize a thousand miles retreat. He is really a sly fox. [Transferred from Iron Blood Community/]
In the harsh and endless desert, fighting is very difficult, but Rommel has created a miracle of desert fighting. Although his strategic ability was slightly inferior to that of the generals of the same period, his tactical ability reached its peak, and even his opponent Churchill praised him greatly. Some military historians listed him as an "outstanding defeated general" with Hannibal and Napoleon. The study of Rommel in the field of western military history has never stopped.
Be good at using the space and time factors of the battlefield to command troops to move quickly and concentrate their forces.
In the attack, the armored forces are used as the assault group, taking advantage of the enemy's indecision and confusion, risking exposing the flank and rear, boldly attacking the enemy's flank and rear, thus disintegrating the enemy's entire defense, while the infantry carries out containment actions in front. In the counterattack against enemy superior tanks, defensive actions and anti-aircraft guns are often used to defeat opponents and then turn to counterattack. In the tough battles in towns, infantry usually break through first and then throw into tanks. When the enemy retreated, it developed victory by constantly chasing tanks. In defensive campaigns, armored forces are usually used as a reserve to fight back or attack invading enemies. When retreating, we will use mobile defense to delay the pursuit of the other side. Accustomed to the front line, in the front line command, often with armoured command vehicle or tanks or even planes to command. He often appeared in the most tense and critical time and place, kept up with the crisis, survived again and again, was strict with his subordinates, and advocated the spirit of being brave and fearless. Although he often acts rashly, he enjoys a high reputation among soldiers. It is advocated that all means of deceiving and disguising the enemy should be used in campaigns and battles to make the enemy have the illusion and achieve the effect of surprise attack. During the invasion of France, he repeatedly let the tank crew sit outside the tank and wave the white flag, which made the enemy stunned, at a loss and forgot to fight.
Guderian guderian (1888-1954), a German general. He used to be commander of armored cluster, director of tank soldiers and chief of staff of the army. [Transferred from Iron Blood Community/]
Guderian is a typical master of integrating theory with practice. He is a pioneer of modern armored warfare in the world. Even today, Germans who hate Nazi still regard him as the "father of armor". Compared with zhukov, Barton, Rommel and others, guderian's influence on the development history of tank warfare is much greater. His theory of "concentrating a large number of tanks on a narrow front to carry out high-speed penetration", coupled with his tank assault battle that shocked the world, made him a veritable "world's first armored general."
When the British and French soldiers were still talking, guderian had conducted in-depth research and practice on armored combat, which was considered impossible at that time and was opposed by many people. However, guderian still persisted in pursuing his own goals, and finally built a powerful German tank force by virtue of his advanced military thinking and extraordinary organizational ability.
After the outbreak of World War II, guderian finally got a chance to display it. First, he led his tank army to quickly defeat Poland, and then he led his troops across France. After the battle, he reached the English Channel. At the beginning of the Soviet-German War, he commanded the tank troops to surround the Soviet army many times in Kiev and other places, and successively created classic examples of tank assault warfare. It was his armor theory and practice that made Hitler's war of aggression so shocking.
The lightning tactics advocated by guderian have three elements, namely surprise attack, swiftness and concentration.
He used tanks intensively in combat, emphasizing compound arms, so that tanks and planes cooperated closely in a three-dimensional way and broke through a narrow area of the other side. Later, the combined forces of tanks and infantry began to sweep the positions and strongholds of the other side, rapidly expanding the occupied area, encircling and annihilating the other side's troops, rapidly developing in depth and winning.
Guderian believes that tank weapons have three characteristics: armor, mobility and firepower. All tanks ready for fierce fighting must have considerable armor and cannot be destroyed by the other side's defensive firepower; In order to win, let the tanks move as fast as possible, regardless of the enemy's obstruction, keep moving forward, so that the enemy can't build a new line of defense, and finally push the offensive deep into the enemy's rear. Firepower is the most important feature of tank weapons. Its artillery can fire when the tank is stationary and moving, and it can walk with its firepower when the tank moves forward. [Transferred from Iron Blood Community/]
These three generals, with their extraordinary military command art, helped Hitler rewrite world history and made Germany invincible at the beginning of World War II. Whether Manstein's "Blitzkrieg Strategy" or Rommel's "Desert Tactics", guderian's "Armored Assault Theory and Practice" had a great influence on the course of World War II and even the world military development. Their military theories and examples have promoted the development of modern combat styles, and they are still worth learning from. From the military point of view, their extraordinary military quality and excellent military command art have had a great influence in the world military history, which is indeed worth learning by future generations. Compared with those Nazi German politicians and SS leaders who made the Holocaust, they were innocent as regular outstanding generals of the German Defence Force. Although they planned and directed Hitler's war, they opposed the Nazi policy of slaughter and extermination and did not participate in the massacre atrocities. Perhaps it is precisely because of this, coupled with their amazing military achievements, that they won the respect of the enemy and the objective evaluation of historians and military scientists.
Rommel was finally defeated by the British in North Africa, and after returning to Europe, he made no achievements. 1944 was involved in the "July 20 Incident" that murdered Hitler and was forced to commit suicide by taking poison.
Manstein was defeated in the Battle of Kursk and then retreated to the Polish border. He refuted Hitler's wrong command and was finally dismissed by Hitler. After the war, he was imprisoned by British troops. After his release, he settled in the Federal Republic of Germany and died at 1973.
Guderian's tanks were defeated in Moscow, and he was dismissed by Hitler. Although it was reopened soon, he was demoted again because of differences with Hitler. After the war, he was captured by American troops. After his release, he settled in the Federal Republic of Germany and died at 1954.