Marshal's promotion time: 1942.6.30; dismissal time: 1944.3; final position: commander-in-chief of the northern Ukrainian army.
1887165438+1October 24th, erich von Lewinsky was born in Berlin. His father was an aristocrat and artillery general in West Prussia, and erich von Lewinsky was his first 10 child. Soon, erich von Lewinsky was adopted by his uncle's family and changed his name to Fritz Erich von Manstein. Manstein began his military career on 1906. He first served as a trainee officer in the 3 rd Infantry Regiment of Guards, and was officially promoted to second lieutenant a year later. 19 13, Manstein was selected to study at the Berlin Military Academy. 19 14, promoted to lieutenant. In the same year, Manstein returned to the 3 rd Guards Infantry Regiment and soon served as the adjutant of the 2 nd Guards Reserve Regiment. After the outbreak of World War I, Manstein went to the western front to fight with the Russian front. He was injured in the front line, and was soon sent to the general staff of the group army as a staff officer, and then participated in the German attack on northern Poland. Later, he returned to the western front and served as the chief of cavalry operations and infantry operations. 19 15, manstein was promoted to captain.
19 18 After the war, Manstein served as a staff officer in a German committee devoted to reorganizing the army, and served as a company commander in 1920.
1927, manstein was promoted to major.
1929, he changed to work in the first hall of the General Staff of the German Ministry of Defence. In the early 1920s, Manstein married the daughter of a military family in Linz, and her eldest son was born in 1922. In the late 1920s, Manstein visited the armored forces of some European countries and gained a lot of experience and information.
1932, manstein promoted to lieutenant colonel, 1933, promoted to colonel. At the same time, the Nazis led by Hitler gradually mastered the political situation in Germany and began to expand their troops to prepare for war.
1935, manstein was transferred to the German Army General Staff.
1936 10 He was promoted to Major General and became the first quartermaster of the German Army Staff Headquarters. Soon he was promoted to the position of Chief Deputy Chief of Staff of the German Army Headquarters, and began to have direct contact with the high-level decision-making bodies of the German military.
1in April, 938, manstein served as the division commander of Linitz 18 infantry division.
In April 1939, 1, Manstein was promoted to lieutenant general. 1939, manstein began to serve as the chief of staff of the German Southern Army Group under the command of General Reinstein, preparing to invade Poland.
1September, 939, Germany launched a surprise attack on Poland. Under the planning of manstein, the army group in southern Germany continuously surrounded the main force of Polish army. Soon the Germans surrounded Warsaw, the capital of Poland. manstein suggested that the Germans use artillery and air force bombing to attack Warsaw without water and food, forcing Poland to surrender. On September 28th, the Polish army surrendered across the board. Manstein's German Southern Army Group suffered only 30,000 casualties.
After the Battle of Poland, Manstein made a plan for the German invasion of France, which is the famous "Manstein Plan". 1 February 940,1,manstein became the commander of the 38th German Army. Manstein's plan fully demonstrated the thought of Blitzkrieg and his unique personal creativity. According to his vision, the Germans will concentrate on using armored forces to cross the Ardennes forest, then quickly occupy the bridgehead of the Maas River and attack maginot line eastward to cut off the French army in the north. At first, manstein's plan was not adopted by the German high command, but it caught Hitler's attention and was accepted on February 7th. In the French campaign, the German armored flood rolled down, the allied forces collapsed across the board, the British troops hurriedly withdrew from Dunkirk to Britain, and soon France fell. Manstein was promoted to general and was knighted for his plan that led to the victory of the French campaign.
1941February, manstein became the commander of the newly formed 56th armored army of the German army, preparing to invade the Soviet Union. 1941From June 22nd to 26th, the Soviet-German war broke out, and manstein's army went 320km deep into the Soviet Union, captured the bridge over the Dona River and almost rushed into Leningrad. 12/ 13 in September, manstein was appointed commander of the 1st1kloc-0/army group of the southern line (Crimea) (belonging to the southern army group of the German army in leinster). His army successfully pushed south to Crimea and captured 430,000 Soviet soldiers. By 165438+1October16, the whole Crimea was completely occupied except Sevastopol. In winter, Manstein resisted the Soviet counterattack and continued to push south. In July 1942, 1, manstein's troops occupied the fortress of Sevastopol. On the same day, Manstein was promoted to German Field Marshal. In late July, 1 1 army turned to the northern line and joined the northern army group. 1in August, 942, manstein was responsible for directing the German attack on Leningrad. 165438+ 10, manstein became a newly formed German army group on the Don River (including the 4th Panzer Corps of Hoth, the 6th Panzer Corps of Paulus and the 3rd Romanian Army), in which the whole 6th Panzer Corps and part of the 4th Panzer Corps were surrounded in Stalingrad. Manstein's task is to rescue these trapped troops. Manstein attacked on 65438+February 65438+February 24, and by 65438+February 24, the Germans were only 50 kilometers away from Stalingrad. However, due to the powerful counterattack force and careful planning of the Soviet Union, Manstein's army group on the Don River was ruthlessly blocked and forced to retreat 200 kilometers.
1943 In February, manstein was appointed as the commander of the southern German army group (including the Don Army Group and the A Army Group), and reoccupied Kharkov and Belgorod in the subsequent Kharkov counterattack campaign, which was also the most successful counterattack campaign of the Germans in World War II. On March 1943 and 14, manstein was awarded the knight of oak leaf. According to his own experience, manstein planned a plan for the upcoming German summer offensive, but it was not accepted. 1943 In the Kursk General Battle (called "Fortress Operation" by the Germans) from July to August, the German Southern Army Group successfully cut into the depth of the Soviet Union for nearly 40 kilometers from the beginning, and finally the Fourth Armored Army Group could not advance northward. At the same time, the largest tank battle broke out in the urban area. In Hauser, the 2nd Panzer Corps of SS encountered the 5th Guards Tank Corps under the command of Lieutenant General Rotmistov, and the Germans suffered heavy losses. After the Battle of Kursk, Manstein's southern army group was defeated by the fierce counterattack of the Soviet Union. In September, Manstein's troops crossed the Dnieper River, but the chasing Soviet troops were also hit hard. From June 1943 to June 10/944, manstein temporarily stabilized the front line, and in late June 1944, more violent Soviet attacks forced the Germans to retreat westward. 1In mid-February, 944, Manstein disobeyed Hitler's orders and let 1 1 and the 42nd Army (about 56,000 men in 6 divisions) break through Cherkassel's pocket. Finally, Hitler accepted the fait accompli and ordered the Germans to withdraw from Celka's pocket.
1On March 30th, 944, Manstein, who had argued with Hitler many times on the Eastern Front, was dismissed. On the same day, Manstein was awarded the Knights of the Oak Blade. After being dismissed, Manstein went home to recuperate. Although he didn't participate in the "7.20" incident that assassinated Hitler, manstein still felt threatened. 1June, 945, he evacuated his family to various places. 1945 in may, manstein was arrested by the British, sent to a prison camp, and then transferred to Nuremberg. 1in the autumn of 946, he was transferred to the detention center for senior German officers in Britain, and1returned to Germany in the summer of 948. 1949 During the trial of war criminals in August, manstein was sentenced to 18 years in prison, but was released on 1952 for health reasons. 1955 published his own war memoir-lost victory and a soldier's life 1887- 1939 1958. From 65438 to 0956, manstein served as a consultant in an organization of the Federal Republic of Germany, cooperating with the western enemies of Germany in wartime to deal with the threat of the Soviet Union. 1June 1973 1 1 day, manstein died in Bavaria, West Germany, at the age of 86.