German Military Leaders/Nazi Era/von Manstein
"Field Marshal Erich von Manstein"
If you have only had limited interest in World War Two, you may not have heard of, or recall the name of, Erich von Manstein, but he is generally considered to have been one of the best German generals of the war, and there are those who argue he was THE best German general. The future general was born in Berlin to a German general of "Germanized" Polish heritage, and his true family name was Lewinski, but he was adopted by family agreement by von Manstein relatives of his mother, who were childless.
He served in World War One and remained in the treaty-limited army after the war, eventually serving as an officer with the General Staff, a high-level part of the army where many of the theories about the strategy and tactics of warfare, as well as planning, were developed. He was a staff officer to General von Rundstedt (a future field marshal) during the war in Poland in 1939. With France and Britain at war with Germany, the Germans were trying to develop a plan to score a major victory in western Europe. Von Manstein came up with such a plan (with input from others), the essentials of which were adopted by Hitler and the German high command. The plan entailed German armored and mobile forces advancing through the rough and forested terrain of the Ardennes (principally in Belgium), where they were least expected, and then making a run for the English Channel, cutting off the main body of French and British troops to the north.* The plan worked, and France was knocked out of the war. Von Manstein's prestige soared.
During the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, von Manstein at first commanded a Panzer corps in the northern area of Russia. Later that year he took command of the German 11th Army in southern Russia and was given the task of capturing the Crimea, including the famous Black Sea naval base fortress of Sevastopol.** The siege of the fortress brought together some of the heaviest artillery pieces ever produced, including an 800 mm railway gun, "Heavy Gustav," sometimes referred to as "Dora" (although Dora was actually a second such gun not present in the Crimea). This gun was so huge, it required hundreds of men to assemble it at its firing sight (it traveled disassembled), hundreds more to prepare its firing sight, rail lines, and loading operation, plus a few hundred more men in anti-aircraft (Flak) units to protect it from air attack. It took upwards of an hour to load one of its huge shells for firing. Its shells came in two types, high explosive and armor piercing (for piercing armor-plated fortifications), with the shells weighing between 5 and 7 tons, the "smaller" capable of being hurled at targets nearly 30 miles away. Also available were 600 mm mortars. The barrage unleashed by the Germans against Sevastopol in 1942 was so intense, it was reported that many a Soviet defender experienced ruptured blood vessels from the concussion of the shells exploding so closely together. The fortress fell to von Manstein's troops, after which the general was transferred to northern Russia to prepare for the capture of Leningrad, which had been cut off for the better part of a year. The attack never took place, and von Manstein was sent south again in late 1942 to take command of German forces attempting to break through to the encircled German army in Stalingrad. The attack failed, certainly hindered by Hitler's refusal to allow the surrounded garrison to launch its own attack to link up with von Manstein's approaching forces, and the Germans inside the embattled city surrendered in the early part of 1943.
Von Manstein's skill at preventing a complete disaster along the southern German front during this time period is seen by many as one of his greatest achievements. A skillful counterattack by von Manstein in late February of 1943 inflicted a punishing defeat on the, up until then, victorious advancing Soviet forces, and the German situation stabilized, setting up a major showdown in the summer of 1943. Manstein preferred other options, but Hitler wanted a major assault to "clip off" a huge Soviet bulge in the front lines around the city of Kursk. It was during this battle that the famous German tank, the Panther, was first used, although experts warned the ferocious, furious Führer the tank still had "bugs" to be worked out. Von Manstein's attack on the southern part of the "bulge" was essentially successful, but the northern attack failed. This failure, along with the Allied invasion of Sicily at that time,*** brought failure to the German offensive, and spelled the end of major German offensive operations on the Eastern Front for the rest of the war. From then on for the Germans, it was a matter of delaying inevitable defeat. Von Manstein's forces continued to withdraw across the Ukraine, but inflicted heavy losses on the Soviets. The field marshal's strategic withdrawals and his desire for a professional military man to be put in charge of the Eastern Front, instead of Hitler, came into serious conflict with the ferocious, furious Führer, and Hitler relieved him of command in late March 1944, and he did not command again. While aware of the plot against Hitler by a number of military officers, he did not participate, but he also kept the plotters' secret.
Von Manstein surrendered to the British and was held for trial in the late 1940s; the trial was held in the British occupation zone of Germany. The "political situation" of those times,**** brought much support from western military and political leaders, including Field Marshal Montgomery and Winston Churchill, as it was primarily the Soviets who wanted von Manstein put on trial. The field marshal had signed or counter-signed various orders that were then used to suppress the civilian population, including Jews, in the Soviet Union, and von Manstein acknowledged such, but played down his actual enforcement of these policies. He was acquitted of many of the charges against him, but was given a prison sentence, which brought howls of protest from his supporters. The sentence was commuted and, in fact, he was released after only a few years. He then served as an advisor to the then West German Army. He was highly respected within the German military (both Nazi era and post-war era) and even by his former foes. He died in the early 1970s.
* It was through this same area in December 1944 that Hitler launched another major offensive, which came to be known as "The Battle of the Bulge."
** The Crimea and the fortress of Sevastopol became famous during the war in the mid 1800s there, as press coverage was extensive for those times. This was the war where Florence Nightengale became famous for nursing the wounded. It was also the war of the famous, "Charge of the Light Brigade."
*** The invasion of Sicily forced Hitler to withdraw several key units from Russia and send them to Italy.
**** Generally speaking, the increased tensions between the "West" and the Soviet Union, and its satellite states in eastern Europe, lessened interest among many (but not all) in western Europe and America about the Nazi past of many German military people, as the battle had by then become "the West versus Soviet Communism."
WORD HISTORY:
Maw-Once a common word for "stomach" in English for humans and beasts, it is now more of a dialect or archaic term for the same, often used in America (not sure about Britain) for a pig's stomach. I see it occasionally in a grocery store meat case usually labeled "pork maw" or "hog maw." Its origin is uncertain, and it "could" be a Germanic invention. Old Germanic had "mago," which meant "stomach." This gave Anglo-Saxon (Old English) "maga," which then became "mawe," before the modern spelling. The loss of the "g" is not unusual, as for instance "morning" was once spelled "morgen," as it still is in close relative German, but even in German the 'g' is not always very prominent, depending upon the speaker.^ Forms of "maw" are common in the other Germanic languages: West Frisian "mage," Dutch "maag," Low German Saxon "Maag," some Low German dialects "Moag," standard German "Magen," Icelandic "magi," Norwegian and Swedish "mage," and Danish "mave."
^ Many years ago during trips to Wiesbaden, I stayed at a hotel where the owner, upon entering the dining area during breakfast, would say to everyone, "Guten MorGen," with a very prominent "g." I always got kind of a kick out of that. That means "good morning," by the way.
If you have only had limited interest in World War Two, you may not have heard of, or recall the name of, Erich von Manstein, but he is generally considered to have been one of the best German generals of the war, and there are those who argue he was THE best German general. The future general was born in Berlin to a German general of "Germanized" Polish heritage, and his true family name was Lewinski, but he was adopted by family agreement by von Manstein relatives of his mother, who were childless.
He served in World War One and remained in the treaty-limited army after the war, eventually serving as an officer with the General Staff, a high-level part of the army where many of the theories about the strategy and tactics of warfare, as well as planning, were developed. He was a staff officer to General von Rundstedt (a future field marshal) during the war in Poland in 1939. With France and Britain at war with Germany, the Germans were trying to develop a plan to score a major victory in western Europe. Von Manstein came up with such a plan (with input from others), the essentials of which were adopted by Hitler and the German high command. The plan entailed German armored and mobile forces advancing through the rough and forested terrain of the Ardennes (principally in Belgium), where they were least expected, and then making a run for the English Channel, cutting off the main body of French and British troops to the north.* The plan worked, and France was knocked out of the war. Von Manstein's prestige soared.
During the invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, von Manstein at first commanded a Panzer corps in the northern area of Russia. Later that year he took command of the German 11th Army in southern Russia and was given the task of capturing the Crimea, including the famous Black Sea naval base fortress of Sevastopol.** The siege of the fortress brought together some of the heaviest artillery pieces ever produced, including an 800 mm railway gun, "Heavy Gustav," sometimes referred to as "Dora" (although Dora was actually a second such gun not present in the Crimea). This gun was so huge, it required hundreds of men to assemble it at its firing sight (it traveled disassembled), hundreds more to prepare its firing sight, rail lines, and loading operation, plus a few hundred more men in anti-aircraft (Flak) units to protect it from air attack. It took upwards of an hour to load one of its huge shells for firing. Its shells came in two types, high explosive and armor piercing (for piercing armor-plated fortifications), with the shells weighing between 5 and 7 tons, the "smaller" capable of being hurled at targets nearly 30 miles away. Also available were 600 mm mortars. The barrage unleashed by the Germans against Sevastopol in 1942 was so intense, it was reported that many a Soviet defender experienced ruptured blood vessels from the concussion of the shells exploding so closely together. The fortress fell to von Manstein's troops, after which the general was transferred to northern Russia to prepare for the capture of Leningrad, which had been cut off for the better part of a year. The attack never took place, and von Manstein was sent south again in late 1942 to take command of German forces attempting to break through to the encircled German army in Stalingrad. The attack failed, certainly hindered by Hitler's refusal to allow the surrounded garrison to launch its own attack to link up with von Manstein's approaching forces, and the Germans inside the embattled city surrendered in the early part of 1943.
Von Manstein's skill at preventing a complete disaster along the southern German front during this time period is seen by many as one of his greatest achievements. A skillful counterattack by von Manstein in late February of 1943 inflicted a punishing defeat on the, up until then, victorious advancing Soviet forces, and the German situation stabilized, setting up a major showdown in the summer of 1943. Manstein preferred other options, but Hitler wanted a major assault to "clip off" a huge Soviet bulge in the front lines around the city of Kursk. It was during this battle that the famous German tank, the Panther, was first used, although experts warned the ferocious, furious Führer the tank still had "bugs" to be worked out. Von Manstein's attack on the southern part of the "bulge" was essentially successful, but the northern attack failed. This failure, along with the Allied invasion of Sicily at that time,*** brought failure to the German offensive, and spelled the end of major German offensive operations on the Eastern Front for the rest of the war. From then on for the Germans, it was a matter of delaying inevitable defeat. Von Manstein's forces continued to withdraw across the Ukraine, but inflicted heavy losses on the Soviets. The field marshal's strategic withdrawals and his desire for a professional military man to be put in charge of the Eastern Front, instead of Hitler, came into serious conflict with the ferocious, furious Führer, and Hitler relieved him of command in late March 1944, and he did not command again. While aware of the plot against Hitler by a number of military officers, he did not participate, but he also kept the plotters' secret.
Von Manstein surrendered to the British and was held for trial in the late 1940s; the trial was held in the British occupation zone of Germany. The "political situation" of those times,**** brought much support from western military and political leaders, including Field Marshal Montgomery and Winston Churchill, as it was primarily the Soviets who wanted von Manstein put on trial. The field marshal had signed or counter-signed various orders that were then used to suppress the civilian population, including Jews, in the Soviet Union, and von Manstein acknowledged such, but played down his actual enforcement of these policies. He was acquitted of many of the charges against him, but was given a prison sentence, which brought howls of protest from his supporters. The sentence was commuted and, in fact, he was released after only a few years. He then served as an advisor to the then West German Army. He was highly respected within the German military (both Nazi era and post-war era) and even by his former foes. He died in the early 1970s.
* It was through this same area in December 1944 that Hitler launched another major offensive, which came to be known as "The Battle of the Bulge."
** The Crimea and the fortress of Sevastopol became famous during the war in the mid 1800s there, as press coverage was extensive for those times. This was the war where Florence Nightengale became famous for nursing the wounded. It was also the war of the famous, "Charge of the Light Brigade."
*** The invasion of Sicily forced Hitler to withdraw several key units from Russia and send them to Italy.
**** Generally speaking, the increased tensions between the "West" and the Soviet Union, and its satellite states in eastern Europe, lessened interest among many (but not all) in western Europe and America about the Nazi past of many German military people, as the battle had by then become "the West versus Soviet Communism."
WORD HISTORY:
Maw-Once a common word for "stomach" in English for humans and beasts, it is now more of a dialect or archaic term for the same, often used in America (not sure about Britain) for a pig's stomach. I see it occasionally in a grocery store meat case usually labeled "pork maw" or "hog maw." Its origin is uncertain, and it "could" be a Germanic invention. Old Germanic had "mago," which meant "stomach." This gave Anglo-Saxon (Old English) "maga," which then became "mawe," before the modern spelling. The loss of the "g" is not unusual, as for instance "morning" was once spelled "morgen," as it still is in close relative German, but even in German the 'g' is not always very prominent, depending upon the speaker.^ Forms of "maw" are common in the other Germanic languages: West Frisian "mage," Dutch "maag," Low German Saxon "Maag," some Low German dialects "Moag," standard German "Magen," Icelandic "magi," Norwegian and Swedish "mage," and Danish "mave."
^ Many years ago during trips to Wiesbaden, I stayed at a hotel where the owner, upon entering the dining area during breakfast, would say to everyone, "Guten MorGen," with a very prominent "g." I always got kind of a kick out of that. That means "good morning," by the way.
Labels: English, Erich von Manstein, etymology, German History, Germanic languages, Heavy Gustav, Sevastopol, Wehrmacht
posted by Randy at 1:06 AM
2 Comments:
That's neat about the heavy German artillery.
I hear "maw' once and a while, but I never knew what it meant, let alone anything more about it.
That is neat about the artillery. Im going to read up a little more on it. Thanks for the info.
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