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Erich von Manstein: The background, strategies, tactics and battlefield experiences of the greatest commanders of history |  | Author: Robert Forczyk
Creator: Adam Hook
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
Category: Book
List Price: $18.95
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Rating:  7 reviews
Sales Rank: 187930
Media: Paperback
Pages: 64
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 9.6 x 7.3 x 0.3
ISBN: 1846034655
Dewey Decimal Number: 940
EAN: 9781846034657
ASIN: 1846034655
Publication Date: May 25, 2010
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Command, Erich von Manstein
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 7
 Very Well Written But Too Short July 27, 2010
WryGuy2 (Arlington, VA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
"Erich von Manstein: The background, strategies, tactics and battlefield experiences of the greatest commanders of history", by Robert Forczyk, is an entry in Osprey Publishing's new "Leadership, Strategy, Conflict" series. At 64 pages from cover to cover, this series appears to be intended to provide of an overview and summary of the commander rather than an in-depth biography, perhaps as an appetizer to tempt you into reading more about him. Mr Forczyk therefore covers Von Manstein's early life, service in World War I, interwar years, service in World War II, and post-war life, with the primary focus being on the World War II portion.
Mr Forczyk provides a balanced judgment of Von Manstein, and offers nuances to his character as space permits. Although Mr Forczyk gives credit to Von Manstein where credit is due, he also calls out his shortcomings, failures, and culpabilities as a commander. Given that there are several new biographies of Von Manstein due to be published soon, I'm curious to discover whether Mr Forczyk is leading the charge to revise Von Manstein's reputation downward a bit, or if his analysis will stand alone.
I haven't read anyone who can better research a topic and distill a large amount of information into a concise, lucid, and entertaining package than Robert Forczyk, and he did an outstanding job of examining Von Manstein's career within the alloted page count. But I feel that Osprey Publishing should have allowed an additional 10 to 20 pages for this series, especially given that the price for the book is in line with other Osprey Publications that are of greater length.
I highly recommend this book, but it should have been longer so that Mr Forczyk could have provided more information on Von Manstein's life and career and support for his positions and conclusions.
Far too short July 17, 2010
Richard Peterson (San Diego, CA, USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Let me put the bottom line first: if you are looking for a brief introduction to one of the great operational-level generals of World War 2, buy this book! If you are looking for something more in-depth, you are likely to be less satisfied. I was appalled when I learned that the new Osprey 'Command' series would only be 64 pages long. I had expected at least 80 pages (like the Duel series), if not 96 pages (like the Campaign, Battle Orders and Essential Histories series). How can you possibly do any sort of biography in 64 pages?
If anyone could do it, it would have to be Robert Forczyk, who has shown his ability to cram an enormous amount of information in a minimum number of pages in previous Osprey books. Unfortunately, he can't achieve the impossible. Even giving the bare minimum coverage of his pre- and post-war life, Forczyk is left with only 43 pages of maps and text to cover World War 2. If you don't know much about Erich von Manstein, this book will be an informative and fairly balanced, if brief, introduction. If you are fairly familiar with Manstein's career, you will still probably learn something new, I did, but most of it will (inevitably) be material familiar to you. Even then, however, it can be a useful counter to other books that glorify Manstein unduly. It also helps that the book has good maps.
Forczyk clearly intends to puncture the over-inflated reputation Manstein has gained in some circles. Mostly, he achieves this with a balanced consideration of both his strengths and weaknesses. However, occasionally he takes what seem to be cheap shots. Thus Manstein 'bears considerable responsibility for Zitadelle' (Battle of Kursk) because he originally proposed it; but this ignores the fact that the situation completely changed in the months before it was actually carried out and Manstein ended up opposing the operation. Forczyk criticizes him for falling for Soviet diversionary attacks, allowing the Soviets to make breakthroughs elsewhere; but in fact the 'diversions' were usually powerful to produce their own breakthroughs, if Manstein hadn't committed his reserves to block them, and his opponent (Vatutin) was flexible enough to be switch his focus to exploit this. Later he tells us that Manstein's methods did not work against a steady opponent, which certainly contains an element of truth, but ignores that Manstein still achieved some (more minor) successes in spite of (by August 1943) being outnumbered 3:1 in manpower and 5:1 in tanks.
The problem is that Forczyk barely has space to give his conclusions, let alone explain and justify them. All his criticisms may be justified, but he doesn't have room to give his reasons. But if Forczyk is somewhat too critical, in my opinion, he still (overall) gives us a more balanced and accurate picture of Manstein as a general and, to a lesser extent, as a person than you are likely to find elsewhere. Instead of hailing him as a "Hitler's Greatest General" (the title of one biography), he shows what he actually accomplished, good and bad. It's just that he could have done so much more with a few more pages.
 This military survey of his strategies deserves a place in any military library July 12, 2010
Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Robert Forczyk's ERICH VON MANSTEIN covers the background and battlefield experiences of one of the greatest commanders in history. He was one of the most successful German commanders of World War II - this military survey of his strategies deserves a place in any military library.
A concise but critical review of von Manstein July 10, 2010
Dave Schranck (Anaheim Ca)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
It seems apparent that I have a higher opinion of the Field Marshall than Mr Forczyk and was a little surprised and disheartened to see the author's criticism.. The book begins with von Manstein being born into a military family and having the traditional Prussian War Doctrine of Maneuver Warfare ingrained into him from an early age. This training would be invaluable for most of his career. His war experience in WWI and his rise in the Wehrmacht in the interwar war years is then covered. His career during WWII is then gone over with more deliberateness but with only 64 pages to work with, it puts limits on what the author can delve into.
WWII coverage begins with von Manstein's involvement in the Polish and then French invasions. In the war with Russia coverage includes the drive toward Leningrad with special attention to the battle of Soltsy in the opening months that delayed the German advance toward Leningrad for weeks. The capture of the Crimea, relief attempt of Paulus at Stalingrad, the defense of the Chir-Don-Rostov line against Operation Little Saturn, the counterattack in Feb 1943 and the recapture of Kharkov, the Kursk offensive, the retreat to the Dnepr and the loss of Kiev, the Korsun Pocket and Hube's moving pocket affair are then covered.
Perhaps my enthusiasm for von Manstein is tainting my vision but believe the capture of the Crimea was brilliant. The "backhand blow" counterattack and the eventual recapture of Kharkov in 1943 was brilliant, especially after the German and Hungarian 2nd Armies were shattered. The defense against Little Saturn was also excellent as the German forces fell back to the Donets. There was nobody in the German Army could have done better. At Kursk, a battle that couldn't be won by the Germans, von Manstein gained more ground against Vatutin than Model did against Rokossovsky. His panzers destroyed many more tanks than lost. After the losses at Kursk, the Germans didn't have much of a chance against the superior forces of Vatutin, Konev and Malinovsky. Its not surprising Kiev and the Dnepr River couldn't be held in late 1943. At Korsun with the help of von Manstein's relief attempt 40,000 men were able to escape. I believe these actions and others deserved more credit than was given in the book. Also the praise bestowed on Vatutin at Manstein's expense was not appreciated. I agree Vatutin was one of Russia's best commanders but I don't think he was better than von Manstein, especially when Vatutin's superior forces play such a large part in the equation. Hitler's constraining, disruptive orders on von Manstein must also be considered in his evaluation. (The battle at Soltsy and the envelopment of Kiev are two fine examples of Vatutin's ability to take advantage of the prevailing situation. In Manstein's defense: the Soltsy attack wouldn't have been as successful or happened at all if OKH hadn't pulled Totenkopf, who was guarding 56th PzC's right flank and rear, back into reserve just a few days earlier. )
I have to take issue with another comment. Mr Forczyk believes that when von Manstein in his "Lost Victories" blames Hitler for the demise of 6th Army was just trying to pass the blame away from himself is incorrect. Von Manstein was given an impossible task; the relief attempt was sure to fail. AG Don didn't have nearly enough forces to complete the relief and he didn't have any control over Paulus. Paulus didn't have any good options but staying at Stalingrad was the worse. At least an attempted breakout in the early days with Hoth nearby had a small chance for a partial recovery but Hitler wouldn't allow it.
Von Manstein, self centered, was a career soldier and just like von Bock, Guderian, Rommel and a dozen other German officers wanted to prove himself in battle. It should not be surprising that if it came down to a choice of following Nazi doctrine or losing your job, most of these proud men will bend their morals to stay in service. It may not be proper but in a war of annihilation with so much savagery and killing on both sides its understandable. The Allies in post war trials proved von Manstein guilty of war crimes but a small prison term was levied which would seem that his participation was limited compared to some officers.
There was also five 2-D maps which were very good and complemented the narrative. The first map was a composite showing the locations of all major engagements on the eastern front that involved von Manstein. The battle of Soltsy is next where Vatutin catches von Manstein's extended forces in a pincer attack. The retreat to the Donets River is next followed by the recapture of Kharkov and the Korsun Pocket is last. There were also three illustrations that were interesting and many good photos.
The book ends with a small reading list and index.
Despite the criticism, I have high regard for Mr Forczyk's talents and this book is good and worthy of reading. I just feel von Manstein warranted less criticism and more appreciation than was given.
A Good Introduction July 7, 2010
R. Zoellner
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Robert Forczyk's short book on Erich von Manstein is chock-full of useful information and helpful graphics. For all its brevity, this book seems to hit all of the salient points in the life and career of Manstein, even including some detailed strategic reports on his crucial battles. It is clearly an introductory work on the topic, but still fairly academic, and sure to entertain any reader interested in military history. Younger readers will enjoy the illustrations; older ones will be pleased by the plethora of maps and actual period photos. Personally, I found some of the tactical information and explanations of the map graphics to be rather dense, as well as some of the main text narrative of battles to be dry. It is a very nicely put together book, however, with sturdy enough paper to hold up in a classroom setting if necessary.
While there is a lot of space in this book dedicated to Manstein's actual field operations in the Soviet Union, there is also certainly attention on his original claim to fame and success. The Nazi invasion of France, which almost completely repeated the Schlieffen plan that had been used by Imperial Germany in the First World War, was obviously not his creation. What Manstein did was revise this plan, a change almost ignored by higher ups, which made the plan successful when used. Unlike the First World War, which was mostly a stalemate, Germany conquered France in record time. This book by Forczyk explains the difference, as well as how Manstein's plan got acceptance. He also addresses the other main source of the respect Manstein gathered as a commander; namely his own writings about his time in the war, and centrality in this plan. He is also not afraid to go into Manstein's darker side, namely his contributions to the Nazi operations, and how he fared in the Nuremburg trials.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 7
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