Eric Von Manstein

General Eric Von Manstein, a Prussian nobleman, gave outstanding service to a very bad cause. He helped formulate the attack in May of 1940 that broke through the Ardennes that knocked France out and almost won the war for Adolf Hitler. Later, on the Russian front, he led the attempt to relieve Stalingrad that came very close to succeeding. In the early months of 1944, he handled his forces brilliantly. He would allow Russians to break through the front lines, wait until they had penetrated deeply, then would attack them on the flanks, cutting them off. He and his men were seriously outnumbered, but because he was so skillful, he inflicted serious defeats on the Russians.

Manstein lived until 1973 and insisted to his dying day that if Hilter had listened to him, he could have won the war on the Eastern front. This is a common failing of Wehrmacht generals. They have a complete blind spot as to what would have happened if the war had endured until August 6, 1945.

Bottom line: Manstein was a brilliant commander. In the Spring of 1944, Hitler removed him from command and adopted a rigid policy of no withdrawals or retreats. Manstein received a very generous stipend. He soon realized that Hitler would not call upon him to save Germany.

Guess what Manstein did with that big pile of money? In October of 1944, Manstein purchased a huge country estate in East Prussia. 3 months later, the province is overrun by the Red Army. The brilliant military man made a serious tactical error with his investment.

A joke for WWII geeks: What do you call an East Prussian woman who has been raped 100 times in the last day and will be raped 100 times for each of the next 10 days? Luckier than most. (Obviously, I don’t find rape funny. The joke illustrates the comparable brutality of the Red Army.)