For a list of recipients, please go to Complete list of Oak Leaves and Swords recipients

Erich von Manstein

Field Marshall Erich von Manstein (Portrait by Ortelli Art)

Erich von Manstein was born in Berlin, on the 24th of November 1887. His original surname was von Lewinski, as his father was Edward von Lewinski, an artillery officer in the Imperial Army who rose to command an Army Corp, and his mother Helene von Lewinski. Helene von Lewinski was the eldest sister of Hewig von Lewinski, wife of Lieutenant-General Georg von Manstein (a divisional commander in the Kaiser's army). Erich was the von Lewinski's 10th child, in fact a later comer, and as the von Manstein’s were childless it was decided that should it be a boy, the child would be educated in the von Manstein household. Erich eventually took his surname and, became Fritz Erich von Lewinski gennant von Manstein, or Erich von Manstein for short.

Erich von Manstein was educated in Strasbourg, and then went on to enroll in the cadet corps, spending six years there. In 1906 he began his illustrious military career by entering the 3rd Regiment of Footguards, and in 1913 he was enrolled at the War Academy. He was granted the rank of lieutenant in 1914, and rejoined the 3rd Regiment of Footguards.

On the outbreak of World War I von Manstein first served as adjutant of the 2nd Reserve Regiment of Guards in Belgium, then East Prussia and South Poland. He was badly wounded on the Russian front in November 1914, and after recuperation until May of 1915, he served on the staffs of the Armies commanded by Generals von Gallwitz and von Below. He participated in that capacity in the offensives in North Poland, and from the autumn of 1915 until the spring of 1916 he saw action in Serbia. In the spring of 1917, he was at the famous battle of Verdun, the Somme, and the fighting in Aisne. In the autumn he was made General Staff Officer I of 4 Calvary Division in Courtland, and in May 1918 he held the same appointment with 213 Infantry Division in the West. He took part in the Rheims offensives in May and June of that year and served in France until the armistice. During the course of the war he earned both the Iron Cross 2nd and 1st Class.

During the post war years von Manstein held various staff and regimental appointments. He played a role in the development of the Reichwehr and rose through the ranks to Company Commander, and later Corps Commander (1922). By 1927 he was a Major, and was serving in the General Staff. In 1934 he became Chief of Staff of III Military Region in Berlin, and in 1935 Chief of the Operations Branch of the General Staff of the Army. By October 1936, he had risen to Major-General and became Oberquartiermeister I, which made him deputy to General Beck, the Chief of the General Staff.

In connection with the dismissal of Baron von Fritsch in February 1938, he was relieved of his staff appointments and transferred to Liegnitz to command the 18th Division. The year he took part in the occupation of the Sudetenland with that unit, as Chief of Staff to General von Leeb.

Upon general mobilization in 1939 von Manstein was promote to Lieutenant-General and became Chief of Staff of von Rundstedt’s Southern Army Group, with which he went through the campaign in Poland. In October 1939, in the same capacity, he went with von Rundstedt to Army Group A, which was now on the Western Front. It was here that von Manstein became involved in the struggle to adopt an offensive plan that carried the main blow of the offensive through the Ardennes forest, bypassing the Maginot line and offering the prospect of complete victory. Hitler would eventually adopt the main points of this plan, though not before von Manstein was moved away from the Army Group and posted to command the 38th Army Corp, a move which may be seen as politely removing him through promotion.

Von Manstein led the 38th Army Corp through the French campaign, crossing the river Seina east of Verdun. Though his Corp was largely not motorized, they covered over 300 miles in pursuit of the enemy under his leadership. For his role in the campaign, he was promoted to General and decorated with the Knights Cross to the Iron Cross.

After the Western campaigns, von Manstein was entrusted with training his corps for “Sealion”, the plan for the invasion of England. After this operation was aborted, he was made commander of 56th Panzer Corp (February 1941), fulfilling one of his livelong ambitions. His Corp, initially compromised of the 8th Panzer Division, 3rd Motorized Division, and the 290th infantry Division, formed part of Army Group North when in June of that year Germany invaded the Soviet Union. He then led the Corp in a true armored dash from East Prussia to Lake Ilmen, and then continued to reach a line within sight of Leningrad. Plans to attack this city were prepared, but never carried out.

In September 1941 von Manstein was given command of the 11th Army (Army Group South) after its commander, Colonel-General Ritter von Schobert, landed in a mine field killing both him and his pilot. Von Manstein almost immediately architectured this Army group’s conquest of all of Crimea (minus Sevastopol). During the next few months, he also led the defense and defeat of the Soviet counterlandings at Kerch, before resuming his drive toward the city. When Sevastopol finally fell to his Army after bitter fighting on July 1st, 1942, he was promoted to Field Marshal. Following this success, his army was called north to once again aid in the siege and conquest of Leningrad, but the OKW would have a different path for von Manstein.

In August 1942, after the Soviets had encircled the Sixth Army, von Manstein was given command of the Don (later Southern), Army Group. In this capacity he directed a brave but doomed attempt at relieving the surrounded forces, reaching within 50 km of Stalingrad, before the attacked was beaten back and the Germans forced to retreat. He then commanded the heavy fighting to save the German southern wing. Still in command of Army Group South, von Manstein achieved a great victory at Kharkov in March 1943, for which he was presented with the Oak Leaves to the Knights Cross on March 14ht.

In the summer of 1943, von Manstein took part in the last great German offensive in the east, “Operation Citadel”, initially making good progress but eventually being forced to slow down in the face of stiff Soviet resistance. After the offensive was called off, he directed the Southern group in a long series of difficult defensive battles, slowing down the Soviet Armies while inflicting heavy casualties on the enemy. The highlights of these battles include the withdrawal behind the Dnieper River and the breakout from the “Cherkassy pocket”.

Erich von Manstein during "Citadel" (notice the Krim Shield on his uniform)

At the end of March 1944, when the Wehrmacht was along the Polish border, von Manstein was relieved of command due to his differences of opinion with Hitler regarding the conduct of operations in the East. Though he was awarded the Swords to the Knights Cross on March 26th in appreciation of his great leadership, he was not employed again for the duration of the conflict.

In early 1945 von Mainstein evacuated his family to the west in order to avoid Soviet capture, but was arrested by the British in May, 1945. He was held in captivity (though in relative comfort) in England until 1948, when he was returned to Germany to face a war crime trial. There he was sentenced to 18 years of prison, but released after three due to poor health. In 1956, he became an advisor to the new German Army, the Bundeswehr. Erich von Manstein lived with his family in West Germany until the day of his death, on June 10th, 1973.