Top Ten Best Erich von Manstein Quotes
Erich von Manstein was a German Field Marshal (Generalfeldmarschall) during WWII.The Top Ten
1 A war is not lost until you consider it lost.
2 But it is a well-known maxim of war that whoever tries to hold on to everything at once, finishes up by holding nothing at all.
3 ..4 types of officer.1st..lazy,stupid ones.Leave..alone..2nd..hard-working,intelligent ones..excellent staff officers..detail..considered.3rd..hard-working,stupid ones..menace..fired at once..finally..intelligent,lazy ones..suited for the highest office.
4 It has always been the particular forte of German leadership to grant wide scope to the self-dependence of subordinate commanders - to allot them tasks which leave the method of execution to the discretion of the individual.
5 From time immemorial - certainly since the elder Moltke's day - this principle [Tasks] has distinguished Germany's military leadership from that of other armies.
6 If Paulus' army had capitulated before..end..Russians would..had the advantage of withdrawing forces against Paulus &..southern front,where I had only 2 Romanian armies.Therefore..resistance of..6th German Army,even to..death of..last man,was necessary.
7 I tried at that time to relieve the Sixth Army,of which I was supreme commander,above Paulus, by counterattacks - but it was not possible. I gave the order finally for the Sixth Army to break out, but then Paulus said it was too late and not possible.
8 Hitler did not want the Sixth Army to break out at any time, but to fight to the last man. I believe that Hitler said if the Sixth Army tried to break out, it would be their death.
9 The will for victory which gives a commander the strength to see a grave crisis through is something very different from Hitler's will, which in the last analysis stemmed from a belief in his own 'mission'.
10 [Hitler's]belief makes..man impervious to reason..leads..think..his own will can operate..beyond..limits of..reality-whether..consist in..presence of..superior enemy forces..conditions of space & time,or merely..enemy happens to have a will of his own.
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