Heroes are born in troubled times, although World War II was not launched from a just standpoint. But it is undeniable that Manstein is indeed a first-class general in strategy and tactics. So his evaluation in the west is still quite high. I think there are two main reasons why he didn't get much punishment after World War II.

First, he wrote a memoir called "The Lost Victory". In the book, he portrayed himself as a general with strategy and wisdom. And blamed Hitler for the failure of the war. The subtext shows that if it was my idea, the war would not be like this.

The second part is because in some battles. Manstein did play an important role. For example, the campaign of 1940 attacking France. He carried out a blitzkrieg. Broke through the middle line of defense with armored forces. This will not only pass through maginot line. It also blocked the rear road of the British and French Coalition forces. British and French troops withdrew from Dunkirk. In less than a month, France lost most of its territory and surrendered to Germany. Because France at that time claimed to be the largest land power in the world. But the land-based forces surrendered to Germany, so this battle won Manstein the reputation of decisive battle in World War I.

There is also the Battle of Kharkov at 1943. Because this game can save Nazi Germany. Because after the battle between Hitler and Stalin, the Germans stationed on the southern line were completely annihilated. If he was not afraid of being defended, Stalin would lead several troops to attack Germany from the southern line. Then World War II can be ended early. But then manstein tried his best to convince Hitler. In order to defend the downtown, Manstein led an army of beaten soldiers to the downtown. In the process. He launched an attack on the Soviet Red Army. Not only met a large number of Soviet heavy corps. Stabilized kharkov's defense.

So according to these two points, he was only punished by 18 years imprisonment after World War II.