?Ehrlich. Feng. Manstein was promoted to marshal on July 1, 1942. Manstein, Rommel, and Guderian were probably the most famous German generals in World War II. On the Eastern Front, Manstein commanded as many as 60 divisions. This can be seen from this. His ability to command large corps in combat. Manstein was very famous, and more importantly, his strategic thinking had a great influence on the German army.

1. Schlieffen Plan

The Schlieffen Plan was a set of combat methods formulated by German Field Marshal Schlieffen in World War I. Its main purpose was to deal with the British and French coalition forces to the west of Germany in future wars (pictured)

If you say what is the most famous defense line in history, the Maginot Line is definitely on the list. . Built during the interwar period, the Maginot Line was a fortress defense line that stretched across eastern France and was hundreds of kilometers long. France used its entire nation to build a defense line to defend against Germany. (As shown in the picture)

1. This combat plan was formulated to bypass the Maginot Line of Defense.

2. Break through and attack from the north, pass through the Netherlands and Belgium, and then invade the French mainland.

In 1913, the 80-year-old Schlieffen repeatedly warned before his death: "The war must be fought, as long as the right wing is strong." Although this dying instruction became a part of military history with the end of the German tragedy famous quotes. (The Schlieffen Plan can be seen as the prototype of future Blitzkrieg. It can also be said that Marshal Schlieffen was the initial proposer of the Blitzkrieg Plan. He believed that using artillery fire to cover infantry charges on the battlefield could quickly attack the enemy. The Schlieffen Plan Proposed to enable the German army to quickly invade France in the early stages of World War I)

2. The Manstein Plan

The "Manstein Plan" placed the main force of the German army at the border between France and Germany The Ardennes forest and mountainous area caused a sudden attack on the French army, while the north was responsible for attracting the attention of the French army, and finally formed an encirclement. The plan was extremely risky, but ultimately successful. (Concentrated use of armored clusters)

The early plans of Wolfenstein actually presupposed a premise, that is, Germany could not completely defeat France in one battle and needed to advance step by step.

The first step: The Belgian and Dutch areas north of the Somme River should be occupied first.

The second step: eliminate as many effective forces as possible of the British and French coalition forces, thereby weakening their strength.

Part Three: After gaining a firm foothold, advance towards France.

However, Manstein pointed out that if the current plan is implemented, at most it can only achieve the first step goal (occupying Belgium and the Netherlands), but it is unlikely to achieve the second step goal (as many as possible). Eliminate the effective forces of Britain and France, thereby weakening their strength) because this plan is almost identical to the Schlieffen Plan, and the enemy has already seen it during World War I, and will definitely take precautions. Judging from the terrain, the Maginot Line was established on the south side and formed a barrier in the Ardennes area, making it almost impossible to break through by force. The Belgian plains were the most ideal place for motorized groups to enter, so Germany could only attack from the Netherlands and Belgium. The offensive spearhead of Army Group B will definitely hit the enemy's main defensive force. This will be a flat push strategy. If it is a flat push strategy, the enemy can rely on rivers and fortresses to block it, consuming the German soldiers and morale, and slowly disintegrating Germany. Even if you can't hold the offensive, you can slowly retreat. Manstein predicted that the spearhead of the German offensive could only be pushed north of the Somme River (occupying the Netherlands and Belgium), while Britain and France could still organize a new line of defense along the south of the Somme River to resist the German army.

Therefore, Manstein proposed that all the efforts should be completed in one battle, and the main forces of Britain and France should be completely defeated in one major battle to avoid falling into a protracted attrition like the First World War. Manstein's goal was to almost completely defeat the British and French forces. To wipe out the main force of the British and French coalition forces that entered the Netherlands and Belgium, he proposed to concentrate the main force on Army Group A, break through the Ardennes area (the Sedan section in the picture above) where the enemy thought it was impossible, and insert it directly into the strait in the direction of the Somme River. , cut off the connection between the British and French forces entering Belgium and France in the rear, and cooperate with Army Group B to annihilate them in one fell swoop.

There was a huge danger in the Manstein plan. If the German army was attacked from the north and south by the British and French forces during the advance, the German elite armored corps might be completely annihilated. (As shown in the picture↓)

Fortunately, it was Guderian, the father of German armor, who carried out this plan. His 19th Panzer Corps served as the breakthrough vanguard in the middle, targeting the English Channel, thus cutting off Britain and France. The main force's retreat. Through Guderian's furious advance, the main force of the British and French coalition forces was about to be destroyed. The success of Manstein's plan directly led to the fall of France at the speed of light (44 days), which claimed to have the best army in Europe. This strategic plan contains a surprising winning strategy and super execution ability, both of which are indispensable.

Liddell Hart commented: Guderian and his tank troops dragged the entire German army forward, which resulted in the greatest victory in modern history!