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Erich von Manstein Quotes

1887–1973 Germany

Erich von Manstein (November 24, 1887 – June 9, 1973) was a German commander of the Wehrmacht, Nazi Germany's armed forces during the Second World War. He attained the rank of field marshal.

Germany
Military leaders
Non-fiction authors

Also known as: Erich von manstein, Manstein, Manstein, Erich von, Von manstein

Random Erich von Manstein quote

4 quotes

A war is not lost until you consider it lost.

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.

If Paulus's army had capitulated before the end, the Russians would have had the advantage of withdrawing forces against Paulus and against the southern front, where I had only two Romanian armies. Therefore, the resistance of the Sixth German Army, even to the death of the last man, was necessary.

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. From time immemorial - certainly since the elder Moltke's day - this principle has distinguished Germany's military leadership from that of other armies.

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Erich von Manstein (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.