Manstein

## Skills

Panzer Leader (Lvl 3)

Blitzkrieg (Lvl 3)

Armoured Assault (Lvl 2)

Plain Fighting (Lvl 1) free slot, recommend inspiration

Tide of Iron (Lvl 3) free slot, recommend rumour or Explosives

**Fritz Erich Georg Eduard von Manstein** (born **Fritz Erich Georg Eduard von Lewinski**; 24 November 1887 – 9 June 1973) was a German Field Marshal of the Wehrmacht, Nazi Germany's armed forces during the Second World War, who was subsequently convicted of war crimes.

One of the top three tank generals in all of world conqueror 4, he is arguably the least utilizable of the three, with the other two being Guderian and Wittmann sorry no link for him). Manstein is the 2nd most expensive in-app purchase general behind Marshall, and because of that he has the highest stats and the widest array of abilities all dedicated to tank warfare. However as good as he may be out-of-the box, his upgrade potential is severely lacking. He may be able to get 4 stars in all stats, with 6 stars in movement and panzer.

Manstein is also not the best Tank general that you must use real world money to purchase. Whitman, being six dollars (around 42% cheaper) while having a game-breaking ability known as Ace Tank, which is an exclusive ability that ignores all enemy defense values, not counting terrain. Whitman’s abilities are locked, but with this super powerful ability it does not matter as much, since with this ability alone it makes him have higher dps (damage per shot) late-game than any other general with any other assortment of abilities. However he only starts with 3 stars in movement, but can be upgraded to 4.

Manstein is a great general after the update and according to most YouTubers is the best.

## **History**

Born into an aristocratic Prussian family with a long history of military service, Manstein joined the army at a young age and saw service on both the Western and Eastern Front during the First World War. He rose to the rank of captain by the end of the war and was active in the inter-war period helping Germany rebuild her armed forces. In September 1939, during the invasion of Poland at the beginning of the Second World War, he was serving as Chief of Staff to Gerd von Rundstedt's Army Group South. Adolf Hitler chose Manstein's strategy for the invasion of France, a plan later refined by Franz Halder and other members of the OKH. Anticipating a firm Allied reaction should the main thrust of the invasion take place through the Netherlands, Manstein devised an innovative operation called the *Sichelschnitt* that called for an attack through the Ardennes and a rapid drive to the English Channel, thus cutting off the Allied armies in Belgium. Attaining the rank of general at the end of the campaign, he was active in the invasion of the Soviet Union and was promoted to field marshal. He also participated in the Siege of Leningrad.

Germany's fortunes in the war began to take an unfavourable turn later in 1942, especially in the Battle of Stalingrad, where Manstein commanded a failed relief effort in December. Later known as the "backhand blow", Manstein's counteroffensive in the Third Battle of Kharkov regained substantial territory and resulted in the destruction of three Soviet armies and the retreat of three others. He was one of the primary commanders at the Battle of Kursk, one of the largest tank battles in history. His ongoing disagreements with Hitler over the conduct of the war led to his dismissal in March 1944. He never obtained another command and was taken prisoner by the British in August 1945, several months after Germany's defeat.

Manstein gave testimony at the main Nuremberg trials of war criminals in August 1946 and prepared a paper that, along with his later memoirs, helped cultivate the myth of a "clean Wehrmacht"—the myth that the German armed forces were not culpable for the atrocities of the Holocaust. In 1949 he was tried in Hamburg for war crimes and was convicted on nine of seventeen counts, including the poor treatment of prisoners of war and failing to protect civilian lives in his sphere of operations. His sentence of eighteen years in prison was later reduced to twelve, and he served only four years before being released in 1953. As a military advisor to the German government in the mid-1950s, he helped re-establish the armed forces.