Perspective

The book was written from the perspective of the author Field Marshall v. Manstein, who truly sought military victory. Manstein tells about his experience in the attack on Poland, the attack on the Western front, and the war in the Soviet Union. Early in the book, Manstein makes clear that he and most of his fellow Generals do not want to be drawn into a general war, though that is exactly what happens. What angered Manstein most about the war was that Hitler did not ask his O.K.H. Armed Forces Staff to develop a plan to win the war. To try to remedy this, Manstein submitted to Hitler a plan to win the land war in the West, but there was no follow-up plan to defeat Great Britain.

Likewise in June 1941, there was no coherent plan to win the war against the Soviet Union. Manstein saw...