Manstein was born Erich von Lewinski in Berlin, the son of General Eduard von Lewinski. When his father died, his mother was unable to support her 10 children, Erich was adopted by a childless aunt married to General George von Manstein, from whom the child took the name by which he would become known.

Manstein graduated from cadet school in 1906 and was commissioned lieutenant in the 3rd Foot Guards Regiment, an elite unit under the command of Paul von Hindenburg, Manstein's uncle. Manstein was soon enrolled in the Kriegsakademie, the highest German military college, but withdrew to enter active service at the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Wounded in November of the first year of the war, Manstein convalesced in a staff assignment. Excelling in this duty, he served out the rest of the war as a staff officer.

After the armistice of 1918, Manstein served in the Reichswehr, the post-Treaty of Versailles German army, and in 1929 was appointed to the General Staff. In 1936, he was appointed deputy to the chief of the General Staff, General Ludwig Beck, but was removed two years later when Defense Minister General Werner von Blomberg and army commander in chief Werner von Fritsch, outspoken opponents of Adolf Hitler's plans for conquest, were relieved of their offices. Manstein was transferred to command of an infantry division in Silesia, and then became chief of staff of the German occupation army in Czechoslovakia.

In August 1939, the month before war began, Manstein was appointed chief of staff of the Eastern Army Group under Gerd von Rundstedt. He participated in the Blitzkrieg invasion of Poland in September 1939. Reviewing the General Staff 's plan for the invasion of France, Manstein objected to the simple head-on approach and called instead for the main part of the invasion to go through the Ardennes. The French assumed that this approach was too thickly wooded for an invading army, so they defended it only lightly. The Manstein Plan was adopted and enabled a rapid penetration across the French border, which stunned the defenders and was chiefly responsible for the German victory in the Battle of France. . .

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