Nazi Germany’s attack on France in the spring of 1940, carried out through the Ardennes, completely surprised the French army. It is well known that the one who proposed this idea to the Nazi dictator was General Erich von Manstein. Less well known is the fact that the high command of the German military initially rejected this idea, and Hitler ignored it. Moreover, the General Staff of the German Army tried to “bury” Manstein’s plan because they considered it a “scumbag”. However, a more unusual confluence of circumstances led Hitler to finally accept Manstein’s idea.
Immediately after occupying Poland, Hitler turned his attention to western Europe. He wanted to attack France in the fall of 1939, following a military plan developed by the General Staff of the German army led by General Franz Halder. According to this plan, the main attack on France was to be launched through central Belgium, just as in 1914 in the First World War.
The main attack on France was to be carried out by Army Group “B” under General Fedor von Bock, while Army Group “A” under Gerd von Rundstedt was to launch a secondary attack on the left through the region hilly and wooded Ardennes.
In this area, the Germans did not expect important results, as the General Staff considered that the Ardennes “represents a land far too difficult for a tank advance”, so all the armored divisions came under von Bock’s command.
The attack through the Ardennes, ignored by the French and British
The highlight is that the same vision was shared by the French General Staff and the British General Staff.
“When I was consulted in November 1933 as to how our (British) fast tank units, which the War Office was just beginning to form, could be used successfully in a future war, I suggested that, in the event of a German invasion of France, we should launch a counterattack through the Ardennes.
I was then told that the Ardennes are “impassable for tanks”, to which I replied that, after studying the terrain, I came to the conclusion that this opinion was unfounded, as I pointed out in several books published in the interwar period”, he later wrote to the WWII Liddell Hart.
Manstein’s plan
The one who would change the history of the Second World War was the German general Erich von Manstein, who advanced the solution of moving the main German attack to the Ardennes, starting from the premise that the French would have least expected such a attack. Manstein realized that his idea was perfectly feasible after consulting with Heinz Guderian, a specialist in tank warfare, who confirmed to him that armored vehicles could cross the Ardennes.
Erich von Manstein was Chief of Staff of Army Group “A”. He convinced his superior, General Gerd von Rundstedt, then sent a report to the German General Staff headed by Generals Franz Halder and Walther von Brauchitsch, who rejected it. At the same time, Hitler was also informed of Manstein’s plan, but for a time he did not consider it.
Manstein meets Hitler
“The final decision was made in a rather strange way. Brauchitsch and Halder didn’t like the way Manstein had insisted that his ‘little find’ be preferred to their plan. Under these conditions, it was decided to change him from his position and send him to command an Army Corps – where he would have occupied a less favorable position, in order to impose his ideas. But, before the transfer, he was summoned to a meeting with Hitler and thus had the opportunity to explain his point of view at length.
This meeting was arranged at the initiative of General Schmundt, Hitler’s chief aide, who was an ardent admirer of Manstein and believed that he had been wronged. Later, Hitler insisted so much to Brauchitsch and Halder in favor of Manstein’s idea, that they finally gave in and remodeled the plan according to Manstein’s conceptions”, notes the military historian Liddell Hart.
A strange incident
Manstein’s idea gained weight in Hitler’s eyes only after the attack on France was delayed several times due to weather and a strange incident.
A German plane with a liaison officer carrying the plan to invade France was forced to land in Belgium. The officer did not manage to completely burn the document, parts of it ended up in the hands of the Belgians. The incident had a special meaning on Hitler, who decided on January 16 to change the plan of attack on Western Europe.
Thus Manstein’s plan came to be applied. In the end, Hitler came to believe that he had conceived the entire plan. He only gave Manstein credit for agreeing with him: “Of all the generals with whom I discussed the new plan in the West, Manstein was the only one who understood me.”
We also recommend that you read:
Champion Gretel Bergmann, refused by Hitler at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin
Hitler, after overrunning Poland: Every wasted month is a loss of time to the detriment of Germany’s attacking power
Emil Jannings, the first actor to win an Oscar. Erased from Hollywood history for being a Hitler sympathizer
Margot Wölk, Hitler’s food taster
Source: www.descopera.ro
