Nazi Germany: Difference between revisions

* ''[[Worthy Opponent|Erwin]] [[Four-Star Badass|Rommel]]'': The ''[[Trope Namer|original]]'' [[Magnificent Bastard]] and the [[Worthy Opponent]] of the British in World War II. He was one of the less enthusiastic supporters of the Nazis regime and was not of [[Blue Blood]], two reasons for which the Generals in the Nazi High Command hated him. Later on he became very critical of the Nazi regime and disillusioned with Hitler. Although he was [[My Country, Right or Wrong|incredibly loyal to Germany]] he refused all orders to kill prisoners of war and treated them fairly. Nobody from his Afrika Korps was ever accused of war crimes, probably because of his [[A Father to His Men|influence]]. Orders to kill any Jews on sight in all theaters of his command were defiantly ignored. He did, however, even after becoming disillusioned, work very hard to make the coast of France deadly to the invading Allies. He was forced to commit suicide in 1944 after being implicated in a plot to assassinate Hitler. The general consensus among many historians is that he at least knew of it, even if he had no direct involvement. His reputation as a general was probably inflated as a consequence of the trope [[America Wins the War]], however, as he was the most famous German general to consistently fight the non-Soviet Allied troops. He was never actually a member of the Nazi party and is remembered positively in Germany and the rest of the world, and there was a German destroyer named after him (which was decommissioned after 30 years of service). In addition, Rommel is the only German field marshal of the war to have a museum dedicated to him.

** Note that members of the Wehrmacht weren’t allowed to affiliate with a political party, so it's not at all unusual he wasn't a member of the Nazi party. Of course, that did not stop soldiers who did believe in Nazi ideology from joining. Rommel, however, was critical of Hitler's policies.

* ''[[The Chessmaster|Erich von Manstein]]'': If Guderian was the tank ace and Rommel the tactical genius, then Manstein was Master of Strategy. He planned the Ardennes offensive which knocked France out of the war in 6 weeks and was largely responsible for the initial huge success of the Russian invasion. He was put into command of the 11th army and soon, the the newly created Army Group Don. After the encirclement of Paulus' 6th Army at Stalingrad, Manstein was responsible for the planned rescue of said army (which Hitler shot down) and for saving the entire southern wing of the German front from collapsing after the 6th Army's destruction. He lead the southern pincer in the "[[Big Badass Battle Sequence|battle of Kursk]]", although he wanted to have the german forces attack in the center (where the soviets didn't expect the germans to go). Eventually, he was fired by Hitler because Hitler felt threatened by Manstein's strong personally and tendancy to disagree with him (The fact that Hitler made him a field marshall and gave him an army group to command despite their mutual dislike for each other is a testament to just how effective Manstein was at his job). In 1944, both Field marshals Gunther von Kluge and Erwin Rommel said to Manstein "I am (also) Prepared to serve under your orders" and Field marshal Fedor von Bock said that Manstein was Germany's last hope (seven days before germany surrendered). In fact, high officers, such as Colonel General (later Field Marshal) Wolfram von Richtofen wanted him to be in charge of the entire eastern front. The fact that the legendary desert fox (and many other distiguished generals) would be happy to serve under him should serve as a testament to his skill as a General and strategist.

** Regarding his politics, Manstein was very similar to his fellow generals. He was not particularly anti semitic, but was anti-communist, autocratic, militaristic, and apolitical (General Reichenau was disliked by many for joining the Nazi party). He, like many eastern front generals, were complacent in letting the SS murder civilians behind the front as they swept through Russia. He thought of Hitler as a good politician, but an idiot in military matters and disliked Hitler's interference with Army affairs. He was against assassionation of Hitler, but received many visitors who suggested Manstein help with the coup and was generally polite towards them.