Chapter 8; War in the East: Panzer Drive Summary and Analysis

In Chapter 8, in February 1941, Manstein was given the command of the 56 Panzer Tank Corps. Manstein faulted Hitler for not having a central drive on Moscow from the beginning. Also, Hitler's hostile oppression of occupied people in the Soviet Union drove these people into revolt against the Nazis. The Northern army group included the Fourth Panzer Tank Group, and the 56 Panzer Corps led by Manstein. The objective of 56 Panzer Corps was the Dvina bridges over the large gorge of the Dvina River, located some 200 miles from the starting point of the invasion. Manstein mentioned the inhuman so-called Commissars Order, which ordered that all unit commissars that are captured as prisoners be immediately shot. Manstein notes that in practice, his unit and the Northern command did not put the Commissars Order...