Presidio, 1982, $?, ISBN: 0-89141-130-5, 574 pgs., hardback

I read this a long time ago, and recently, while in a bookstore, bought it for $11, marked down from $15. The Field Marshal's memoirs need to be read with one eye on the page and another on redemption, as usual with works from defeated generals. Convicted of war crimes, he served 4 years of an 18-year sentence. Still, you can get a feel for the ebb and flow of operational and strategic operations on the East Front in WWII.

Von Manstein spends a considerable amount of time on Crimean operations where he made his mark as a combat commander. His previous accomplishment, that of convincing Hitler to attack France through the Ardennes in 1940, was primarily in a staff capability. In Barbarossa, he was Corp Commander of 56 Corp in Army Group North. Success there earned him a promotion to Army Commander and a trip to the Crimea. Considering the Soviet opposition, he did well to grab the Crimea and Sevastopol.

Later, he's called back to organize a counterattack towards the Stalingrad pocket. Here, he constantly complains about Hitler's interference. It becomes a constant theme. Someone's got to take the fall, and Erich places it squarely on Adolf's shoulders.

Nevertheless, there's enough operational level thought and action to keep the plain narrative going. Increasing shortages and interference (evidently, the Soviets have less to do with Germany losing the war than Hitler) pave the way for German defeats. Whether that's the whole story or not is left for you to recreate on some other level--like a wargame or computer simulation.

But, that's Von Manstein's story and he sticks to it throughout the book. And this is a book you should read for East Front military history. Just keep in mind who wrote it and why it was written.