Germany's Greatest General

[plan_D]

And I'm back... !

The line was quiet on the 16th Dec. as the Russian 5th Tank Army made no attempts on the German line. It was believed that they could have crossed the Don to oppose Hoth but nothing was certain as German air recon had been grounded for several days.

On the 17th as Balck was preparing his assault across the Don the position of the Russian 5th Tank Army was made clear. The Soviet army smashed through the 336th Divisions front 6 miles north of 11.Panzer Divisions position at Nizhna Chirskaya. 11.Panzer Division was turned north and quickly checked the Soviet attack.

On the 18th Balck continued his assault on the Russian bridgehead at Chirskaya and was on the brink of destroying it before the news came of a breakout at the Nizhna Kalinovski bridgehead 12 miles north-west of Balcks position. The Luftwaffe Field Division had been broken through by a motorised corps on a wide front. Balck was ordered to retrieve the situation against his wishes to destroy the Russians at Chirskaya first. Balck quickly ordered a night march toward the new Soviet breakthrough.

At 0500 on the 19th Balck threw his plan into action; Panzer Grenadier Regiment.110 moved to a blocking position infront the Soviet advance, Panzer Regiment.15 attacked the Soviets eastern flank while Panzer Grenadier Regiment.111 moved further to the Soviet rear on Panzer Regiment.15s right flank acting as flank cover and reserve.
At first light Panzer Regiment.15 saw Russian armour deployed in battle formation and moving south. From their concealed line of advance the twenty-five panzers left in the regiment moved in behind the Soviet armour and quickly knocked out forty-two tanks. The Soviets only realised that the wave behind them was German and not Russian when it was too late. Panzer Regiment.15 took over the dominating heights of the area and discovered another Soviet armoured unit moving in a similar fashion to the first. The panzers repeated their previous performance for a total kill count of sixty-five without a single loss.
That evening the Russian 3.Mechanized Brigade made an attack on the left flank of 11.Panzer Division and overran 1.Battalion/Panzer Grenadier Regiment.110. Panzer Regiment.15 was called in and quickly recovered the position. The Soviet attack was blunted.

On the 20th Balck continued in his assault to throw the Soviets back across the Chir. In the evening the Soviets counter-attacked on Panzer Greandier Regiment.11s front and smashed into their rear. Panzer Regiment.15 retrieved the situation and knocked out ten Russian tanks.

I will continue the final part of the Chir battles later...

[Milos Sijacki]

I chose Rommel, no reasons need mentioning, Guderian, for introducing Blitzkrieg, and von Rundstet

[plan_D]

Conclusion of the Chir Battles -

On the 21st Balck ordered his units to halt any offensive action and regroup. In the face of the continuous Soviet onslaught Balck recognised that his troops needed rest. At 0200 hours on the 21st the Soviets attacked once again under the bright moonlight. The German troops were in the motion of regrouping, both the Panzer Grenadier Regiments (110 & 111) were broken through and being overrun. Panzer Regiment.15 quickly counter-attacked and largely recovered the position. Balck ordered Motorcycle Battalion 61 to the junction between Panzer Grenadier Regiment.110 and Panzer Grenadier Regiment.111 where the main Soviet thrust was aimed. When the day broke the situation became clear; Balck had won another defensive victory but this one was at a grave cost in casualties.

On the 22nd, Balck was order ninety miles west with 11.Panzer Division to Tatsinkaya in order to save Rostov. The Soviets had smashed through the Italian Eighth Army on the 48th Panzer Corps left flank; this led to the disaster at Stalingrad.

Only a few days later would Balcks' 11.Panzer Division be saving Rostov from a Guards Armoured Corps bearing down upon it.

"...Balck came tearing down on the enemy with the whole weight of his armour in accordance with the old maxim: No stinting, but stunning."

"...General Balck, a born leader of armour." - Maj. Gen. F. W. Von Mellenthin

[Njaco]

Fantastic stuff, Plan!

[parsifal]

My opinion is that the greatest German military leaders are those not so prominent. One that comes to mind is Oberst Stahel, who held together a critical section of the Chir front, after the encirclement of 6th Army, for more than a month, with only a few batteries of flak troops, and other rear area auxiliaries. Both Richthoven and Fiebig, commanders of Luftflotte 4 and fliegerKorps Viii respectively, described his activities as "superb". contact was lost with his forces after December 2, with his commanders fearing him dead or captured. in fact Stahel was not dead or captured. Along with significant elements of his combat group, he had been surrounded, and was resisting strong attacks from Soviet forces many times his strength, and with troops that most would consider superior to his own. it is evident from historical accounts, that this force was held together by the superior leadership displayed by Stahel. Regrouping his forces into a single cohesive command, he proceeded to hack his way out of this "mini-Stalingrad", and emerged about a week after disappearing having destroyed several enemy battalians in the process.

There are many others in the German armed forces who deserve greater credit than they generally receive. IMO it was the german "middle management" that deserves the bulk of the credit for the amazing successes of the German armed forces, rather than flashier, and more well known army and front commanders. Rommel, incidentally, began as one of those "middlemanagers", and achieved his greatest successes whilst more closely aligned with that Genre, rather than as a high ranking Field Marshal, where his leadership and management skils were less accessible and more prone to interference from the high command

[freebird]

Originally Posted by Udet

I´d dislike the notion of having General Walter Model included on the "other" poll option for he was one of the most skilled and brilliant commanders of the entire war.

Originally Posted by Lucky13

Obergruppenführer Felix Steiner

Originally Posted by plan_D

I choose General der Panzertruppe H.Balck as the greatest German general of World War II and Guderian would agree. Guderian described Balck as the most gifted armour commander.

Great points, Udet, Lucky, PlanD.

I would agree that Model, Steiner, Balck should be on the list.

Perhaps Student as well.

[Njaco]

Sorry if they weren't listed, Udet, Lucky, et al. I'm not that familair with ground generals after the Luftwaffe ones. But its great that you brought them up!

[freebird]

Originally Posted by Njaco

Sorry if they weren't listed, Udet, Lucky, et al. I'm not that familair with ground generals after the Luftwaffe ones. But its great that you brought them up!

That's Ok Njaco, not many people do. Alot of the "reputation" of the Generals is hype & ego to begin with. It was also easier for Rommel to look like a genius when he was up against the faulty organization & equipment of the British armoured forces. The Commonwealth really had no answer for the lethal 88's of the Germans in 1941-1942

[KrazyKraut]

Originally Posted by magnocain

Ok. This is taken fromThe History Buff's Guide to World War II by Thomas R. Flangel.
P.S. sorry for the blurry words. Basically it says Rommel was all reputation.

He can't even spell his name correctly. Read the 1,5 pages and its full of crap, seriously. Just another stupid author trying to get attention by "re-writing" history.

I'm still surprised Rommel is #1, v. Manstein was imo by far the better overall. Rommel was a great tactician, but he had a lack of sense for logistics.

[starling]

rommel was a corps commander at best.just look at his hasty rush to the wire,and especially medenine.10-15-21st panzer divs stopped dead.monty knocked him about big time,so did auchinleck.yours,lee.

[Njaco]

Was it Rommel at Medenine or von Arnim?

[Danielmellbin]

I have used these criteria for making my list:
1. How many different types of warfare did the different generals excell at?
2. What where their odds against the enemy they faced?
3. Did they contribute with anything "new".

Mannstein is without any doubt My number 1. Rommel was a great commander/tactitian at division and korps level. But no more than that. He handled a very "simple" front and did so excellently. In France (1940) he made a good show and handled his ghost division to perfection (although he owed much of his breakthrough to "stealing" engineer units from the neighbouring 5 panzer division). Anyways: This is my top 5 list and the reasons for my choices:

1. Field Marshall Erich Von Mannstein - Excelled at every type of combat under any conditions. His greatest feats where probably the recapture of Kharkov '43, the capture of Sevastopol '42 and finally his mobile defense in the east after "Zitadelle" in '43/'44. This final feat (and his final command) is by many military experts regarded as the most well executed battles in modern history.

2. General Heinz Guderian - The father of modern Armoured warfare. Without him Germany with its meagre industry and raw materials probably never would have reached anywhere near the goals that they did reach. He is the most important german general but not the best.

3. Field Marshall Walther Model - The Führers "fireman". Model was a solid offensive commander but it was in defense that he excelled. Said to never have lost a battle... But i would say that the northern flank of Zitadelle was a defeat...

4. Field Marshall Erwin Rommel - one of the most colourfull commanders of the war. A superb tactician but arguably a weak strategist. His feats in the desserts of North Africa and France where truly great. Enjoyed great respect among the allies aswell due to his chivalrous attitude and skill on the battlefield.

5. General Kurt Student - Father of the Airborne division. Perhaps not a brilliant commander but his invention of the airborne attack had a huge effect on the war.

Others that should be mentioned and their main posts:
Eduard Dietl: Commander of the Mountain troops in the North
Ringel: Commander of Mountain Troops in Norway and Greece
Von Leeb: Early Commander of AG North and also held a high postion in France
Paul Hauser: One of the few SS-Generals to come from the Wehrmacht - and as such was arguably the most skilled of them.

[donkeyking]

I voted Guderian and Manstein. if had Model choice, I would like to vote him

[Bigxiko]

Rommel
not only for his genius,
but also because in the end he realized that he was on the wrong side of the war

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Originally Posted by starling

rommel was a corps commander at best.just look at his hasty rush to the wire,and especially medenine.10-15-21st panzer divs stopped dead.monty knocked him about big time,so did auchinleck.yours,lee.

Rommel was a superb tactician.

He was never "knocked down big time" by anyone. He was defeated for a number of reasons, many out of his control.

I see you have not done your research like parisifal and njaco have told you to do.