Who was the best General?

Actually what i was trying to say by Hitler being the "mastermind behind the Invasion of France" iso Manstein is that it was Hitler'smastermind decision and main idea to invade France and not Manstein's. Manstein gave his input in the "how-to-invade", Hitler made the "let's invade"-mastermind-idea, got me here?

Cheer,

 

AAHHHHH!!!!!!!! THAT makes everything different then!

 

I thought the entire war was Hitler's mastermind decision ?

 

About Kharkov:

Manstein's best performance (maybe the best of the entire war) was to save the southern front after Stalingrad. The Russians, partially superior 8:1, were storming ahead, to cut off the Krimean and Caucasus armies. Manstein let them come, with his "back hand" tactics, then cutting them off from supplies and smashing them one after another.

About Kharkov: Against strict Führer orders, SS-Oberstgruppenführer Paul Hausser had retreated from Kharkov in early 1943, because he would have been smashed otherwise. His 3 divisions helped Manstein stabilizing the southern front, after which he retook Kharkov, smashing more Soviet armies. Whether Manstein was the strategical mastermind for this special action also, I don't know, but it might be true.

 

AndyW:

What kind of lies? And if Manstein was so bad, why did Churchill and other influental Englishmen support him after the war?

 

AndyW:

"And if we all finally agree that his memoirs are self-serving, extremely selective,..."

I don't think that we agreed about that, but nevermind On the other hand, most of memoirs are just like that-self-serving, selective and, if I can add, selfish

"..in most accounts wrong when it comes to decribing the Soviet side,..."

Can you be more specific?

 

I think someone should mention Ivan Konev, one of the "other" Russian generals. He actually proceeded Georgy Zhukov into Berlin, Zhukov meeting more resistance, just a little but was ordered South and West to meet up with the Americans and occupy territory..
He defended Moscow, fought at Kursk, drove through Eastern Europe and was a notable figure in any mention of WW2. I grew up during the cold war when everything Soviet was bad but we should remember that generals like Konev and Zhukov , ruthless or not, eventually saved thousands of Western lives. A German division count on the Western and Eastern front will quickly give credence to the part played by the Russians.

 

Talk about finding old threads!

I really do find these threads frustrating as "best" is such a relative term, it really needs the criteria spelled out.

Best: Most successful?
Best: Lasted the longest?
Best: They were the most critical to their nation's success?
Best: They did the most with the least?


Does the leaders who enjoyed overwhelming superiorty like Patton or Nimitz rate better than those who struggeled against heavy odds?

Probably because they didn't feel that all German generals should be shot, and that he personally wasn't guilty of the most serious war crimes.
Alexander spoke out in favour of Kesselring for the same reason