The thesis presents the intertwining biographies of two military strategists of the German Wehrmacht. The reader gains insight into the life, the work and the accomplishments of Erwin Rommel, the so-called Dessert Fox, and the Prussian field marshal Erich von Manstein. The first part of the thesis familiarizes us with their formative years and their military beginnings while it also sheds light on some decisive events that later indirectly contributed to the outbreak of the Second World War. The second part then focuses primarily on the wartime activities of the two men. This is the period in which both, von Manstein and Rommel, reached the peak of their military careers. Their most important battles are presented in a somewhat broader historical context. Outstanding military achievements, which were mostly the result of their knowledge and remarkable abilities, have earned them a place in military history. A brief account of von Manstein’s life after the end of the Second World War concludes the thesis.
|