Key Information
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1973 (Creation)
- 1949 (Creation)
Level of description
Collection
Extent
12 boxes or 0,12 cubic metres
Scope and content
Papers relating to the proceedings of the trial of von Manstein for war crimes by a British Military Court, Curio House, Hamburg, Germany, Aug-Dec 1949, including typescript 'Index of the proceedings upon the trial of Fritz Erich von Lewinski, called von Manstein', 1949; typescript index of the summing-up by Judge Advocate Hon Charles Arthur Collingwood, Dec 1949; typescript charge sheet listing the seventeen charges of war crimes against von Manstein, amended as served, 14 Jul 1949; typescript opening speech for the prosecution by Sir Arthur Strettell Comyns-Carr, KC, 24 Aug 1949; typescript proceedings for the sixty one days of von Manstein's trial for war crimes (two days proceedings excluded as they were held in camera), 23 Aug-16 Dec 1949; twelve bound indexed volumes of typescript documents referred to by counsel and used as evidence in von Manstein's trial, 1949; typescript bound transcript of Commission Hearing, Landsberg Prison, Landsberg, Germany, by Special Commissioner Lt Col W St John C Tayleur, Barrister at Law, Office of the Deputy Judge Advocate General, Headquarters BAOR (British Army of the Rhine), appointed by Lt Gen Sir Charles Keightley, Commander-in-Chief, BAOR (British Army of the Rhine), to take evidence on commission relating to von Manstein, 10 Jan 1949; forty four printed maps relating to Wehrmacht operations on the Eastern Front against the USSR, Jun 1941-Mar 1944; typescript 'Synopsis of the retreat of the German Army (Army Group South) from southern Russia with regard to operations of Field Marshal von Manstein', with copies of fourteen printed maps relating to the Eastern Front, USSR, 1941-1944; typescript copy of letter from B Acht, Polish Military Mission, Berlin, Germany, to Lt Gen Sir Frank (Ernest Wallace) Simpson, President of the Court, relating to his withdrawal as Polish official observer to von Manstein's trial due to his perception of the defence counsel's positive portrayal of von Manstein's character, Nov 1949; typescript copies of papers relating to evidence taken and presented at the trial, 1949; four copies of sketches of the court and of von Manstein in court, 1949; article by Cyril Bentham Falls, Chichele Professor of the History of War, Oxford, entitled 'The trial of Field Marshal von Manstein' from The Illustrated London News, 13 Aug 1949; newspaper cuttings relating to the trial, 1949; obituary for von Manstein from The Times, 13 Jun 1973.
System of arrangement
The papers are arranged in chronological order and follow the proceedings of von Manstein's trial.
General Information
Name of creator
Biographical history
Born (Fritz) Erich von Lewinski, Berlin, Germany, 1887; adopted by relatives and assumed von Manstein name; educated at the Lycée, Strasbourg; served in the Cadet Corps, Plön and Berlin, Germany, 1895-1906; Ensign, 3 Foot Guards, 1906; Lt, 1907; Battalion Adjutant, 1911; Senior Lt (Oberleutnant), 1914; served in World War One, 1914-1918; Adjutant, 2 Guards Reserve Regt, 1914; served in Marne campaign, France, 1914; severely wounded on Eastern Front, Nov 1914; Staff Officer, Army Group Gallwitz, Poland and Serbia, Jun-Aug 1915; Capt, 1915; Adjutant, Headquarters, 12 Army, 1915-1916; Staff Officer, Headquarters, 11 Army, Battle of Verdun, Western Front, 1916; Staff Officer, Headquarters, 1 Army, Battle of the Somme, Picardy, France, 1916; Senior Operations Officer, 4 Cavalry Div, Courland (Estonia), 1917; Senior Operations Officer, 213 Assault Infantry Div, Western Front, 1918; General Staff Officer, Frontier Defence, East, Breslau, Germany, 1919; Staff Officer to Gen von Lossberg, Berlin and Kassel, Germany, 1919; Company commander, 5 Infantry Regt, Angermunde, Pomerania, Germany, 1920; General Staff Officer, Wehrkreis I, II and IV, 1923-1927; Maj, 1927; General Staff Officer to Infantry Leader IV, Oct 1927; served with Operations Branch of Truppenamt, Sep 1929; Lt Col, 1932; Commanding Officer, Jäger Bn, 4 Infantry Regt, Kolber, Germany, 1932; Col, 1933; Chief of Staff to Gen Erwin von Witzleben, Wehrkreiss III, Berlin, Germany, 1934; Head of Operations Branch, Army General Staff, 1935; Maj Gen, 1936; Deputy Chief of Staff to Gen Ludwig Beck, 1936; commanded 18 Infantry Div, Liegnitz, Germany, 1938; Chief of Staff to Gen Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb during Munich Crisis, Sep 1938; Lt Gen, 1939; appointed Chief of Staff to Gen (Karl Rudolph) Gerd von Rundstedt, Commander-in-Chief, Army Group South, Aug 1939; served in World War Two, 1939-1945; service in German invasion and conquest of Poland, Sep-Oct 1939; Chief of Staff, Army Group A, 1939-1940; commanded 38 (Infantry) Corps, German invasion and conquest of France, May-Jun 1940; Gen of Infantry, 1940; commanded 56 Panzer Corps, 4 Panzer Group, Army Group North, May-Sep 1941; service in Operation BARBAROSSA, the German invasion of the USSR, 22 Jun 1941, and the advance on Leningrad, 1941; commanded 11 Army, Army Group South, USSR, 1941-1942; planned and completed German conquest of the Crimea, USSR, 1942; FM, 1942; commanded Army Group Don (later renamed Army Group South from Feb 1943), USSR, Nov 1942-1944; dismissed by Adolf Hitler, Mar 1944; served with Führer reserve, 1944-1945; surrendered to British forces, May 1945; tried by British Military Court on seventeen charges of war crimes, Curio House, Hamburg, Germany, Aug 1949; found guilty of nine charges of war crimes relating to neglecting to protect civilian lives, and sentenced to eighteen years imprisonment (later reduced to twelve years), Dec 1949; released from prison, 1953; appointed organisational adviser to the Bundeswehr, 1956; died 1973. Publications: Verteidigung Manstein (Hamburg, Germany, 1950); Verlorene siege (Bonn, Germany, 1955); Aus einem Soldatenleben, 1887-1939 (Bonn, Germany, 1958); Lost victories, edited and translated by Anthony G Powell (Methuen, London, 1958).
Repository
Custodial history
Placed in the Centre by Maj Gen (Douglas) Ashton (Lofft) Wade, via Rt Hon Sir Frederick Elwyn-Jones, who was a member of von Manstein's counsel for the defence, and Professor Ronald Harry Graveson, QC, Faculty of Laws, King's College London, in 1971. Further papers were deposited by Wade in 1988.
Conditions governing access
Open, subject to signature of Reader's undertaking form, and appropriate provision of two forms of identification, to include one photographic ID.
Conditions governing reproduction
Copies, subject to the condition of the original, may be supplied from open material for research purposes only.
Requests to publish original material should be submitted to the Trustees of the Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, via the Archives.
Language of material
- English
- German
Script of material
Uploaded finding aid
Existence and location of originals
Please note: We require 7 days notice to retrieve this collection as part, or all of it, is held off-campus. Read more ›
Related materials
Publication note
The other side of the hill. Germany's generals, their rise and fall, with their own account of military events, 1939-1945 by Capt Basil Henry Liddell Hart (Cassell, London, 1948); Manstein: his campaigns and his trial by Reginald Thomas Paget, Baron Paget of Northampton (Collins, London, 1951); Manstein, the master general by Col Ramrao Deorao Palsokar (Col Palsokar, Poona, India, 1970); Hitler's generals by Richard Humble (Barker, London, 1973); The war lords: military commanders of the twentieth century edited by FM Sir (Richard) Michael (Power) Carver (Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1976); Hitler's generals and their battles edited by Christopher Chant (Salamander, London, 1977); German commanders of World War II by Anthony Kemp and Angus McBride (Osprey Men at Arms Series, London, 1982); Hitler's generals edited by Correlli Barnett (Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London, 1989); Beyond Stalingrad. Manstein and the operations of Army Group Don by Dana V Sadarananda (Praeger, London, 1990); Bounden duty: the memoirs of a German officer 1932-45 by Alexander Stahlberg (Brassey's, London, 1990).
Note
Compiled Dec 1999
Alternative identifier(s)
Subjects
- Administration of justice
- Armed forces
- Courts
- Drawings
- Humanitarian law
- International conflicts
- International relations
- Legal procedure
- Maps
- Military courts
- Military organizations
- Organizations
- State security
- Visual materials
- War
- War crimes
- World wars (events)
- World War Two (1939-1945)
- Wars (events)
Place access points
People and Organisations
- Acht, B, fl 1949, Polish official observer to the trial of Field Marshal Erich von Manstein (Subject)
- Carr, Sir Arthur Strettell Comyns, 1882-1965, Knight, Queens Counsel and politician (Subject)
- Collingwood, Sir Charles Arthur, 1887-1964, Knight, Judge Advocate (Subject)
- Falls, Cyril Bentham, 1888-1971, Captain, military historian (Subject)
- Keightly, Sir Charles Frederic, 1901-1974, Knight, General (Subject)
- Simpson, Sir Frank Ernest Wallace, 1899-1986, Knight, General (Subject)
- Tayleur, W St John C, fl 1949, Lieutenant Colonel, barrister (Subject)
- German Army (Subject)
Genre access points
Rules and/or conventions used
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000.