Manstein and Rommel had met the summer before under very unusual circumstances. Manstein had been called to Rastenburg, Hitler’s East Prussian headquarters, for a conference. For some reson the conference was delayed and — taking advantage of their isolated surroundings — Manstein and his aide, Captain Alexander Stahlberg, went swimming[“skinny dipping”] in a nearby lake. Rommel apparently saw the whole thing; in any case, he hid their uniform. Stahlberg, recalled a slight smile on Rommel’s face when Generalfeldmarschall Fritz Erich von Lewinski gennant von Manstein — nephew of Hindenbury, conqueror of Sevastopol, originator of the plan that conquered France, military genius of the first order and Commander-in-Chief of Army Group Don — was forced to present himself to Erwin Rommel , in the nude. Despite the practical joke, Manstein and Rommel soon became fast friend.
Manstein and Rommel had met the summer before under very unusual circumstances. Manstein had been called to Rastenburg, Hitler’s East Prussian headquarters, for a conference. For some reson the conference was delayed and — taking advantage of their isolated surroundings — Manstein and his aide, Captain Alexander Stahlberg, went swimming[“skinny dipping”] in a nearby lake. Rommel apparently saw the whole thing; in any case, he hid their uniform. Stahlberg, recalled a slight smile on Rommel’s face when Generalfeldmarschall Fritz Erich von Lewinski gennant von Manstein — nephew of Hindenbury, conqueror of Sevastopol, originator of the plan that conquered France, military genius of the first order and Commander-in-Chief of Army Group Don — was forced to present himself to Erwin Rommel , in the nude. Despite the practical joke, Manstein and Rommel soon became fast friend.
