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In August 1941 Field Marshal Fedor von Bock, commander of Army Group Centre, was bitterly disappointed at the loss of the Moscow operation. Time remained for just one more major offensive, and none were optimistic that Hitler’s drive to seize the Ukraine and isolate Leningrad would be sufficient to force an end to the war. […]

Of the two planning options he had submitted to Hitler in February to address the situation in Russia for the coming summer, von Manstein and his staff had indicated strong preference for, and had continued to press OKH to adopt, their ‘backhand’ proposal as offering the most effective operational solution. Their advocacy rested on the […]