The legend of Hitler's generals. The "sickle cut" plan was a brilliant idea.

 

The "sickle cut" plan (Sichelschnitt), officially part of Fall Gelb (Case Yellow) and devised primarily by General Erich von Manstein, is considered a brilliant military operation because it achieved strategic surprise by bypassing the heavily fortified Maginot Line and exploiting Allied assumptions about geography. Rather than a direct assault, it utilized a high-risk, high-speed armored thrust through the "impassable" Ardennes Forest, cutting Allied forces in two and causing the rapid collapse of France in just six weeks.

 

Here is why the plan was considered brilliant:

 

    Strategic Surprise (The Ardennes Gamble): The Allies anticipated a repeat of the World War I Schlieffen Plan, expecting the main German attack to come through Belgium. The Allied command believed the Ardennes Forest was impassable for tanks. Manstein’s plan did the opposite: it treated the Ardennes as the main Schwerpunkt (point of main effort).

    The "Decoy" Strategy: The German plan used a two-part assault. Army Group B (lighter forces) advanced into Belgium/Netherlands to draw the best Anglo-French armies north, into a trap. While the Allies moved north, German Armor (Army Group A) broke through the lightly defended Ardennes and crossed the Meuse River at Sedan, entering the rear of the Allied army.

    Rapid Maneuver and Disruption (Blitzkrieg): Once through the Ardennes, German panzer divisions raced toward the English Channel, bypassing strongpoints and cutting off the Allied supply lines. This rapid movement paralyzed the Allied command structure, which was unable to respond to the speed of the advance.

    Asymmetric Warfare: While the French had a similar number of tanks, they were dispersed to support infantry. The German plan concentrated their armor into specialized, cohesive Panzer Corps, creating a concentrated "fist" that could punch through at one specific point.

    Exploiting Command Incompetence: The success of the plan was aided by the slow, outdated command-and-control methods of the French high command, which relied on courier-based communication rather than radio.

 

Key Misconceptions:

While often credited to "Hitler's generals" as a unified idea, the plan was actually dismissed by the German High Command (OKH) initially, who favored a more conservative, traditional approach. Manstein, with help from Guderian, had to persistently push the plan until it was adopted by Hitler.

Note: The term "sickle cut" was actually a later nickname popularized by Winston Churchill, adopted by German generals in their post-war memoirs, and it was considered a "win or die" gamble that only succeeded because the Allies acted exactly as Manstein predicted.