Erwin understood what Manstein meant:
He was implying that to defeat Shire, they had to take a different approach; simply learning Shire's tactics would always leave them one step behind.
Manstein's next words confirmed this point:
"You should know one thing, General."
"The tactics you learned from Shire were invented by Shire himself. He knows them better and has strategies to counter them."
"But if we use entirely different tactics, ones that he is completely unfamiliar with, that's a different story."
Erwin had no rebuttal.
Perhaps this was the case of "The onlooker sees more clearly than the player." Erwin was deeply involved, while Manstein was the observer.
Erwin stared intently at the sketches of the anti-tank gun on the document. After contemplating for a while, he asked, "How many of these guns can we produce?"
"The initial estimate is to produce 1,000," Manstein answered.
