German historian Volker Berghahn wrote about the book, "Its title gave the story away: it had been Hitler's dogmatism and constant interference with the strategic plans and operational decisions of the professionals that had cost Germany its victory against Stalin".

[2] According to The Myth of the Eastern Front by Ronald Smelser and Edward J. Davies, that aspect of Verlorene Siege was self-serving, as it allowed Manstein to ignore several occasions, such as the fall of Kiev in November 1943, in which he was deceived and defeated by the Stavka.

[3] He expressed no regret for serving a genocidal regime, and nowhere in Verlorene Siege did Manstein condemn National Socialism on moral grounds; Hitler was criticized only for faulty strategic decisions.

[4] Manstein falsely claimed that he did not enforce the Commissar Order and omitted any mention of his role in the Holocaust, such as sending 2,000 of his soldiers to help the SS massacre 11,000 Jews in Simferopol in November 1941.

Hier gab es große, gut bewirtschaftete Kolchosen, deren Inventar die Sowjets natürlich zerstört oder fortgeschleppt hatten.

Wir gingen alsbald daran, soweit es die Aufrechterhaltung der Produktion irgend zulief, den enteigneten Bauern ihr Land als Eigentum wiederzugeben.

So standen sie zumeist auf unserer Seite, waren damit aber auch dem Terror der im Jailagebirge kämpfenden Partisanen ausgesetzt.

The central part of the Crimea was a flat, almost treeless but fertile landscape, over which, however, in winter the icy winds from the vast steppe regions of the eastern Ukraine blew.

Wir konnten sogar aus den Tataren bewaffnete Selbstschutzkompanien aufstellen, deren Aufgabe es war, ihre Dörfer gegen die Überfalle der im Jaila~-Gebirge eingenisteten Partisanen zu schützen.

[11] In the preface to Lost Victories, military historian and officer Martin Blumenson wrote that Verlorene Siege was "the best book of memoirs on the German side and it is indispensable for understanding the conditions and circumstances of Hitler’s war.

"[12] Military historian Robert M. Citino also found its operational details useful, but criticized Manstein for "defending his generalship and reputation, hiding his participation in war crimes, and blaming others for everything that went wrong";[13] and that "Lost Victories should come with a warning label: Use with Caution.