Otto Deßloch

Generaloberst Otto Deßloch
Deßloch in 1944
Born	(1889-06-11)11 June 1889 Bamberg,Kingdom of Bavaria,German Empire
Died	13 May 1977(1977-05-13)(aged 87) Munich,Bavaria,West Germany
Allegiance	German Empire(1910-1918) Weimar Republic(1918-1933) Nazi Germany(1933-1945)
Service/branch	German Army Luftwaffe
Years of service	1910–45
Rank	Generaloberst
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves

Otto Deßloch(11 June 1889 – 13 May 1977) was a GermanLuftwaffegeneral duringWorld War IIand recipient of theKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak LeavesofNazi Germany.

Career

Deßloch was born inBamberg,he joined theBavarian Armyin 1910 and served duringWorld War I.After the German defeat, he joined the right-wingFreikorpsforces ofFranz von Epp,fighting against theBavarian Soviet Republic.From 1921, he served as an intelligence officer in the GermanReichswehr.In the course ofGerman re-armament,he attended the secretLipetsk fighter-pilot schoolin 1926–27. Deßloch took part in the fast build-up of theLuftwaffeafter theNazi seizure of powerin 1933, from 1 December 1934 as commander of aDeutsche Verkehrsfliegerschule(flight training school). From 1935 he served as commander of two Luftwaffe wings.

DuringWorld War IIhe commanded aLuftflotte 2corps from 3 October 1939 and was appointedMajor generaland commander of the 6th flight division on 1 January. He provided air support to the WehrmachtArmy Group Bin the 1940Battle of Franceand from 1941 commanded Luftwaffe units on theEastern Front.Promoted toGeneral der Flakartillerieon 1 January 1942, he served as a commander on the southern Eastern Front and in theCaucasus Mountains.On 11 June 1943 Deßloch succeededWolfram Freiherr von Richthofenas commander-in-chief ofLuftflotte 4in the rank ofColonel general.

When in the summer 1944 the Western Front collapsed, Deßloch was appointed commander ofLuftflotte 3byHermann Göringto replace dismissedHugo Sperrle.AfterPariswas liberated by the Allied forces, Deßloch commanded an air unit that, in retaliation, bombed the city destroying civilian targets and killing 200 French civilians in September 1944.The attack was carried out onHitler's personal order. From September he again served as commander of Luftflotte 4 until he succeededRobert Ritter von Greimas head ofLuftflotte 6during the last days of the war. Deßloch was interned by the Allies until 1948.

He died in Munich in 1977.

Awards

• Iron Cross(1914) 2nd Class (20 August 1914) & 1st Class (21 September 1915)
• BavarianMilitary Merit Order4th Class with Swords (19 April 1915) & 4th Class with Crown and Swords (9 November 1917)
• Honor Goblet of the Luftwaffe
• Wound Badge(1914) in Black (15 May 1918)
• Clasp to the Iron Cross(1939) 2nd Class (13 May 1940) & 1st Class (24 May 1940)
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves
  • 74th Knight's Cross on 24 June 1940 asGeneralmajorand commanding general of the II. Flak-Korps
  • 470th Oak Leaves on 10 May 1944 asGeneraloberstand commander in chief of Luftflotte 4

References

Bibliography

• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer(2000) [1986].Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile[The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas.ISBN978-3-7909-0284-6.
• Mitcham, Samuel W. Jr. (2007).Retreat to the Reich.Stackpole Books.ISBN978-0-8117-3384-7.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007).Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945. Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives[The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag.ISBN978-3-938845-17-2.
• Thomas, Franz; Wegmann, Günter (1991).Die Ritterkreuzträger der Deutschen Wehrmacht 1939–1945 Teil V: Die Flugabwehrtruppen 1: A–K[The Knight's Cross Bearers of the German Wehrmacht 1939–1945 Part V: The Air Defense Troops 1: A–K] (in German). Osnabrück, Germany: Biblio-Verlag.ISBN978-3-7648-1153-2.