Hugo Shperle Field Marshal General of the Luftwaffe Date of Birth: 02.02.1885 Country: Germany

Hugo Sperrle - Biography of a Luftwaffe Field Marshal

Hugo Sperrle (1885-1953), a Luftwaffe Field Marshal, was a man of immense stature and a robust physique, with a fierce expression on his face. Adolf Hitler referred to him and Army General Walter von Reichenau as his two "most beast-like generals". Sperrle's face, with its heavy lower jaw and a frozen grimace, combined with his imposing size, gave him a menacing appearance.

Born on February 2, 1885, in Ludwigsburg, Württemberg, Sperrle came from a brewer's family. He joined the army in 1903 and served in the 8th Württemberg Infantry Regiment as a lieutenant. By 1913, he had become a senior lieutenant, and in 1914, a captain. During World War I, he served in aerial reconnaissance and, by the end of the war, led an aerial observation school in Cologne. After the war, he joined the "Volunteer Corps" and in 1919, became one of the 180 former aviators who were part of the 4,000-strong officer corps of the Reichswehr. He served in the staff of the 5th military district in Stuttgart (1919-23), the Ministry of Defense (1923-24), and the 4th Infantry Division in Dresden (1924-25).

In 1928, Sperrle successfully transferred to the aviation branch and underwent flight training at a secret German airbase in the Soviet Union near Lipetsk. He then served in the General Staff and the Ministry of the Reichswehr (1925-29). On October 1, 1933, Sperrle was appointed commander of the 8th Infantry Regiment. On April 1, 1934, he joined the Luftwaffe as a colonel and commanded the 1st Air Division. He also served as the commander of the aviation army based near Berlin. After the denunciation of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 and Hitler's official statement on the existence of the Luftwaffe on March 9, 1935, Sperrle played an active role in the construction and organization of Germany's air force. On October 1, 1935, he was appointed commander of the 5th Air District in Munich as a major general. Sperrle played a significant role during the Spanish Civil War, where the German air force gained its first combat experience. He became the first commander of the infamous "Condor Legion" created to support the ground forces of General Francisco Franco. The tactical developments of the Luftwaffe under Sperrle's leadership in Spain were widely used during World War II. Under Sperrle's command, the naval base in Cartagena and the peaceful Spanish city of Guernica were destroyed. On October 31, 1937, Sperrle handed over command of the "Condor Legion" to Major General Helmuth von Volkmann and returned to Germany as a hero. On November 1, 1937, he was promoted to Luftwaffe General and on February 1, 1938, appointed commander of the 3rd Air Fleet, a position he held until the end of his military career.

Sperrle played a role in the occupation of Austria and the establishment of the 4th Air Fleet on its territory under the command of former Austrian Air Force commander General Lera. Alongside Lera, Sperrle directed the actions of the Luftwaffe during the occupation of Czechoslovakia. At the onset of World War II, Sperrle's 3rd Air Fleet participated in the Polish campaign, supporting the army group of General Wilhelm von Leeb. After the conclusion of the Polish campaign, the 3rd Air Fleet was transferred to France, where, together with the 2nd Air Fleet (commanded by A. Kesselring), it provided support to Army Group A under General Gerd von Rundstedt. For their successes in defeating the British expeditionary forces in their attempted evacuation, Sperrle was awarded the Knight's Cross.

Following the capitulation of France on June 21, 1940, Hitler, at a ceremony in Berlin on July 19, bestowed upon Sperrle, as well as Kesselring, Milch, and several other army generals, the rank of Field Marshal. After diplomatic attempts to bring Great Britain to its knees failed, an attempt was made to destroy the Royal Air Force. However, Sperrle's 3rd Air Fleet, which bore the brunt of this operation, suffered heavy losses and failed to accomplish its mission. Disagreements within the Luftwaffe leadership led to a shift in focus from the destruction of the British fighter aircraft, contrary to Sperrle's opinion, to the bombing of British cities. This allowed the British command to quickly rebuild their air forces. As a result, the Luftwaffe suffered a devastating defeat, and the Battle of Britain was ultimately lost.

In his memoirs published after World War II, Winston Churchill wrote: "The command of the British fighter aircraft experienced relief when the German attack on September 7 was shifted to London, leading to the conclusion that the enemy had changed his plans. Göring should have persisted in the battle, which determined the organization and cohesion of our air forces at that moment... He made a foolish mistake." After the 2nd Air Fleet was relocated to Poland in May 1941, Sperrle, who set up his headquarters in Paris, became the sole commander of the aviation on the secondary Western Front. The luxurious lifestyle of Paris had a corrupting influence on the son of a brewer, and he became addicted to idleness and extravagant living. Albert Speer later recalled: "The Field Marshal's thirst for pleasure and ostentation grew with every passing second, almost rivaling the sybaritic lifestyle of his superior, Göring. Moreover, he was almost as portly as him." Enjoying his life, Sperrle began to neglect his duties, resulting in a sharp decline in the level of military readiness of the personnel in the 3rd Air Fleet. When the British Royal Air Force carried out a massive bombing raid on Berlin on March 1, 1943, Hitler ordered Sperrle to retaliate by bombing London. However, Sperrle failed to accomplish this task. Furious, Hitler chastised him at a meeting on March 5, 1943, for the incompetence of the 3rd Air Fleet in locating the 30-kilometer diameter target of London. He intended to dismiss Sperrle from his command. However, Hitler later softened his stance towards Sperrle and even sent him 50,000 Reichsmarks to settle his debts. But the Field Marshal was not found in his headquarters - he was vacationing on the Atlantic coast in Biarritz. When the 3rd Air Fleet, under Sperrle's command, failed to offer any significant resistance to the Allies after the Normandy landings, Hitler's patience came to an end. On August 19, 1944, he dismissed Sperrle from his command and appointed General Otto Dessloch as his replacement. Throughout the remainder of the war, Sperrle remained out of action. On May 1, 1945, he was captured by the Allies. At the Nuremberg Trials, he was initially convicted of war crimes but on October 27, 1948, all charges against him were dropped. After undergoing denazification, Sperrle settled in Munich, where he passed away on April 2, 1953.