(1885-11-30)30 November 1885 Marktsteft, Kingdom of Bavaria, German Empire
Died
16 July 1960(1960-07-16) (aged 74) Bad Nauheim, Hessen, West Germany
Allegiance
German Empire (1904–1918)
Weimar Republic (1918–1933)
Nazi Germany (1933–1945)
Service/branch
Bavarian Army (1904–1918)
Reichsheer (1918–1933)
Luftwaffe (1933–1945)
Years of service
1904–1945
Rank
Generalfeldmarschall
Commands held
Luftflotte 1
Luftflotte 2
OB South
Army Group C
OB West
Battles/wars
World War I
Western Front
Eastern Front
World War II
Invasion of Poland (1939)
Battle of France (1940)
Battle of Britain (1940)
Operation Barbarossa (1941)
German-Soviet air war 22 June 1941
Operation Typhoon (1941)
Siege of Malta (1940–1942)
North African Campaign (1940–1943)
Italian Campaign (1943–1945)
Central Europe Campaign (1945)
Awards
Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds
War crimes
Conviction(s)
War crimes
Criminal penalty
Death; commuted to life imprisonment; further commuted 21 years' imprisonment
Generalfeldmarschall (Field marshal) Albert Kesselring (30 November 1885 – 16 July 1960) was a German military officer and convicted war criminal who served in the Luftwaffe during World War II. In a career which spanned both world wars, Kesselring became one of Nazi Germany's most highly decorated commanders.
Kesselring joined the Bavarian Army as an officer cadet in 1904, serving in the artillery branch. He completed training as a balloon observer in 1912. During World War I, he served on both the Western and Eastern fronts and was posted to the Army Staff, despite not having attended the War Academy. Kesselring served in the Reichswehr after the war, but was discharged in 1933 to become head of the Department of Administration at the Ministry of Aviation, where he became involved in the re-establishment of the German aviation industry and the laying of the foundations for the Luftwaffe, serving as its chief of staff from 1936 to 1938.
During World War II, he commanded Luftwaffe forces in the German invasions of Poland and France, the Battle of Britain and the invasion of the Soviet Union. As Wehrmacht Commander-in-Chief South, he was the overall German commander in the Mediterranean theatre, which included the North African campaign. Kesselring conducted a defensive campaign against Allied forces in Italy, being involved in ordering several massacres, until he was injured in an accident in October 1944. In his final campaign of the war, he commanded German forces on the Western Front. During the war, he won the respect of his Allied opponents for his military accomplishments.
After the war, Kesselring was convicted of war crimes and sentenced to death for ordering the murder of 335 Italian civilians in the Ardeatine massacre, and for inciting and ordering his troops to kill civilians as part of reprisals against the Italian resistance movement. The sentence was subsequently commuted to life imprisonment. A political and media campaign resulted in his release in 1952, ostensibly on health grounds. He published his memoirs, Soldat bis zum letzten Tag ("A Soldier to the Last Day"), in 1953. Kesselring accepted the honorary presidency of three veterans' organisations: the Luftwaffenring, consisting of Luftwaffe veterans; the Verband Deutsches Afrikakorps, the veterans' association of the Afrika Korps; and, most controversially, the right-wing Der Stahlhelm before dying in 1960.
career which spanned both world wars, Kesselring became one of Nazi Germany's most highly decorated commanders. Kesselring joined the Bavarian Army as an officer...
Look up Kesselring in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Kesselring is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: AlbertKesselring (1885–1960)...
: 1153 As AlbertKesselring was definitively deployed to the Western Front in March 1945, Heinrich von Vietinghoff succeeded Kesselring as commander-in-chief...
(Army Group C) when Field Marshal AlbertKesselring was seriously injured in a car crash. In January 1945, on Kesselring's return, he left Italy to command...
of the Italian Campaign of World War II. It formed Field Marshal AlbertKesselring's last major line of defence along the summits of the northern part...
Britain's southern and eastern coasts. Luftflotte 2 (Generalfeldmarschall AlbertKesselring), was responsible for the bombing of south-east England and the London...
constructed during World War II by Organisation Todt and commanded by AlbertKesselring. The series of three lines was designed to defend a western section...
Army group and army commanders Army Group C Generalfeldmarschall AlbertKesselring Tenth Army General Heinrich von Vietinghoff XIV Panzer Corps General...
Mediterranean theatre, and appointed Field Marshal AlbertKesselring as Commander in Chief, South. Kesselring was ordered to get control of the air and sea...
any on the enemy." Kesselring was informed of the landings at 3 a.m. January 22. Although the landings came as a surprise, Kesselring had made contingency...
It was sometimes known as the Albert Line. The German Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C), Generalfeldmarschall AlbertKesselring, used the line to delay the Allied...
for the German commander-in-chief (C-in-C), Generalfeldmarschall AlbertKesselring. The Allies had originally planned to cross from the island of Sicily...
von Kluge, Erwin von Witzleben and Walter von Reichenau (Heer); and AlbertKesselring, Erhard Milch and Hugo Sperrle (Luftwaffe). The holders of this rank...
headquarters. Dostler at first informed his superior, Field Marshal AlbertKesselring, commanding general of all German forces in Italy, about the captured...
1930s. Wever died in an air crash on June 3, 1936, and his successor AlbertKesselring continued the project until he left office. Wever, the chief of staff...
industrial bombing of its aviation production. Kesselring and Udet did not get on. During Kesselring's time as CS, 1936–1937, a power struggle developed...
Jodl and Field Marshal AlbertKesselring. Mackensen was at this time commander of the 14th Army and subordinate to Kesselring as well as the superior...
Rhine 3 September 1944 11 March 1945 189 days 4 Kesselring, AlbertGeneralfeldmarschall AlbertKesselring (1885–1960) 11 March 1945 22 April 1945 42 days...
Field Marshal AlbertKesselring was interviewed about the event during the Nuremberg Trials by Leon Goldensohn, who recalled: Kesselring admitted that...
out within 24 hours. Commander-in-Chief South Generalfeldmarschall AlbertKesselring, considered this an order, one he interpreted as calling for the execution...
coast to his target, Eastchurch airfield on the Isle of Sheppey. AlbertKesselring had issued orders for bombers to abandon missions if their escorts...
Caserta on 29 April 1945, to come into effect on 2 May. Field Marshal AlbertKesselring, with overall military command for OKW-South, initially denounced...
Wever's death in an airplane crash in June 1936, Wever's successor, AlbertKesselring, canceled Germany's long-range bomber projects to concentrate on tactical...
Malachi's Cove (1973) as Mr. Gunliffe Massacre in Rome (1973) as Gen. AlbertKesselring Symptoms (1974) as Brady 11 Harrowhouse (1974) as Coglin Intimate...
Corps H.Q. The following day he informed his superior, Field Marshal AlbertKesselring, commanding general of all German forces in Italy, about the captured...
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