Hugo Sperrle
Hugo Sperrle | |
|---|---|
 Sperrle in 1940 | |
| Born | 7 February 1885 |
| Died | 2 April 1953 (aged 68) |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | |
Branch | Imperial German Army Luftstreitkräfte Reichswehr Luftwaffe |
Service years | 1903–1944 |
Rank | Generalfeldmarschall |
| Unit | Condor Legion |
| Commands | 1st Air Division Luftflotte 3 |
Conflicts | |
| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Spanish Cross |
Hugo Wilhelm Sperrle (7 February 1885 – 2 April 1953) was a German military aviator in World War I and a Generalfeldmarschall (Field Marshal) in the Luftwaffe during World War II.
Sperrle joined the Imperial German Army in 1903. He served in the artillery upon the outbreak of World War I. In 1914 he joined the Luftstreitkräfte as an observer then trained as a pilot. Sperrle ended the war at the rank of Hauptmann (Captain) in command of an aerial reconnaissance attachment of a field army. In the inter-war period Sperrle was appointed to the General Staff in the Reichswehr, serving the Weimar Republic in the aerial warfare branch.
After the Nazis seized power in 1934, Sperrle was promoted to Generalmajor (Brigadier General) and transferred from the army to the Luftwaffe. Sperrle was given command of the Condor Legion in November 1936 and fought with the expeditionary force in the Spanish Civil War until October 1937. Later, in February 1938, Sperrle was appointed commanding officer of Luftwaffengruppenkommando 3 (Air Force Group Command 3) the forerunner of Luftflotte 3 (Air Fleet 3).
Following the outbreak of World War II on 1 September 1939, Sperrle and his air fleet served exclusively on the Western Front. He played a crucial role in the Battle of France and Battle of Britain in 1940. From mid-1941 onwards, his air fleet was solely responsible for defending German-occupied Europe against the Royal Air Force and later the United States Army Air Forces. Ultimately, Sperrle's command was depleted in the battles of attrition forced on him by the Allies' Combined Bomber Offensive.
By mid-1944, Sperrle's air fleet had been reduced to impotence and it could not repel the Allied landings in Western Europe. As a consequence, Sperrle was dismissed to the Führerreserve and never held a senior command again. On 1 May 1945 he was captured by the British. After the war, he was charged with war crimes at the High Command Trial but was acquitted. Sperrle was involved in the bribery of senior Wehrmacht officers.