Kurt Student

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Kurt Student
Student in 1941
Born12 May 1890
Birkholz, German Empire
(now Borów, Poland)
Died1 July 1978 (aged 88)
Lemgo, West Germany
Allegiance
Service/branch
1st Parachute Army
Battles/warsWorld War I
Cretan civilians
Allied prisoners of war
DateMay 1941
CountryGreece
Location(s)Crete

Kurt Arthur Benno Student (12 May 1890 – 1 July 1978) was a German general in the

Fallschirmjäger, and as the most senior member of the Fallschirmjäger, commanded it throughout the war. Student led the first major airborne attack in history, the Battle for The Hague, in May 1940. He also commanded the Fallschirmjäger in its last major airborne operation, the invasion of Crete
in May 1941. The operation was a success despite German losses, and led the Allies to hasten the training and development of their own airborne units.

In 1947, Student was tried and convicted of

war crimes for the mistreatment and murder of prisoners of war by his men in Crete. Student was also responsible for a wave of reprisal massacres
committed against Cretan civilians in 1941 but avoided harsh punishment.

Early life and career

Student entered the Prussian Army as a Fähnrich in 1910 and was commissioned a lieutenant in March 1911. He qualified as a pilot in 1913 and served during World War I.

World War I

In July 1916, Student became a charter member of the

Jasta 9), which he commanded from 5 October 1916 to 2 May 1917, when he was wounded. He scored six air-to-air victories over French aircraft between 1916 and 1917, with two coming after his wound. He left Jasta 9 on 14 March 1918.[2]

Interwar period

In the immediate postwar years, Student was assigned to military research and development. He became involved in

7th Air Division
, Germany's first paratroop division.

World War II

After the invasion of Poland in September 1939, which marked the beginning of the Second World War in Europe, the Fallschirmjäger were first deployed during the invasions of Norway and Denmark in Operation Weserübung in April 1940. In this operation the Fallschirmjäger were deployed on several locations. In Denmark, a small unit dropped on Masnedø island to seize the Storstrøm Bridge linking Falster and Zealand. A paratroop detachment also dropped at Aalborg Airfield, which was crucial for Luftwaffe operations over Norway. In Norway, a company of paratroopers dropped at Oslo's undefended airstrip. Over the course of the morning and early afternoon of April 9, 1940, the Germans flew in sufficient reinforcements to seize the capital, but by that time the Norwegian government had fled.

German paratroopers landing at the Ockenburg airfield near The Hague, 10 May 1940

The paratroopers' first major action (and the first large-scale airborne operation in history) was the

9th Panzer Division. Within a day, the Dutch position became indefensible. Nevertheless, Dutch forces inflicted high losses on German transportation aircraft. Moreover, 1200 German élite troops from the Luftlandekorps, taken prisoner around The Hague, were shipped to England just before the capitulation of the Dutch armed forces.[3][4][5][6][7]

During airborne operations in the

Rotterdam Blitz
on 14 May and by the subsequent capitulation of the Netherlands.

On 10 May 1940, the Fallschirmjäger performed a

Eben-Emael, manned by 1,200 Belgian troops.[8] The raid was accomplished by an assault group which consisted of only 85 soldiers.[8] It took the Fallschirmjäger only hours to take control of the fort.[8] The fall of Eben-Emael opened up Belgium for invasion by Army Group B. For his role in the raid, Student was decorated with the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
.

German paratroopers landing on Crete, May 1941

In January 1941, Student was named commanding general of the XI. Fliegerkorps [de], the newly formed command for the expanding German airborne forces. He was ordered to prepare a plan to use airborne forces for the capture of Gibraltar. In May 1941, Student directed Operation Mercury (Unternehmen Merkur), the airborne invasion of Crete, which was defended by British, Greek and Commonwealth forces. Crete was taken, in what became the greatest victory of the Fallschirmjäger, but the high casualties caused Hitler to forbid future major airborne operations.

During the invasion of Crete, the German forces encountered unexpected

reprisals against the local population[12] with the massacre of Kondomari, the Alikianos executions, and the razing of Kandanos
being well-known examples.

In 1943, Student ordered Major Harald Mors to plan Operation Oak (Unternehmen Eiche), the successful raid conducted by a special Fallschirmjäger unit to free Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. They landed with gliders and STOL aircraft on a hilltop. Student received the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for his role in this operation.

Student was transferred to

Eastern Front in Mecklenburg in 1945, he was captured by British forces in Schleswig-Holstein in April of that same year before he could take command of Army Group Vistula
.

War crimes conviction

Up to 60 Cretan civilians were massacred at Kondomari by Student's Fallschirmjäger in June 1941

In May 1947, Student was put on trial on eight charges of mistreatment and murder of prisoners of war by his men in Crete, and crimes against the civilian population of Crete, like those at

Lindsay Inglis, commander of the 4th New Zealand Brigade.[13] Student was sentenced to five years of imprisonment but was given an early discharge in 1948 for medical reasons.[14] He died in 1978, the last surviving Luftwaffe Generaloberst.[citation needed
]

Promotions

  • Fähnrich (3 March 1910)
  • Leutnant (20 March 1911)
  • Oberleutnant (18 June 1915)
  • Hauptmann (20 June 1918)
  • Major (1 January 1930)
  • Oberstleutnant (1 January 1934)
  • Oberst (1 October 1935)
  • Generalmajor (1 April 1938)
  • Generalleutnant (1 January 1940)
  • General der Flieger (29 May 1940)
  • Generaloberst (13 July 1944)

Awards

References

Citations

  1. ^ Early German Aces of World War I. p. 64.
  2. ^ Franks et al 1993, pp. 213-214.
  3. ^ Dr L. de Jong, 'Het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden in de Tweede Wereldoorlog', (Dutch language) part 3, RIOD, Amsterdam, 1969
  4. ISBN 90-76428-01-8
  5. ISBN 90-5166-436-2
  6. ^ Jong, dr. Loe de, Het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden in de Tweede Wereldoorlog, Deel 3: Mei '40. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, The Hague, 1970
  7. ^ Source of statistics: Netherlands Institute for Military History, Ministry of Defence (Netherlands)
  8. ^ a b c McNab P.4
  9. ^ Beevor 1991, pp. 116–117.
  10. ^ Beevor 1991, pp. 342, 235–248.
  11. ^ Buckley P.163
  12. ^ Stroud 2015, p. 48.
  13. ^ Antill 2013, pp. 20-21
  14. ^ Carruthers 2013, pp. 105–107
  15. ^ a b c d Thomas 1998, p. 366.
  16. ^ a b Scherzer 2007, p. 732.

Bibliography

Military offices
Preceded by
New unit
 Commander of
7. Flieger-Division

1 September 1938 – 16 May 1940 		Succeeded by
Generalleutnant Richard Putzier
Preceded by
New unit
 Commander of XI. Fliegerkorps
19 December 1940 – 3 April 1944 		Redesignated
1. Fallschirmarmee
Redesignated from XI. Fliegerkorps Commander of
1. Fallschirmarmee

4 September 1944 – 18 November 1944 		Succeeded by
General der Fallschirmtruppen Alfred Schlemm
Preceded by
New unit
 Commander of Army Group H
11 November 1944 – 28 January 1945 		Succeeded by
Generaloberst Johannes Blaskowitz
Preceded by
General der Infanterie Günther Blumentritt
 Commander of
1. Fallschirmarmee

10 April 1945 – 28 April 1945 		Succeeded by
General der Infanterie Erich Straube
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