Years of service 1910–45 | Rank Generaloberst | |
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Born 11 June 1889 ( 1889-06-11 ) Battles/wars World War IWorld War II Award Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross | ||
Otto Dessloch (11 June 1889 – 13 May 1977) was a German Luftwaffe general during World War II and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany.
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Career
Dessloch joined the Bavarian Army in 1912 and served during World War I. After the German defeat, he joined the right-wing Freikorps forces of Franz von Epp, fighting against the Bavarian Soviet Republic. From 1921, he served as an intelligence officer in the German Reichswehr. In the course of German re-armament, he attended the secret Lipetsk fighter-pilot school in 1926–27. Dessloch took part in the fast build-up of the Luftwaffe after the Nazi seizure of power in 1933, from 1 December 1934 as commander of a Deutsche Verkehrsfliegerschule (flight training school). From 1935 he served as commander of two Luftwaffe wings.
During World War II he commanded a Luftflotte 2 corps from 3 October 1939 and was appointed Major general and commander of the 6th flight division on December 1. He provided air support to the Wehrmacht Army Group B in the 1940 Battle of France and from 1941 commanded Luftwaffe units on the Eastern Front. Promoted to General der Flieger on 1 January 1942, he served as a commander on the southern Eastern Front and in the Caucasus Mountains. On 11 June 1943 Dessloch succeeded Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen as commander-in-chief of Luftflotte 4 in the rank of Colonel general.
When in summer 1944 the Western Front collapsed, Dessloch was appointed commander of Luftflotte 3 by Hermann Göring to replace dismissed Hugo Sperrle. After Paris was liberated by the Allied forces, Dessloch commanded an air unit that, in retaliation, bombed the city destroying civilian targets and killing 200 French civilians on September 1944. The attack was carried out on Hitler's personal order. From September he again served as commander of Luftflotte 4 until he succeeded Robert Ritter von Greim as head of Luftflotte 6 during the last days of the war. Dessloch was interned by the Allies until 1948.
According to the Yad Vashem Memorial in Israel, Otto Dessloch is a war criminal. He died in Munich in 1977.