Quick Facts
Biography
Hugo Sperrle (7 February 1885 – 2 April 1953) was a German field marshal of the Luftwaffe during World War II. His forces were deployed solely on the Western Front and the Mediterranean throughout the war. By 1944 he had become Supreme Commander of the Luftwaffe in the West, but was subsequently dismissed when his heavily outnumbered forces were not able to significantly hamper the Allied landings in Western Europe.
World War I and inter-war years
Born in Ludwigsburg, he joined the German Army in 1903 and transferred to the Luftstreitkräfte (German Army Air Service) at the outbreak of World War I, ending the war as commander of the air components of the German 7th Army. After the war, Sperrle joined the Freikorps and then the Reichswehr. He entered the newly formed Luftwaffe in 1935 where he was soon promoted to a Generalmajor. He then was the first commander of the Condor Legion during the Spanish Civil War until October 1937, with Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen serving as his chief of staff. Afterwards he was promoted to General der Flieger.
World War II
At the outbreak of World War II he led the German Luftflotte 3 (Air Fleet 3). This unit saw no action during the Poland campaign, but was committed from May onwards in France, playing an important role as tactical bombing support unit. In July 1940, he was made a Generalfeldmarschall of the Luftwaffe during the 1940 Field Marshal Ceremony. Air Fleet 3, stationed in northern France, played a major role in the Battle of Britain, from June 1940 to October 1940 and The Blitz, to May 1941. In September Sperrle engaged in a heated debate with the other Luftwaffe commanders, particularly with its Supreme Commander Hermann Göring, arguing for a continuation of the attack on British airfields and the Royal Air Force. However, Göring ordered a change in the Luftwaffe strategy, switching to assault the British cities. His forces continued to bomb Britain until the autumn of 1941.
He stayed with his units in France for the next three years, living in luxury at the Luxembourg Palace. His major part in the war, however, was over. He supported Erwin Rommel in the North African Campaign and eventually took full command of the German air forces in Western Europe in 1944, shortly before Allied landings in Western Europe. His forces were badly hampered due a massive lack of aircraft, experienced crews, and fuel. Although an initial Nazi supporter, he became increasingly disillusioned with the German war effort. At D-Day he had only 319 operational aircraft left to face the Allied armada of over 9,000 planes. Due to the subsequent inability of his units to thwart the Allied landings, he was dismissed from command in August 1944.
Field Marshal Sperrle was captured by the Allies and charged with war crimes in the High Command Trial at the Subsequent Nuremberg Trials but was acquitted. After the war he lived quietly and died in Munich in 1953.
Awards
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 17 May 1940 as General der Flieger and chief of Luftflotte 3