- Alfred Gerstenberg
Alfred Gerstenberg (
April 6 ,1893 inGrainau -January 1 ,1959 inBad Tölz ) was a GermanLuftwaffe general. DuringWorld War II he organized a very effective defensive perimeter around oil fields inPloieşti ,Romania .Gerstenberg began his army service in 1912 in a cavalry unit. During
World War I he was sent to the Eastern Front. Later, he was transferred into the air force and flew as an observation aircraft pilot. In 1916 he joined theRichthofen Squadron led byManfred von Richthofen . In October 1917 his plane was shot down and Gerstenberg suffered a heavy injury. Next year he returned as a non-flying officer. After the war served in several cavalry units, retiring in 1926. He rejoined the Luftwaffe in 1934 and after 1938 served as Luftwaffe attaché at embassies inWarsaw andBucharest .During
February 15 ,1942 -August 27 ,1944 Gerstenberg served as the commanding general of Luftwaffe ("Kommandierender General und Befehlshaber der Deutschen Luftwaffe in Rumänien"). His most important task was to set up a defense zone around the oil refineries inPloieşti , the largest single source ofoil forNazi Germany . He managed to create an effective anti-aircraft defense system against air attacks. He commanded around 25,000 men in Ploieşti and 11,000 near Bucharest. As a result, the first massive air attack on the fields onAugust 1 ,1943 (US Air Force operation Tidal Wave ) failed to knock out the oil production and suffered heavy losses.When Romania switched sides during the World War II (August 23, 1944) Gerstenberg, with 4,000 men, entered Bucharest trying to occupy its key points. This attempt failed, his troops were encircled, in spite of
Brandenburgers paratroopers dropped in as a support. On August 28 he surrendered to the Soviets and was kept in captivity until October 12, 1955. Gerstenberg died oftuberculosis .External links
* [http://www.lafayettefoundation.org/collection/German/Gerstenberg.html Short biography]
* [http://www.olokaustos.org/bionazi/leaders/gerstenberg.htm Italian biography with details about the role of Gerstenberg during King Michael coup] ( [http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=it&u=http://www.olokaustos.org/bionazi/leaders/gerstenberg.htm&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=1&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3D%2522Alfred%2BGerstenberg%2522%2B1893%2B1959%2B%26num%3D100%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26rls%3DGGLD,GGLD:2004-16,GGLD:en translated] )
* [http://www.geocities.com/%7Eorion47/WEHRMACHT/LUFTWAFFE/Generalleutnant/GERSTENBERG_ALFRED.html Overview of military career]Bibliography
Hillgruber, Andreas (1965): Hitler, König Carol und Marschall Antonescu: die deutsch-rumänischen Beziehungen 1938 - 1944, Wiesbaden: Steiner.
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
