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Albert Kesselring
Sign in to saveAlso known as Kesselring, General Kesserlring, Smiling Albert, Uncle Albert, Smiling Al
German Luftwaffe Generalfeldmarschall during World War II (1885–1960)
Albert Kesselring was a high-ranking German air force commander during World War II who played a significant role in major military operations across multiple theaters. His leadership and strategic decisions during the war made him an important figure in the conflict's history, though he remained a controversial historical figure due to his service to Nazi Germany.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Person · Open Library
- Born
- 1885
- Died
- 1960
- Works
- 6
Top works
- Soldat jusqu'au dernier jour
- Unsere Flieger über Polen
- Gedanken zum Zweiten Weltkrieg
- Kesselring: a soldier's record
- Zusammenhänge zwischen Meteorologie und Taktik
via Open Library + Wikidata
Recent publications · Crossref
5 total works indexed
- Fiji: an open-source platform for biological-image analysis
· 2012 · cited 66,894x
- G*Power 3: A flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences
· 2007 · cited 54,776x
- Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change.
· 1977 · cited 50,612x
- Statistical power analyses using G*Power 3.1: Tests for correlation and regression analyses
· 2009 · cited 31,487x
- Emergence of Scaling in Random Networks
· 1999 · cited 28,095x
via Crossref · CC0
Quotes
- “A soldier's first duty is to obey, otherwise you might as well do away with soldiering.”
- “War is possible only if you have a lot of enemies. If all the enemies get together and form one front - if you cut down the number of enemies - there would be no war.”
- “I have always had plenty of friends, and now at age sixty, I face four walls as a common prisoner.”
- “A military leader often faces a situation he has to deal with, but because it is his duty, no court can try him.”
- “Understanding of other nations does not mean a feeling against your own country. That's the whole trouble with Germans. They can see only their own country, the local church steeples only. If only German youth could go abroad, and youth from other countries come to Germany. You always have to have criticism if you wish to become better.”
- “The partisan situation in the Italian theater, particularly central Italy, has deteriorated to such an extent that it constitutes a serious danger to troops, supply lines, war industry and economic potential. The fight against the partisans must be carried out with all means at our disposal and with utmost severity. I will protect any commander who exceeds our usual restraint in the choice of methods in executing one's orders is better than failure or neglect to act.”
via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA
Key facts
- Nicknames
- Smiling Albert Uncle Albert
- Born
- ( 1885-11-30 ) 30 November 1885, Marktsteft , then part of the Kingdom of Bavaria
- Died
- 16 July 1960 (1960-07-16) (aged 74), Bad Nauheim , Hessen, West Germany
- Allegiance
- German Empire Weimar Republic Nazi Germany
- Branch
- Bavarian Army Reichswehr Luftwaffe
- Service years
- 1904–1945
- Rank
- Generalfeldmarschall
- Commands
- Luftflotte 1 Luftflotte 2 OB South Army Group C OB West
- Awards
- Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds
- Conviction
- War crimes
- Criminal penalty
- Death ; commuted to life imprisonment ; further commuted 21 years' imprisonment
via Wikipedia infobox
~40 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Albert Kesselring (30 November 1885 – 16 July 1960) was a German military officer who served in the Luftwaffe during World War II. In a career which spanned both world wars, Kesselring eventually reached the rank of the Generalfeldmarschall (Field marshal) and became one of Nazi Germany's most highly decorated commanders.
Kesselring joined the Bavarian Army as an officer cadet in 1904, serving in the artillery branch. He completed training as a balloon observer in 1912. During World War I, he served on both the Western and Eastern fronts and was posted to the Army Staff, despite not having attended the War Academy. Kesselring served in the Reichswehr after the war, but was discharged in 1933 to become head of the Department of Administration at the Ministry of Aviation, where he became involved in the re-establishment of the German aviation industry and the laying of the foundations for the Luftwaffe, serving as its chief of staff from 1936 to 1938.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Albert Kesselring” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.