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Alfred Schlemm | |
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| Born | (1894-12-18)18 December 1894 Rudolstadt,German Empire |
| Died | 24 January 1986(1986-01-24) (aged 91) Ahlten,West Germany |
| Allegiance |  German Empire Weimar Republic Nazi Germany |
| Service | Luftwaffe |
| Years of service | 1913–1945 |
| Rank | General der Fallschirmtruppe |
| Commands | XI Fliegerkorps 1. Flieger-Division II Luftwaffe Field Corps 1st Parachute Corps 1st Parachute Army |
| Battles / wars | World War I World War II *Battle of Anzio *Battle of the Reichswald |
| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross |
Alfred Schlemm (18 December 1894 – 24 January 1986) was aGermanGeneral der Fallschirmtruppe in theWehrmacht. His last command inWorld War II opposed the advance of theFirst Canadian Army through theReichswald in February 1945.
Schlemm joined thePrussian Army in 1913. During the inter-war years, Schlemm served in a variety of staff, training and regimental posts until, in October 1937, he was attached to the Reich Air Ministry. In February 1938, he transferred from the Army to theLuftwaffe and was appointed to the Luftwaffe General Staff and in June 1938, he became Chief of Staff of Air Defense Zone West.
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In October 1939, he became Chief of Staff of Luftgau [Air Zone] XI, underGeneralleutnantLudwig Wolff and in December 1940, Schlemm was appointed Chief of Staff of the XI Air Corps underGeneral der FliegerKurt Student. The Corps was the headquarters staff of Germany's parachute and air landing forces which, on 20 May 1941, the Germans used forOperation Merkur, the airborne invasion ofCrete. At least 6,000 airborne troops were lost and the conquest of Crete effectively ended all plans for large-scale German airborne operations.
From February 1942, Schlemm was attached to the General Command of the8th Air Corps (GeneraloberstWolfram Freiherr von Richthofen) on the Eastern Front, where he became Commander of Luftwaffen-Gefechtsverbande ("Battle Formation") Schlemm assigned to the XXXX Panzer Corps and the LVI Panzer Corps inGeneral der InfanterieGotthard Heinrici’s4th Army. Schlemm became commander of the 1st Air Division in June 1942.
In October 1942, he became Commanding General of theII Luftwaffe Field Corps on the Eastern Front. Schlemm's corps comprised four Luftwaffe Field Divisions and held the line from south ofNevel to theDvina River east ofVitebsk, under the3rd Panzer Army of Army Group Centre. In February and March 1943, the II Luftwaffe Field Corps participated in Operation Kugelblitz against theSoviet partisans northeast ofVitebsk. On 6 October 1943, part of Schlemm's corps collapsed under a major Soviet attack, resulting in a 10-mile gap in the German lines and the abandonment of Nevel. The entire II Luftwaffe Field Corps fell back to new positions west ofGorodok.
Withdrawn from the line in November 1943, Schlemm's four divisions were attached to the LIII and IX Army Corps and were transferred to Italy. On 1 January 1944, Schlemm's headquarters staff, redesignated as1st Parachute Corps, took control of a reserve force of 24,000 troops in the Rome area. They were initially dispatched from Rome to bolster theWinter Line along theGarigliano River, but soon Schlemm's corps were urgently transferred to oppose the Allied beachhead atAnzio (Operation Shingle). Schlemm led the German troops for three days until command formally passed toGeneraloberstEberhard von Mackensen, Commander-in-Chief of the14th Army. The Corps fought at Anzio for the next three months. Schlemm was cited in the official Armed Forces Communiqué and received the Knight's Cross of theIron Cross for his efforts.
After the Winter Line was breached atCassino and the Anzio bridgehead breakout, Schlemm's Corps joined the German withdrawal through central Italy. By August 1944, they were lodged in theArno andGothic Line defensive positions in the northernApennine Mountains. Schlemm relinquished command of the Corps toGeneralleutnantRichard Heidrich.
Schlemm succeededGeneraloberstKurt Student as Commander-in-Chief of the 1st Parachute Army on the Western Front in the Netherlands. The 1st Parachute Army was engaged defending theReichswald against theCanadian First Army duringOperation Veritable.
The Canadian First Army and Lieutenant-GeneralWilliam Hood Simpson'sU.S. Ninth Army compressed Schlemm's forces into a small bridgehead on the west bank of the Rhine oppositeWesel. On 10 March 1945, the rearguard of the 1st Parachute Army evacuated their bridgehead, destroying the bridge behind them. He was wounded in an air attack on his command post atHaltern eleven days later and command of his forces passed to GeneralGünther Blumentritt. Schlemm was transferred to a hospital near Westerland and then remained in theFührerreserve until the end of the war. From May 8, 1945 to March 22, 1948, he was a British prisoner of war.
After the war Schlemm lived in the Schlemm family's manor house inAhlten nearHannover and wrote articles about the war. In these he took the view that it was wrong to call the sacrifice of soldiers' lives vain.[1] He died on 24 January 1986 at Ahlten.
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| Preceded by GeneralMartin Fiebig | Commander of1. Flieger-Division (1942-1945) 1 July 1942 – 1 October 1942 | Succeeded by GeneralleutnantHermann Plocher |
| Preceded by None | Commander ofII Luftwaffe Field Corps 1 October 1942 - 31 December 1943 | Succeeded by None |
| Preceded by None | Commander of1st Parachute Corps 1 January 1944 - 1 November 1944 | Succeeded by General der FallschirmtruppeRichard Heidrich |
| Preceded by GeneraloberstKurt Student | Commander of1. Fallschirmarmee 18 November 1944 – 20 March 1945 | Succeeded by General der InfanterieGünther Blumentritt |
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