Kurt Student | |
|---|---|
 Student in 1941 | |
| Born | 12 May 1890 Birkholz,German Empire (nowBorów,Poland) |
| Died | 1 July 1978 (aged 88) Lemgo,West Germany |
| Allegiance |
|
| Service |  Prussian Army ReichsheerLuftwaffe |
| Years of service | 1910–1945 |
| Rank |  Generaloberst |
| Commands | 7th Air Division XI Fliegerkorps 1st Parachute Army |
| Battles / wars | World War I World War II |
| Awards | Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves |
| Criminal status | Released in 1948 |
| Criminal charge | War crimes |
| Penalty | 5 years imprisonment |
| Details | |
| Victims | Cretan civilians Allied prisoners of war |
| Date | May 1941 |
| Country | Greece |
| Location | Crete |
Kurt Arthur Benno Student (12 May 1890 – 1 July 1978) was a German general in theLuftwaffe duringWorld War II. An early pioneer ofairborne forces, Student was in overall command of developing a paratrooper force to be known as theFallschirmjäger, and as the most senior member of theFallschirmjäger, commanded it throughout the war. Student led the first major airborne attack in history, theBattle for The Hague, in May 1940. He also commanded theFallschirmjäger in its last major airborne operation,the invasion of Crete in May 1941. The operation was a success despite German losses, and led the Allies to hasten the training and development of their own airborne units.
In 1947, Student was tried and convicted ofwar crimes for the mistreatment and murder of prisoners of war by his men in Crete. Student was also responsible for awave of reprisal massacres committed against Cretan civilians in 1941 but avoided harsh punishment.
Student entered thePrussian Army as aFähnrich in 1910 and was commissioned alieutenant in March 1911. He qualified as a pilot in 1913 and served duringWorld War I.
In July 1916, Student became a charter member of theFokker Scourge, when he scored his first confirmed victory, forcingNieuport 11 no. 1324 to land behind German lines.[1] He then served in aerial units of theThird Army on the Western Front, includingJagdstaffel 9 (Jasta 9), which he commanded from 5 October 1916 to 2 May 1917, when he was wounded. He achievedflying ace status and scored six air-to-air victories over French aircraft between 1916 and 1917, with two coming after his wound. He leftJasta 9 on 14 March 1918.[2]
In the immediate postwar years, Student was assigned to military research and development. He became involved inmilitary gliders since gliding was not forbidden by theTreaty of Versailles. He also attended theRed Army Air Force's maneuvers inLipetsk fighter-pilot school and first came in contact with the idea ofairborne operations. AfterAdolf Hitler came to power in Germany, theLuftwaffe was secretly re-established. Student transferred from the Army to the Air Force and was appointed byHermann Göring to be the head of its training schools. In July 1938, he was named commander of airborne and air-landing troops and, in September, commanding general of the7th Air Division, Germany's first paratroop division.
After theinvasion of Poland in September 1939, which marked the beginning of the Second World War in Europe, theFallschirmjäger were first deployed during the invasions of Norway and Denmark inOperation Weserübung in April 1940. In this operation theFallschirmjäger were deployed on several locations. In Denmark, a small unit dropped onMasnedø island to seize theStorstrøm Bridge linkingFalster andZealand. A paratroop detachment also dropped atAalborg Airfield, which was crucial for Luftwaffe operations over Norway. In Norway, a company of paratroopers dropped atOslo's undefended airstrip. Over the course of the morning and early afternoon of April 9, 1940, the Germans flew in sufficient reinforcements to seize the capital, but by that time the Norwegian government had fled.
The paratroopers' first major action (and the first large-scale airborne operation in history) was thebattle for The Hague on 10 May 1940. German paratroopers landed at three airfields near The Hague. From one of these airfields, they were driven out after the first wave of reinforcements, brought in byJu 52s, was annihilated by anti-aircraft fire and fierce resistance by some remaining Dutch defenders. The other two airfields were recaptured as well. Simultaneously, small packets of paratroopers seized the crucial bridges that led directly across the Netherlands and into the heart of the country. They opened the way for the9th Panzer Division. Within a day, the Dutch position became indefensible. Nevertheless, Dutch forces inflicted high losses on German transportation aircraft. Moreover, 1200 German élite troops from theLuftlandekorps, taken prisoner around The Hague, were shipped to England just before the capitulation of the Dutch armed forces.[3][4][5][6][7]
During airborne operations in theBattle of Rotterdam of 10 to 14 May 1940, Student was almost taken prisoner, and was shot in the head – by what was later determined to be a stray German round. His capture was halted by theRotterdam Blitz on 14 May and by the subsequent capitulation of the Netherlands.
On 10 May 1940, theFallschirmjäger performed asuccessful raid on the largest fort in the world at the time,Eben-Emael, manned by 1,200 Belgian troops.[8] The raid was accomplished by an assault group which consisted of only 85 soldiers.[8] It took theFallschirmjäger only hours to take control of the fort.[8] The fall of Eben-Emael opened up Belgium for invasion byArmy Group B. For his role in the raid, Student was decorated with theKnight's Cross of the Iron Cross.
In January 1941, Student was named commanding general of theXI. Fliegerkorps [de], the newly formed command for the expanding German airborne forces. He was ordered to prepare a plan to use airborne forces for the capture ofGibraltar. In May 1941, Student directed Operation Mercury (Unternehmen Merkur), the airborne invasion of Crete, which was defended by British, Greek and Commonwealth forces. Crete was taken, in what became the greatest victory of theFallschirmjäger, but the high casualties caused Hitler to forbid future major airborne operations.
During the invasion of Crete, the German forces encountered unexpectedmass resistance from the civilian population and several German parachutists were killed by civilians armed only with knives and clubs.[9] The German troops were initially surprised and later outraged.[10] German military intelligence, theAbwehr, had predicted that the Cretan population would welcome the Germans as liberators, due to Cretans' strong republican and anti-monarchist feelings and that they would want to receive the "... favourable terms which had been arranged on the mainland ...".[11] Student was made the temporary commander of Crete immediately after the island's surrender on 31 May 1941. OnHermann Göring's orders, Student launched a wave of brutalreprisals against the local population[12] with themassacre of Kondomari, theAlikianos executions, and therazing of Kandanos being well-known examples.
In 1943, Student ordered MajorHarald Mors to planOperation Oak (Unternehmen Eiche), the successful raid conducted by a specialFallschirmjäger unit to free Italian dictatorBenito Mussolini. They landed withgliders andSTOL aircraft on a hilltop. Student received the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for his role in this operation.
Student was transferred toItaly and later toFrance, where he was involved in the battles ofNormandy in 1944. He was put in charge of theFirst Paratroop Army and took part in countering the AlliedOperation Market Garden, nearArnhem. After a brief time at theEastern Front inMecklenburg in 1945, he was captured byBritish forces inSchleswig-Holstein in April of that same year before he could take command ofArmy Group Vistula.
In May 1947, Student was put on trial on eight charges of mistreatment and murder of prisoners of war by his men in Crete, and crimes against the civilian population of Crete, like those atKondomari,Alikianos andKandanos. He was found guilty of three charges relating to prisoners of war, but acquitted of crimes against civilians owing to the testimony of BrigadierLindsay Inglis, commander of the4th New Zealand Brigade.[13] Student was sentenced to five years of imprisonment but was given an early discharge in 1948 for medical reasons.[14] He died in 1978, the last survivingLuftwaffe Generaloberst.[citation needed]
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by New unit | Commander of7. Flieger-Division 1 September 1938 – 16 May 1940 | Succeeded by GeneralleutnantRichard Putzier |
| Preceded by New unit | Commander ofXI. Fliegerkorps 19 December 1940 – 3 April 1944 | Redesignated1. Fallschirmarmee |
| Redesignated fromXI. Fliegerkorps | Commander of1. Fallschirmarmee 4 September 1944 – 18 November 1944 | Succeeded by General der FallschirmtruppenAlfred Schlemm |
| Preceded by New unit | Commander ofArmy Group H 11 November 1944 – 28 January 1945 | Succeeded by GeneraloberstJohannes Blaskowitz |
| Preceded by General der InfanterieGünther Blumentritt | Commander of1. Fallschirmarmee 10 April 1945 – 28 April 1945 | Succeeded by General der InfanterieErich Straube |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
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