Wolfram Freiherr Von Richthofen

Dr.-Ing. Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen (born 10 October 1895 in Gut Barzdorf, Silesia; died 12 July 1945 in Bad Ischl, Austria) was a German Generalfeldmarschall (General Field Marshal) of the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) during the Second World War. Born in 1895 to Prussian nobles, Wolfram grew up in wealthy surroundings. After attending school, he opted to join the German Army at the age of 18, rather than choose an academic career. He joined the army's Cavalry arm in 1913.

On the outbreak of the First World War, he fought on the Western Front, winning the Iron Cross Second Class. He was redeployed to the Eastern Front in 1915, where he stayed until 1917. The von Richthofen family produced several notable personalities that would become famous during the First War. His cousins, brothers Lothar and Manfred von Richthofen, both became flying aces and they encouraged him to join the Luftstreitkräfte (German Imperial Air Service). He did so, and joined Manfred's Geschwader (Wing), Jagdgeschwader 1 (Fighter Wing 1). Manfred, known as the Red Baron, was the highest claiming ace of the war with 80 victories. On his first mission with his cousin, Manfred was killed in April 1918. Wolfram continued flying, and went on to claim eight aerial victories before the armistice in November 1918. His other cousin, Lothar, survived the war, but was killed in a flying accident in 1922.

After the war Richthofen resumed civilian life and discharged himself from the army. He studied Engineering at University before rejoining the Reichswehr, the German armed forces in the Weimar Republic era. In 1933 Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party seized power in Germany, and the Reichswehr was formed into the Wehrmacht. Wolfram joined the new Luftwaffe. He served as part of the Condor Legion which supported the Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War. During this time, he recognised the need for close air support in military campaigns. He championed the dive bomber, particularly the Junkers Ju 87 Stuka. He also believed in improving ground-air communications, which was put into effect in the Second World War, after his experiences in Spain and Poland. The combination of effective air-ground communications, and powerful concentrations of dive bombers would lead to personal success for Wolfram in the first half of the war. By 1941, a high standard of air to ground communications became a uniform facility in the Luftwaffe.

When the Second World War broke out in September 1939, he commanded a specialised ground-attack air unit Fliegerkorps VIII (8th Air Corps), first as a small action unit in the Polish Campaign, and then as full-sized Air Corps in Western Europe, from May to June 1940. The effectiveness of his units proved decisive at certain points in the French Campaign, particularly covering the German thrust to the English Channel. He was awarded the Knight's Cross on 23 May 1940, in view of his achievements. He continued in frontline service during the Battle of Britain and Balkans Campaign in 1940 and 1941.

Richthofen achieved his greatest success on the Eastern Front. In particular, he achieved notable success in the Crimean Campaigns during 1942. Despite offering vital tactical and operational support to Army Group South, after the defeat at the Battle of Stalingrad he was moved to the Mediterranean Theatre of Operations, where he commanded Luftwaffe forces in the Italian Campaign. He remained in active service until late 1944, when he was retired on medical grounds. Soon after the capitulation of Germany in May 1945, he was taken prisoner by the United States Army, but died in captivity of a brain tumor on 12 July that same year.