NAME: General der Fallschirmtruppe Alfred Schlemm (Luftwaffe)

PW NO:          611705

RANK:            General der Fallschirmtruppe

CAPTURED:   Unknown

DATE:             8 May 1945

 

PERSONAL
DATE OF BIRTH:      18 December 1894

PLACE OF BIRTH:    Rudolstadt/Thüringen

DATE OF DEATH:     24 January 1986

PLACE OF DEATH:  Ahlten near Hannover

NATIONALITY:        German

RELIGION:                Evangelical

OCCUPATION:         Regular Air Force Officer

HEIGHT:                    5'9"

WEIGHT:                   Unknown

HAIR COLOUR:        Brown

EYE COLOUR:          Brown

NEXT OF KIN:          Annemarie Schlemm, Aulten near Lehrte (English Zone)

Promotions:

• Fahnenjunker: 8 March 1913
• Fähnrich: 20 October 1913
• Leutnant: 19 June 1914 (Patent 23 June 1912)
• Oberleutnant: 16 September 1917
• Hauptmann: 1 June 1925
• Major: 1 June 1934 (RDA 1 February 1933)
• Oberstleutnant: 1 September 1935 (RDA 1 August 1935)
• Oberst: 1 February 1938
• Generalmajor: 1 June 1940
• Generalleutnant: 1 June 1942
• General der Flieger: 30 January 1943 (without RDA)
• General der Flieger: 15 March 1943 (RDA 1 March 1943 (2))
• Renamed General der Fallschirmtruppe: 4 November 1944

Commands & Assignments:

• 8 March 1913-19 October 1913: Entered the Army as a Fahnenjunker in the 2. Posensches Feld-Artillerie-Regiment Nr.56.
• 20 October 1913-18 June 1914: Detached to the Danzig War School.
• 19 June 1914-30 September 1919: Platoon Leader, Ordonnanzoffizier, Battery Commander and Regimental Adjutant in Field Artillery Regiment 56.
• 1 October 1919-30 September 1920: On the staff of the Artillery Commander of Reichswehr-Brigade 5 and, at the same time, on the staff of Artillery Leader 5/Border Defense East.
• 1 October 1920-31 December 1920: On the staff of the 3rd (Prussian) Artillery Regiment and, at the same time, on the staff of Artillery Leader 3.
• 1 January 1921-30 September 1922: Leader Assistant training with the staff of Wehrkreis [Military District] Command III, Berlin.
• 1 October 1922-30 September 1924: Platoon Leader in the 3rd (Prussian) Artillery Regiment.
• 1 October 1924-30 September 1925: General Staff training in the Army Training Department (T 4) of the Reich Defense Ministry.
• 1 October 1925-28 February 1930: General Staff Officer in the Army Department (T1) of the Troop Office/Reich Defense Ministry. [This department was responsible for the operational planning of the Army. As such, it handled all matters relating to the internal and external military situation, border defense, land fortifications, troop employment and organization, military transportation and military measurement, mapping and charting.]
• 1 March 1930-30 September 1932: Battery Chief in the 3rd (Prussian) Artillery Regiment.
• 1 October 1932-30 September 1934: Consultant in the Army Training Department (T4) of the Troop Office/Reich Defense Ministry. [This department was responsible for military training (also for the officers), military training maneuvers and the collection of lessons learned.]
• 1 October 1934-15 October 1935: Operations Officer (Ia) on the staff of Wehrkreis [Military District] III, Berlin.
• 16 October 1935-30 September 1936: Operations Officer (Ia) in the General Staff of the III Army Corps, Berlin.
• 1 October 1936-30 September 1937: Detached to the Armed Forces Academy, Berlin.
• 1 October 1937-31 January 1938: Detached to the Reich Air Ministry.
• 1 February 1938: Transferred from the Army to the Luftwaffe.
• 1 February 1938-31 May 1938: Appointed an Oberst in the Luftwaffe General Staff.
• 1 June 1938-4 October 1939: Chief of Staff of Air Defense Zone West.
• 5 October 1939-14 December 1940: Chief of Staff of Luftgau [Air Zone] XI commanded by Generalleutnant Ludwig Wolff (headquartered at Hannover and then Hamburg from March 1940).
• 15 December 1940-6 February 1942: Chief of Staff of the XI. Fliegerkorps [Air Corps]. [Commanded by General der Flieger Kurt Student, the XI. Fliegerkorps served as the controlling headquarters staff of Germany’s parachute and air landing forces.[1] After overrunning Yugoslavia and mainland Greece in April 1941, the Germans prepared for the final stage of their Balkan conquest: Operation “Merkur” (Mercury), the airborne invasion of Crete. On 20 May 1941, the XI. Fliegerkorps opened its attack by dropping two massive waves of paratroopers and glider-borne troops from Generalleutnant Wilhelm Süßmann’s 7th Flieger-Division onto the island.[2] Reinforced by Generalmajor Julius Ringel’s 5th Mountain Division (plus a regiment from the 6th Mountain Division), Student’s forces captured their primary objectives—Maleme, Canae, Retimo and Heraklion—despite incurring heavy casualties and facing determined resistance. On 1 June 1941, the last British and Dominion troops who had not been evacuated from Crete surrendered to the Germans north of Sphakia. At a cost of least 6,000 dead, the conquest of Crete effectively ended all future plans for large-scale German airborne operations.]
• 7 February 1942-11 February 1942: Detached to the area of the General Command of the VIII. Fliegerkorps (Generaloberst Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen) on the Eastern Front.
• 12 February 1942-31 May 1942: Commander of Luftwaffen-Gefechtsverbande [Battle Formation] Schlemm on the Eastern Front. [NOTE: To date, no information has been found detailing the operational history, composition and size of Luftwaffen-Gefechtsverbande Schlemm. The German Army Kriegsgliederung dated 22 April 1942 indicates “Gruppe Schlemm (Luftwaffen-Verbande)” was assigned to the XXXX Panzer Corps. The Kriegsgliederung dated 11 May 1942 and 24 June 1942 lists “Gruppe Schlemm (Luftwaffen-Verbande)” serving with the LVI Panzer Corps. Both corps were components of General der Infanterie Gotthard Heinrici’s 4th Army under Army Group Center.[3]
• 1 June 1942-30 September 1942: Commander of the 1. Flieger-Division [Air Division] on the Eastern Front. [Headquartered at Dugino, Schlemm’s air division controlled various Luftwaffe air and ground support units under General der Flieger Robert Ritter von Greim’s Luftwaffe Command East.]
• 1 October 1942-31 December 1943: Commanding General of the II Luftwaffe Field Corps on the Eastern Front and in Italy. [After formation in Russia, Schlemm’s corps took control of the 3rd, 4th and 6th Luftwaffe Field Divisions.[4] Later joined by the previously battered 2nd Luftwaffe Field Division, Schlemm’s four divisions held the line from south of Nevel to the Dvina River east of Vitebsk under the 3rd Panzer Army of Army Group Center. In February-March 1943, the II Luftwaffe Field Corps participated in Operation “Kugelblitz” (Ball Lightning) against the partisan infested region of Surazh Rayon northeast of Vitebsk. On 6 October 1943, a major Russian attack by two armies of the Kalinin Front crushed the 2nd Luftwaffe Field Division (many of its inexperienced troops broke and ran) resulting in a 10-mile rip in the German lines and the capture of Nevel. By the end of the month, the entire II Luftwaffe Field Corps had fallen back to new positions west of Gorodok. Pulled from the line in November 1943, Schlemm’s corps released its four divisions to the LIII and IX Army Corps and began transferring to Italy. Redesignated the I. Fallschirm-Korps on 1 January 1944, Schlemm’s headquarters staff took control of over 24,000 troops in the Rome area as a reserve force against Allied amphibious landings and/or to plug breakthroughs in the Gustav Line.]
• 3 December 1943-24 December 1943: In the Reserve Hospital at Bad Warmbrunn.
• 1 January 1944-31 October 1944: Commanding General of the I. Fallschirm-Korps [Parachute Corps] in Italy. [Within 48 hours of being dispatched from Rome to bolster the Gustav Line along the Garigliano River, Schlemm’s corps received new orders to respond immediately to the Allied beachhead at Anzio following the British and American amphibious landings on 22 January 1944 (Operation Shingle). Arriving at Anzio later that day, Schlemm led the German defenders until command of the beachhead defenses formally passed to Generaloberst Eberhard von Mackensen, the Commander-in-Chief of the 14th Army, three days later. For the next three months, the I. Fallschirm-Korps continued to serve under von Mackensen’s army containing the Allied beachhead. (Schlemm was later cited in the official Armed Forces Communiqué and received the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross in recognition of his energetic and resourceful leadership during the Battle of Anzio.) After cracking the Gustav Line at Cassino and breaking out of the Anzio bridgehead, the Allies captured Rome on 4 June 1944. The 14th Army (commanded by General der Panzertruppe Joachim Lemelsen since 2 June 1944), in conjunction with Generaloberst Heinrich-Gottfried von Vietinghoff genannt Scheel’s adjacent 10th Army, executed a difficult withdrawal through central Italy.[5] By August 1944, both armies were ensconced in the Arno and Gothic Line defensive positions in the North Apennines. Tapped for another assignment, Schlemm relinquished command of the I. Fallschirm-Korps to Generalleutnant Richard Heidrich.]
• 1 November 1944-3 November 1944: Commanding General of the III. Fallschirm-Korps (corps not activated).
• 4 November 1944-20 March 1945: Commander-in-Chief of the 1. Fallschirm-Armee [Parachute Army] on the Western Front. [Upon succeeding Generaloberst Kurt Student, Schlemm found his new command engaged against the British and Canadians on the Maas and Waal Rivers. A motley but effective collection of under strength infantry divisions and battle groups, the 1. Fallschirm-Armee controlled the II. Fallschirm-Korps and the LXXXVI Army Corps.[6] On 8 February 1945, General Henry D.G. Crerar’s Canadian First Army launched Operation Veritable to clear the German forces between the Maas and Rhine Rivers. Jumping off from the area of Nijmegan under a massive artillery bombardment, the Anglo-Canadians met with fierce resistance from Schlemm’s infantry entrenched in the West Wall (“Siegfried Line”) positions of the Reichswald.[7] After a bitter struggle through the forest resulting in the capture of Kleve, the Canadian First Army encountered Schlemm’s armored reserves—the 116th Panzer Division and the 15th Panzer Grenadier Division—during its push on Goch and the Hochwald. Under the codename Blockbuster, the British and Canadians penetrated the Kalkar-Udem ridge, cleared the Hochwald and captured the town of Xanten in the face of “fanatical” German resistance. The linkup of the Canadian First Army and Lieutenant General William H. Simpson’s U.S. Ninth Army finally compressed Schlemm’s forces into a small bridgehead on the west bank of the Rhine opposite Wesel. On 10 March 1945, the rearguard of the 1. Fallschirm-Armee evacuated the bridgehead to the east bank of the Rhine where Schlemm prepared to meet the inevitable Allied crossing of the river. Wounded in an air attack 11 days later, Schlemm relinquished command of the 1. Fallschirm-Armee to General der Infanterie Günther Blummentritt and spent the rest of the war convalescing in reserve status.[8]]
• 21 March 1945-8 May 1945: Wounded by a direct hit from an aerial bomb on his command post at Haltern/in hospital/Luftwaffe High Command Leader Reserve. [Two days after Schlemm’s wounding, Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery’s 21st Army Group launched Operation Plunder, the assault crossing of the Rhine supported by airborne landings against the sector held by the 1. Fallschirm-Armee.]
• 8 May 1945-22 March 1948: Prisoner of war in British captivity.
  • 7th July 1947 transferred to Island Farm Special Camp 11 from LDC (London District Cage)
  • 18th September 1947 transferred to Camp 99 from Island Farm Special Camp 11
  • 10th October 1947 transferred from Camp 99 to Hamburg via Southampton on board the ship "El Nil"

Decorations & Awards:

• Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross: 11 June 1944, General der Fallschirmtruppe, Commanding General of the I. Fallschirm-Korps.
• German Cross in Gold: 17 August 1942, Generalleutnant, Commander of Luftwaffen-Gefechtsverbande Schlemm.
• Prussian Royal Hohenzollern House Order, Knight’s Cross with Swords: 15 October 1918 (date gazetted in the Militär-Wochenblatt or Weekly Military Journal; not the actual award date).
• Prussian Iron Cross, 1st Class (1914)
• Prussian Iron Cross, 2nd Class (1914)
• 1939 Bar to the Prussian Iron Cross, 1st Class: 22 June 1941.
• 1939 Bar to the Prussian Iron Cross, 2nd Class: 10 August 1940.
• Cross of Honor for Combatants 1914-1918
• Armed Forces Long Service Award, 1st Class (25-year Service Cross)
• Armed Forces Long Service Award, 3rd Class (12-year Service Medal)
• Luftwaffe Ground Combat Badge
• Wound Badge in Black – World War I award
• “KRETA” Campaign Cuff-Title
• Mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht [Armed Forces Communiqué]: 29 May 1944.

Sources:

• Blumenson, Martin. Salerno to Cassino – The United States Army in World War II: The Mediterranean Theater of Operations. Washington D.C.: Center of Military History, United States Army, 1988.
• Davis, Franklin M. Jr. Time-Life World War II: Across the Rhine. Time-Life Books, Inc., Alexandria, Virginia, 1980.
• Fisher, Ernest F. Jr. Cassino to the Alps – The United States Army in World War II: The Mediterranean Theater of Operations. Washington D.C.: Center of Military History, United States Army, 1989.
• Guderian, Heinz Günther. From Normandy to the Ruhr: With the 116th Panzer Division in World War II. Ulrich Abele, Esther Abele & Keith E. Bonn, translators. The Aberjona Press, Bedford, Pennsylvania, 2001.
• Hildebrand, Karl-Friedrich. Die Generale der Deutschen Luftwaffe, 1935-1945, Band 3 (Odebrecht-Zoch). Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück, Germany, 1992.
• Munoz, Antonio J. Göring’s Grenadiers: The Luftwaffe Field Divisions, 1942-1945. Axis Europa Books, Bayside, New York, 2002.
• Pallud, Jean Paul. “Operation Merkur – The German Invasion of Crete,” After the Battle, Number 47 (1985), pp. 1-31.
• German Army Kriegsgliederung (Order of Battle), 1 September 1939-30 April 1945.