Hans-Georg von Seidel
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class="fn" colspan="2" style="background-color: #B0C4DE; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;" | Hans-Georg von Seidel | |
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colspan="2" style="background-color: #B0C4DE; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle;" | | |
colspan="2" style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%; border-bottom: 1px solid #aaa; line-height: 1.5em;" | File:General der Flieger Hans-Georg von Seidel.png | |
Birth date | 11 November 1894 |
Place of birth | Diedersdorf, Landkreis Lebus, Province of Brandenburg, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire |
Death date | 10 November 1955 (aged 63) |
Place of death | Bad Godesberg near Bonn, Bad Godesberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany |
Allegiance | File:Flag of the German Empire.svg German Empire File:Flag of Germany (3-2 aspect ratio).png Weimar Republic File:Flag of the NSDAP (1920–1945).svg National Socialist Germany |
Service/branch | File:War and service flag of Prussia (1895–1918).png Prussian Army File:Iron Cross of the Luftstreitkräfte.png Imperial German Army File:War Ensign of the Reichswehr, 1919 - 1935.png Reichswehr File:Luftwaffe eagle.png Luftwaffe |
Years of service | 1910–1920 1934–1945 |
Rank | General der Flieger |
Commands held | Aufklärungsgruppe 12 (Reconnaissance Group 12) Military Airfield Commandant Stargard-Klützow |
Battles/wars | World War I World War II |
Awards | Knight's Cross of the War Merit Cross with Swords |
Relations | ∞ 1919 Felicitas "Fairy" Eugenie Cäcilie Margarethe, widowed Freifrau von Schilling,[1] née Freiin von Buxhoeveden (1892–1945) |
Hans-Georg von Seidel (b. 11 November 1891 in Diedersdorf, Landkreis Lebus, Province of Brandenburg, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire; d. 10 November 1955 in Bad Godesberg, FRG) was a German officer of the Prussian Army, the Imperial German Army, the Reichswehr and the Wehrmacht, finally General der Flieger of the Luftwaffe and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the War Merit Cross with Swords in WWII.
Chronology
- 18 March 1910 – 30 September 1913: Fahnenjunker and squadron officer in 1. Leib-Husaren-Regiment Nr. 1
- 1 October 1913 – 2 August 1917: Squadron officer and squadron commander in Husaren-Regiment „Kaiser Nikolaus II. von Russland“ (1. Westfälisches) Nr. 8
- 3 August – 31 October 1917: Ordnance officer on the staff of 77th Reserve Division.
- 1 November 1917 – 30 June 1918: Chief Supply Officer (Ib) on the staff of 2nd Infantry Division
- 1 July – 13 December 1918: Chief Supply Officer (Ib) on the General Staff of the Landwehrkorps
- 14 December 1918 – 11 August 1919: Consultant in the Operations Department of the Army High Command, General Staff of the Field Army and General Staff of the Army
- 12 August – 25 September 1919: Transferred to the Kommandostelle of the General Staff of the Army in Kolberg
- 26 September – 27 November 1919: Transferred to the Abwicklungsstelle of the General Staff of the Army
- 28 November 1919 – 26 April 1920: Consultant in the Army Command/Reich War Ministry
- 26 April 1920: Separated from the Vorläufige (preliminary) Reichswehr as Hauptmann i. G.
- 1 May 1934: Returned to military service with the not yet exposed Luftwaffe of the Reichswehr as Major i. G.
- 1 May 1934 – 30 November 1935: Consultant in the Air Command Department, Reich Air Ministry (Reichsluftfahrtministerium)
- 18 August – 11 October 1935: Detached to aerial observer course at the Flying School Braunschweig and at the Kampffliegerschule (Bomber Flying School) Jüterbog.
- 1 December 1935 – 28 February 1937: Department Chief in the General Staff of the Luftwaffe, Reich Air Ministry.
- 1 March 1937 – 15 April 1938: Commander of Aufklärungsgruppe 12 (Reconnaissance Group 12) and, at the same time, Military Airfield Commandant Stargard-Klützow.
- 16 April 1938 – 30 June 1944: Quartermaster General (Generalquartiermeister) of the Luftwaffe
- When the planning for the Stalingrad airlift was taking place (which turned out to be an absolute catastrophe, and in effect began the demise of the Luftwaffe and the end of Germany's war), it was estimated that to sustain a fighting force of 250,000 men would need air drops of between six hundred and 750 tons per day. The Sixth Army’s supply requirements were initially established at 750 tons per day, but later reduced to five hundred tons per day. The required aircraft and crews for the Stalingrad airlift assembled on short notice from the advanced flight training school. Sending many of the Luftwaffe’s most experienced instructor-pilots contributed to degradation in the quality of new pilots being trained. Every single available aircraft was mobilized for the Stalingrad airlift. On 23 November 1942, Generalleutnant Hans-Georg von Seidel, the Quartermaster General of the Luftwaffe, ordered all Ju-52s (transport aircraft); Ju-86s (trainer; completely inappropriate as a transport); FW-200s and Ju-90s (long-range reconnaissance aircraft); He-111s (long-range bomber), from every unit, staff, ministry, and the Office of the Chief of Training. Six hundred aircraft along with some of the best flight instructors were stripped away from the training facilities. Specialized training schools were closed due to the efforts taken to ensure the success of the airlift. By early December 1942, Fourth Air Fleet (Luftflotte 4) had approximately five hundred aircraft at their disposal, with more becoming available as the operations progressed. Germany’s top military leaders were wrongly convinced that the number of aircraft now dedicated to the operations was sufficient to meet the logistical needs of the Sixth Army. The airlift fleet was based at Tatsinskaya.
- 1 July 1944 – 27 February 1945: Commander-in-Chief of Luftflotte 10 (Air Fleet 10)
- 27 February – 6 May 1945: Führer (leader) Reserve Luftwaffe High Command
POW and post-war
- 6–17 May 1945: Prisoner of war in American captivity
- 17 May 1945 – 17 May 1948: Prisoner of war in British captivity
- 9 January 1946 transferred to Island Farm Special Camp 11
- 12 May 1948 transferred to Camp 186 for repatriation
- 1949 Von Seidel gave a lecture about how the supply of aviation fuel was a major factor in the war.
- In the early 1950s, he corresponded with authors seeking further information about the war for a book.
Promotions
- Fahnenjunker: 18 March 1910
- Fahnenjunker-Unteroffizier: 5 August 1910
- Fähnrich: 16 November 1910 (Officer Cadet)
- Leutnant: 18 August 1911 (Patent 20 August 1909)
- Oberleutnant: 18 August 1915
- Rittmeister: 18 August 1918
- Changed into Hauptmann i. G.: 21 August 1918
- Major i. G.: 1 May 1934
Wehrmacht
- Oberstleutnant i. G.: 1 April 1936
- Oberst i. G.: 1 August 1938
- Generalmajor: 1 September 1939
- Generalleutnant: 19 July 1940
- General der Flieger: 1 January 1942
Awards and decorations
- Iron Cross (1914), 2nd and 1st Class
- Cross for Faithful Service (Fürstlich Schaumburg-Lippisches Kreuz für treue Dienste 1914; SLK) on 7 August 1917
- Knight of Honour (Ehrenritter) of the Johanniter-Orden
- Ehrenkreuz für Frontkämpfer on 21 December 1934
- Hungarian World War Commemorative Medal (Ungarische Kriegs-Erinnerungs-Medaille) with Swords
- Bulgarian War Commemorative Medal 1915–1918 (Kriegserinnerungsmedaille 1915/1918) with Swords
- Observer Badge (Beobachterabzeichen (Wehrmacht)) on 24 September 1935
- Wehrmacht Long Service Award (Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung), 4th and 3rd Class on 2 October 1936
- Order of the Crown of Italy, Grand Officer
- Sudetenland Medal with the Prague Castle Bar (Medaille zur Erinnerung an den 1. Oktober 1938 mit Spange „Prager Burg“)
- Homecoming of Memel Commemorative Medal (Medaille zur Erinnerung an die Heimkehr des Memellandes)
- Repetition Clasp 1939 to the Iron Cross 1914, 2nd and 1st Class
- War Merit Cross (1939), 2nd and 1st Class with Swords
- Combined Pilots-Observation Badge (Gemeinsames Flugzeugführer- und Beobachterabzeichen in Gold mit Brillanten)
- Grand Imperial Order of the Red Arrows, Grand Cross on 12 May 1941
- Order of the Star of Romania, Grand Officer with Swords on 23 December 1941 (Royal Decree No. 3517)
- Crusade Against Communism Medal
- Order of the White Rose of Finland, Grand Cross
- Order of Military Merit (Bulgaria), class unknown (most likely Grand Cross with the War Decoration)
- Finnish Order of the Cross of Liberty (Finnisches Freiheitskreuz), 1st Class with Oakleaves and Swords on 31 March 1943
- Knight's Cross of the War Merit Cross with Swords as General der Flieger and Quartermaster General of the Luftwaffe on 20 July 1944
Gallery
- Hans-Georg von Seidel.png
Hans-Georg von Seidel
- Hans-Georg von Seidel (signature).png
Signature
- Schild am Eingang der ehemaligen General-von-Seidel-Kaserne in Trier.png
Sign at the entrance to the former Bundeswehr General von Seidel barracks (General-von-Seidel-Kaserne) in Trier, which was named in his honour
- Das Grab des deutschen Offiziers (General der Flieger) Hans-Georg von Seidel auf dem Zentralfriedhof Bad Godesberg in Bonn.png
Grave at the Zentralfriedhof Bad Godesberg in Bonn