Sperrle, Field Marshal Hugo

Sperrle, Field Marshal Hugo (1885–1953),German Luftwaffe officer who, in 1936–7, commanded the German Kondor Legion during the Spanish Civil War. This record earned him promotion to maj-general, then lt-general, and he was then appointed to command the formation that became Luftflotte 3 in September 1939. It did not participate in the Polish campaign of September– October 1939 but supported Rundstedt's Army Group A during the fighting which led to the fall of France in June 1940; and its success in this campaign earned Sperrle his field marshal's baton in July 1940. By then Luftflotte 3, based in northern France, was embroiled in the battle of Britain during which Sperrle vainly urged that Luftwaffe attacks should continue to be concentrated on British fighter airfields. Luckily for the British he was overruled.

By May 1941, with nearly all German air strength needed for the invasion of the USSR (see BARBAROSSA), Luftflotte 3 had been reduced from 44 bomber groups to 4 and Sperrle, with his HQ in Paris, became disillusioned and lax. Goebbels accused him of living the life of a sybarite and said that Hitler wanted to replace him, but Sperrle continued to command Luftflotte 3 in its role of defending Belgium, France, and the Netherlands from air attack, and mounting occasional operations against the UK. However, by June 1944 the demand for aircraft on other fronts had reduced his striking power to such impotence that his fighters could only mount a handful of sorties against the Normandy landings on D-Day (see OVERLORD) and his command's poor performance led to his dismissal in August. He was never re-employed.