__NOTOC__ Alfred Sturm (23 August 1888 – 8 March 1962) was a German general during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. During the

Battle of Crete The Battle of Crete (german: Luftlandeschlacht um Kreta, el, Μάχη της Κρήτης), codenamed Operation Mercury (german: Unternehmen Merkur), was a major Axis airborne and amphibious operation during World War II to capture the island ...

, Sturm (then an ''

Oberst ''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. The Swedish ...

'') was commander of the 2nd Parachute Rifle Regiment. On 20 May 1941, he jumped from an aircraft over Crete and landed west of the Pigi airfield, a key objective, near

Rethymno Rethymno ( el, Ρέθυμνο, , also ''Rethimno'', ''Rethymnon'', ''Réthymnon'', and ''Rhíthymnos'') is a city in Greece on the island of Crete. It is the capital of Rethymno regional unit, and has a population of more than 30,000 inhabitants ...

(Retimo). Sturm was captured as a POW on 21 May 1941 by soldiers of the Greek 4th Infantry Regiment, and delivered to the headquarters of the Australian 2/11th Battalion for imprisonment. For 10 days Sturm was held in a makeshift POW camp at Pigi village. As a commissioned officer (and in accordance with German military practices), at Sturm's own request he was held in a place separate from German

enlisted personnel An enlisted rank (also known as an enlisted grade or enlisted rate) is, in some armed services, any rank below that of a commissioned officer. The term can be inclusive of non-commissioned officers or warrant officers, except in United States mi ...

. Sturm was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for his actions at Crete.

Promotions

*Vizefeldwebel (1 August 1913) *Offiziers-Stellvertreter (1 January 1915) *Leutnant (5 June 1919) *Oberleutnant (15 January 1921) *Hauptmann (1 March 1926) *Major (21 April 1935) *Oberstleutnant (2 August 1936) *Oberst (1 October 1938) *Generalmajor (1 August 1941) *Generalleutnant (1 August 1943)

Awards

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (german: link=no, Eisernes Kreuz, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, and later in the German Empire (1871–1918) and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). King Frederick William III of Prussia es ...

(1914) 2nd Class (18 June 1916) & 1st Class (17 January 1917)Thomas & Wegmann 1986, p. 309. *

Clasp to the Iron Cross The Clasp to the Iron Cross (Spange zum Eisernen Kreuz) was a white metal medal clasp displayed on the uniforms of German Wehrmacht personnel who had been awarded the Iron Cross in World War I, and who again qualified for the decoration in World W ...

(1939) 2nd Class (28 October 1940) & 1st Class (25 June 1941) * Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 9 July 1941 as ''

'' and commander of Fallschirmjäger-Regiment 2Scherzer 2007, p. 734.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Sturm, Alfred 1888 births 1962 deaths Luftwaffe World War II generals Fallschirmjäger of World War II Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross People from Saarbrücken Military personnel from the Rhine Province Luftwaffe pilots Luftstreitkräfte personnel Reichswehr personnel Prussian Army personnel German Army personnel of World War I Lieutenant generals of the Luftwaffe German prisoners of war in World War II Battle of Crete Military personnel from Saarland