Ferdinand Alfred Friedrich Jodl (28 November 1896 – 9 June 1956) 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 opposin ...

who commanded the

Mountain Corps Norway Mountain Corps Norway (german: Gebirgskorps Norwegen) was a German army unit during World War II. It saw action in Norway and Finland. The corps was formed in July 1940 and was later transferred to Northern Norway as part of '' Armeeoberkommand ...

during the

Petsamo–Kirkenes Offensive The Petsamo–Kirkenes offensive was a major military offensive during World War II, mounted by the Red Army against the ''Wehrmacht'' in 1944 in the Petsamo region, ceded to the Soviet Union by Finland in accordance with the Moscow Armist ...

. He was the younger brother of

Alfred Jodl Alfred Josef Ferdinand Jodl (; 10 May 1890 – 16 October 1946) was a German ''Generaloberst'' who served as the chief of the Operations Staff of the '' Oberkommando der Wehrmacht'' – the German Armed Forces High Command – throughout World ...

, Chief of the Operations Staff of the OKW.

Life and career

Ferdinand Jodl entered the German Army in August 1914 as an

ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...

, serving as a Lieutenant in a Bavarian Field Artillery Regiment from 1915 until the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He remained in the army after 1918, becoming a

general staff officer A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...

. In this capacity he served with

XII Corps 12th Corps, Twelfth Corps, or XII Corps may refer to: * 12th Army Corps (France) * XII Corps (Grande Armée), a corps of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * XII (1st Royal Saxon) Corps, a unit of the Imperial German Army * XII ...

in the early part of

, then moving to

XXXXIX Mountain Corps XXXXIX Mountain Corps was a mountain corps of the German Army during World War II that participated in the invasion of Yugoslavia. In June 1941, it participated in Operation Barbarossa as part of Army Group South. It fought in the Battle of Uma ...

. From 1942 he served in Finland and North Norway, first as chief of staff of the 20th Mountain Army, then as commander of the XIX Mountain Corps, receiving the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (german: Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. The Knight' ...

for his command of this corps in January 1945. He ended the war as commander of German forces in North Norway, grouped under the name Army Detachment Narvik, having attained the rank of General of Mountain Troops. Ferdinand Jodl died in

Essen Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and D ...

on 9 June 1956, aged 59 and was buried on

Frauenchiemsee The island Frauenchiemsee, often called Fraueninsel (), is the second largest of the three islands in Chiemsee, Germany. It belongs to the municipality of Chiemsee in the Upper Bavarian district of Rosenheim, which is the smallest municipality in ...

in Bavaria.See: Jodl family grave, Frauenchiemsee.

Awards and decorations

on 13 January 1945 as ''

General der Gebirgstruppe General der Gebirgstruppe (Literally: General of the Mountain Troops) was a category of German Army three-star, a new example of the traditional German 'General der' rank introduced by the Wehrmacht in 1940, comparable to the NATO grade OF-8. ...

'' and commander of XIX. Gebirgskorps

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jodl, Ferdinand 1896 births 1956 deaths People from Landau People from the Palatinate (region) German Army personnel of World War I Generals of Mountain Troops Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Liberty, 1st Class Recipients of the Order of the Crown of King Zvonimir Reichswehr personnel German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United Kingdom Military personnel from Bavaria 20th-century Freikorps personnel