Helmuth Förster (19 April 1889 – 7 April 1965) was a German general in the

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. A decorated

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

aviator, he returned to military service in 1934 as an ''Oberstleutnant'' in the Luftwaffe. Promoted to ''Oberst'' in 1936, he was appointed to command the 4th Bomber Wing. During the

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

, Förster, by now a

Generalmajor is the Germanic languages, Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central Europe, Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and R ...

, commanded the ''Luftwaffen-Lehrdivision'' with significant success. He was then appointed as chief of staff of the 5th Air Fleet during the invasion of Norway. After serving on the German-French Peace Commission, he was appointed as military governor of the German-occupied territory of Serbia from April to June 1941, then commanded the 1st Air Corps during the invasion of the Soviet Union until October 1942. Whilst in command of the 1st Air Corps he was awarded the

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (), 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. While it was order of precedence, lower in preceden ...

. He spent the remainder of the war as chief of administration at the Reich Ministry of Aviation. He was pensioned as an ''Oberstleutnant'' in 1952.

Awards and decorations

on 22 February 1942 as ''

General der Flieger () was a General of the branch rank of the Luftwaffe (air force) in Nazi Germany. Until the end of World War II in 1945, this particular general officer rank was on three-star level ( OF-8), equivalent to a US Lieutenant general. The "Genera ...

'' and commander of I. Flieger-Korps Fellgiebel 2000, p. 154.

Footnotes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Forster, Helmuth 1889 births 1965 deaths People from Strzelce Opolskie Military personnel from the Province of Silesia Luftwaffe World War II generals German Army personnel of World War I Prussian Army personnel Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross German prisoners of war in World War II Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class Generals of Aviators