Kesselring, Albert
(November 20, 1885–July 16, 1960)
German General
KESSELRING, ALBERT
J
ovial Kesselring was
an accomplished de-
fensive tactician who
contested U.S. forces for
possession of Italy during
World War II. He was also
the only senior German
commander whom Adolf
Hitler did not remove
from command. His suc-
cess on land is even more
impressive considering
that Kesselring was previ-
ously an aerial strategist.
Albert Kesselring was
born in Marktsheft, Ba-
varia, on November 20,
1885, the son of a school-
master. After attending
the Classical Grammar
School, he joined the
army as an artillery offi-
cer in 1904. Throughout
World War I, Kesselring
performed staff functions
and was also trained as a balloon observer. He
was subsequently retained by the postwar
Reichswehr and by 1932 had advanced to
colonel. His open, friendly demeanor led to
the less-than-flattering sobriquet of “Smiling”
Albert. The turning point in Kesselring’s ca-
reer happened in 1933 following the ascent of
Adolf Hitler to power as Germany’s chancel-
lor. Hitler commenced a covert rearmament
that year, and by 1935 a new air force—the
Luftwaffe—was born. Kesselring, acknowl-
edged as a brilliant administrator, was then
tapped to serve as a high-ranking official
within that organization, and he acquired his
pilot’s license at the age of 48. In 1936, he be-
came Luftwaffe chief of staff following the
death of Gen. Walter Wever in a plane crash.
As such he promoted new classes of bombers
and fighters that made
Germany’s air arm the
most advanced in the
world. More important,
he helped pioneer and
codify the close-air sup-
port tactics necessary to
assist land units—the
essence of blitzkrieg war-
fare. By 1937, his excep-
tional performance re-
sulted in a promotion to
general, and he departed
staff functions to com-
mand Luftflotte I (Air
Fleet) the following year.
World War II com-
menced with a German
attack upon Poland, and
Kesselring’s aircraft played
a decisive role through-
out that successful cam-
paign. His bombers
wreaked havoc ahead of
German tank columns,
and he developed the mass-bombing tactics
that gutted Warsaw. In the spring of 1940,
Hitler’s attention turned west, and Kesselring,
now commanding Luftflotte II, became ac-
tively engaged in the campaign against the
Low Countries and France. Both were speed-
ily overcome thanks in part to his excellent
aircrews and equipment. However, the Luft-
waffe was stunned after encountering British
Supermarine Spitfires over Dunkirk, which
extracted a heavy toll from Kesselring’s previ-
ously unstoppable armadas. Consequently,
thanks to Marshal Hermann Göring’s mis-
management of airpower, the British escaped
from Dunkirk with their army intact. That
summer the Luftwaffe was pitted against the
Royal Air Force (RAF) for control of the skies
over England. Both sides fought with mar-Albert Kesselring
Imperial War Museum