Richthofen, Wolfram von

Born Oct. 10, 1895, in Barzdorf, near Striegau, Silesia; died July 12, 1945, in Bad Ischl, Upper Austria. Fascist German field marshal (1943). Baron.

Richthofen entered military service in 1913. During World War I he was a pilot and went into the reserve after the war. He graduated from the Technische Hochschule in 1923 and joined the Reichswehr. Richthofen participated in building up the German Luftwaffe. He fought in the German intervention in Spain from 1936 to 1939 as chief of staff and commander of the Condor Air Legion. During World War II he commanded the VIII Air Corps from 1939 to 1942 in Poland, France, the Balkans, and the island of Crete, as well as on the Soviet-German front. In July 1942, Richthofen became commander of the Fourth Air Fleet, which was supporting the attack on Stalingrad and later carried out supply operations to the surrounded fascist German grouping at Stalingrad. From June 1943 until October 1944 he commanded the Second Air Fleet in Italy, and then he went into retirement for reasons of illness.