Alexander Holle
Alexander Holle (born February 27, 1898 in Bielefeld , † July 16, 1978 in Munich ) was a German lieutenant general in World War II .
Life
He was the fifth of six children of the Chief Public Prosecutor Alexander ("Alex") Holle and his wife Elisabeth, née Röder.
Holle became effective on November 16, 1915 during the First World War as an officer cadet in the Infantry Regiment "Herwarth von Bittenfeld" (1st Westphalian) no. 13 of the Prussian army in Münster a. After five months of training with the replacement battalion including the usual Fahnenjunker course in Döberitz, he moved to his active regiment in Verdun at the beginning of May , where he also took part in the battles at the "Toten Mann" and at the Correttes-Höhe. In September 1916, the regiment came to one of the hotspots of the Battle of the Somme near Bouchavesnes, where it stormed the ruins of that village and held it for eight days against uninterrupted counterattacks by the French. After heavy losses, the troops were relieved and re-deployed without a break at Verdun near their old position at height 304. Here Holle fell ill with paratyphoid fever , but soon regained his field service ability in the field hospital. During the storm at Höhe 304 on December 26, 1916, he received the Iron Cross II. Class and was promoted to lieutenant shortly afterwards .
In April 1917 he was transferred as a balloon observer to Feld-Luftschiffer-Department 7 , which was deployed at Chemin des Dames until May 1918 and then came to Dormans in the great offensive via Aisne , Vesle to the Marne , where Holle on June 2nd received the Iron Cross 1st Class. During his observation work in the tethered balloon , Alexander Holle was shot down three times by enemy airplanes and each time he landed with a parachute. After the fateful Marne crossing on July 15, 1918, the regiment took part in the great retreat from Château-Thierry via Laon-Hirson and from here after the armistice via Namur , Sankt Vith to Germany, where the demobilization took place in Kassel at the beginning of December .
After the First World War he was a member of the Reichswehr of a mine throwing company with Infantry Regiment 16 in Oldenburg . From 1928 to 1929 he completed his pilot training in the secret flying school and testing facility of the Reichswehr in Lipetsk, Russia . In 1931 he was transferred to the staff of the 1st Division in Königsberg and graduated from the Army War Academy in Berlin. In April 1934 he was transferred as a captain to the still secret air force and became a consultant in the Reich Aviation Ministry . In 1936/37 he briefly held the role of Chief of Staff of the Condor Legion and became commander of the III. Group of the combat squadron "Immelmann" in Anklam . On October 1, 1937, he was appointed lieutenant colonel in the Air Force and commander of the 1st group of dive squadrons "Immelmann".
At the beginning of the war, Holle was chief of staff of the Air Force Command East Prussia, and later of the IV Air Corps. From October 15, 1940 to June 1941, he was Colonel Commodore of Kampfgeschwader 26 and at the same time as a pilot in Kirkenes, among other things, in the fight against British convoys in 1942.
After he had already been awarded the German Cross in Gold on May 11, 1942 , Holle received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on December 30, 1942 . At the beginning of 1943 he commanded the X. Air Corps in Athens and then the Air Force Staff in Greece. This was followed by his promotion to major general on February 1, 1943 and finally to lieutenant general on January 1, 1944. From March 1943 to July 1943 he was a pilot in the Eismeer . In August / September 1944 he was temporarily in charge of Luftflotte 4 on behalf of Otto Deßloch , and from September to November the Air Force Command West , which had emerged from Luftflotte 3 . His last position was from December 1944 until the end of the war that of the Commanding General of the Air Force in Denmark and of the IV. Flieger-Korps.
From May 8, 1945 to February 1948, Holle was a prisoner of war. After his release he married Friedel Bekowies on May 12, 1948 in Flensburg , with whom he has a daughter.
Alexander Holle died on July 16, 1978 in Munich. The Bundeswehr sent a delegation to his memorial service . Two soldiers kept the guard of honor at the coffin.
literature
- Dermot Bradley (ed.), Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand: The Generals of the German Air Force 1935-1945. The military careers of the aviation, anti-aircraft, paratrooper, air intelligence and engineer officers. Volume 2: Habermehl – Nuber. Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1991 ISBN 3-7648-2208-2 . Pp. 97-98.
Individual evidence
- ^ Chronicle of the Luyken family, 1926, p. 268
- ^ Chronicle of the Luyken family, 1978, p. 213 f.
- ↑ Veit Scherzer : Knight's Cross bearers 1939-1945. The holders of the Iron Cross of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and armed forces allied with Germany according to the documents of the Federal Archives. 2nd Edition. Scherzers Militaer-Verlag, Ranis / Jena 2007, ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2 , p. 401.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Holle, Alexander |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German Lieutenant General in World War II |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 27, 1898 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Bielefeld |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 16, 1978 |
| Place of death | Munich |