Wolfgang Erdmann (General)

Wolfgang Erdmann (born November 13, 1898 in Königsberg , † September 5, 1946 in Munster ) was a German Lieutenant General in the Air Force in World War II .

Life

Erdmann came on 10 January 1916 during the First World War as an officer cadet in the Foot Artillery Regiment "General Feldzeugmeister" (Brandenburg) no. 3 and was transferred to the Foot Artillery Regiment. 26 on July 4, 1916. There he served after his promotion to lieutenant on January 27, 1917 as a company and observation officer. From August 7, 1918 until after the end of the war, Erdmann was adjutant in the foot artillery battalion 156. He was awarded both classes of the Iron Cross and the Wound Badge in black.

After returning home, he joined the as a volunteer corps in self-protection Upper Silesia to make "voluntary-foot artillery battery Adler" where he provided services in 1919 until July 31. He was then taken over by the Reichswehr , where he was initially a battalion adjutant in the Reichswehr Artillery Regiment 16. From September 1 to November 30, 1919, Erdmann was second orderly officer in the staff of Reichswehr Brigade 26 and was then transferred to the Reichswehr Artillery Regiment 15 as adjutant of the 2nd Battalion. With effect from September 23, 1920 Erdmann was transferred to the 2nd (Prussian) Artillery Regiment in Schwerin and at the same time he was on leave so that he could begin studying at the Technical University in Charlottenburg . Erdmann graduated in 1924 with a degree in engineering .

Erdmann then returned to his regiment, was promoted to first lieutenant on April 1, 1925 and served for the following years as a battery officer in the 8th Company. On April 1, 1933, he was promoted to captain , and from April 1, 1935 to June 30, 1937, he completed the general staff training. On July 1, 1937, Erdmann moved from the Army to the Air Force, where he served as an officer until the end of June 1938. b. V. in the General Staff of the Air Force in the 2nd organization department. After that he was on the staff of Luftgau Command XVII in Vienna until the end of February 1939 , where he was also entrusted with the management of the Chief of Staff until October 31, 1938 .

On March 1, 1939 Erdmann became the commander of Group II of Kampfgeschwader 4 "General Wever" . He held this service position until January 11, 1940. He was then quartermaster general in the Air Force General Staff until the end of March 1943. On April 1, 1943, he was appointed commander of the 18th Air Force Field Division, which he led until August 25, 1943. From August 26, 1943 to April 30, 1944 Erdmann held the position of "Fliegerführer Croatia" and received the German Cross in Gold on December 28, 1943 . On May 1, 1944, he was appointed Chief of the General Staff of the 1st Parachute Army . From August 20 to October 8, he was in command of the training units "Erdmann" or the later Erdmann Fallschirmjäger Division , which was renamed the 7th Fallschirmjäger Division on October 9 . On February 8, 1945 he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross . When the Wehrmacht surrendered on May 8, 1945, Erdmann was taken prisoner by the British . In this he committed suicide on September 5, 1946 .

literature

Dermot Bradley (ed.), Karl Friedrich Hildebrandt: The General of the 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 376481701-1 , pp. 252f
Paratroopers. Illustrated book and chronicle 1939–1945, Rudolf Böhmler & Werner Haupt, revised edition, Verlag Hans-Henning & Podzun, Dornheim 1971, pp. 273–280.

Individual evidence

↑ Reichswehr Ministry (Ed.): Ranking list of the German Reichsheeres. ES Mittler & Sohn , Berlin 1930, p. 160.
↑ ^a ^b Veit Scherzer : Knight's Cross bearer 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. 297.

personal data
SURNAME	Erdmann, Wolfgang
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German Lieutenant General in the Air Force in World War II
DATE OF BIRTH	November 13, 1898
PLACE OF BIRTH	Königsberg (Prussia)
DATE OF DEATH	September 5, 1946
Place of death	Muenster

[1] Reichswehr Ministry (Ed.): Ranking list of the German Reichsheeres. ES Mittler & Sohn , Berlin 1930, p. 160.

[Scherzer-2] Veit Scherzer : Knight's Cross bearer 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. 297.