Ferdinand Alfred Friedrich Jodl (28 November 1896 – 9 June 1956) was a German general 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 ...

who commanded the

Mountain Corps Norway Mountain Corps Norway () was a German army unit during World War II. It saw action in Norway and Finland. The corps was formed in July 1940 and was later transferred to Northern Norway as part of '' Armeeoberkommando Norwegen'' ("army high comm ...

during the

Petsamo–Kirkenes Offensive The Petsamo–Kirkenes offensive was a major military offensive during World War II, mounted by the Red Army against the ''Wehrmacht'' in 1944 in the Petsamo region, ceded to the Soviet Union by Finland in accordance with the Moscow Armist ...

. He was the younger brother of

Alfred Jodl Alfred Josef Ferdinand Jodl (; born Alfred Josef Baumgärtler; 10 May 1890 – 16 October 1946) was a German Wehrmacht Heer, Army ''Generaloberst'' (the rank was equal to a four-star full general) and War crime, war criminal, who served as th ...

, Chief of the Operations Staff of the

OKW The (; abbreviated OKW ː kaːˈveArmed Forces High Command) was the supreme military command and control staff of Nazi Germany during World War II, that was directly subordinated to Adolf Hitler. Created in 1938, the OKW replaced the Re ...

. He was the nephew of philosopher and psychologist Friedrich Jodl at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

Life and career

Ferdinand Jodl entered the

Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the leadership of Kingdom o ...

in August 1914 as an

ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

, serving as a

Leutnant () is the lowest junior officer rank in the armed forces of Germany ( Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the military of Switzerland. History The German noun (with the meaning "" (in English "deputy") from Middle High German «locum ...

in a Bavarian Field Artillery Regiment from 1915 until the end of

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 ...

. He remained in the army after 1918, becoming a

general staff officer A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, Enlisted rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...

. In this capacity he served with

XII Corps 12th Corps, Twelfth Corps, or XII Corps may refer to: * 12th Army Corps (France) * XII Corps (Grande Armée), a corps of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * XII (1st Royal Saxon) Corps, a unit of the Imperial German Army * XII ( ...

in the early part of

, then moving to XXXXIX Mountain Corps. From 1942 he served in Finland and North Norway, first as chief of staff of the 20th Mountain Army, then as commander of the XIX Mountain Corps, receiving 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 ...

for his command of this corps in January 1945. He ended the war as commander of German forces in North Norway, grouped under the name Army Detachment Narvik, having attained the rank of General of Mountain Troops. Ferdinand Jodl died in

Essen Essen () is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Dortmund, as well as ...

on 9 June 1956, aged 59 and was buried on

Frauenchiemsee The island Frauenchiemsee, often called Fraueninsel (), is the second largest of the three islands in Chiemsee, Germany. It belongs to the municipality of Chiemsee in the Upper Bavarian district of Rosenheim, which is the smallest municipality i ...

in Bavaria.See: Jodl family grave, Frauenchiemsee.

Awards and decorations

on 13 January 1945 as '' General der Gebirgstruppe'' and commander of XIX. Gebirgskorps

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jodl, Ferdinand 1896 births 1956 deaths People from Landau People from the Palatinate (region) German Army personnel of World War I Generals of Mountain Troops Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Liberty, 1st Class Recipients of the Order of the Crown of King Zvonimir Reichswehr personnel German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United Kingdom Military personnel from Bavaria 20th-century Freikorps personnel