__NOTOC__ Hans-Ferdinand Geisler (19 April 1891 – 25 June 1966) 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 ...

Military career

Born in

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

in April 1891, Geisler joined the

Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the ''Kaiserliche Marine'' (Imperial Navy) was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for ...

on April 1, 1909 as a

Seekadett ''Seekadett'' (short SKad or SK; ,Langenscheidt´s Encyclopaedic Dictionary of the English and German language: „Der Große Muret-Sander“, Part II German-English, Second Volume L–Z, 8th edition 1999, ; p. 1.381 ) is a military rank of the ...

, prior to

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 ...

and served during the entire conflict. He joined the newly formed

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

in September 1933, reaching the rank of

General der Flieger () was a General of the branch rank of the Luftwaffe (air force) in Nazi Germany. Until the end of World War II in 1945, this particular general officer rank was on three-star level ( OF-8), equivalent to a US Lieutenant general. The "Genera ...

in July 1940. As commander of

Fliegerkorps X X. FliegerkorpsFor more details see Luftwaffe Organization (10th Air Corps) was a formation of the German Luftwaffe in World War II, which specialised in coastal operations. It was formed 2 October 1939, in Hamburg from the 10. Flieger-Division ...

from October 2, 1939 to August 31, 1942, he used his background as a sailor to specialise in anti-shipping aerial operations. He was awarded 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 ...

on 4 May 1940. He retired in October 1942 and died in June 1966 in

Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

Promotions

*April 12, 1910,

Fähnrich zur See ''Fähnrich zur See'' (Fähnr zS or FRZS) designates in the German Navy of the Bundeswehr a military person or member of the armed forces with the second highest Officer Aspirant (OA – ) rank. According to the salary class it is equivalent to ...

*September 19, 1912,

Leutnant zur See is a military rank, used in a number of navies. Belgium Germany (''Lt zS'' or ''LZS'') is the lowest officer rank in the German Navy, grouped as OF1 in NATO. The rank was introduced in the German Imperial Navy by renaming the former ...

*May 2, 1915,

Oberleutnant zur See (''OLt zS'' or ''OLZS'' in the German Navy, ''Oblt.z.S.'' in the ''Kriegsmarine'') is traditionally the highest rank of Lieutenant in the German Navy. It is grouped as Ranks and insignia of officers of NATO Navies, OF-1 in NATO. The rank was ...

*January 21, 1920,

Kapitänleutnant , short: KptLt/in lists: KL, ( or ''lieutenant captain'') is an officer grade of the captains' military hierarchy group () of the modern German . The rank is rated Ranks and insignia of NATO navies' officers, OF-2 in NATO, and equivalent to i ...

*January 1, 1928,

Korvettenkapitän (; ) is the lowest ranking Field officer, senior officer in the German navy. Germany Korvettenkapitän, short: KKpt/in lists: KK, () is the lowest senior officer military rank, rank () in the German Navy. Address The official manner, in li ...

*January 1, 1933,

Fregattenkapitän () is the middle ranking senior officer in a number of Germanic-speaking navies. Austro-Hungary Belgium Germany , short: FKpt / in lists: FK, is the middle Senior officer military rank, rank () in the German Navy. It is the equivalent o ...

*September 1, 1934,

Oberst ''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German language, German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to Colonel. It is currently used by both the Army, ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, a ...

*April 1, 1937, Major General *April 1, 1939,

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

*July 19, 1940,

References

* Patrick, Facon (2009). ''Malte, 1940-1943: Comment Rommel fut vaincu''. Le Fana de l'Aviation Hors-Série n°42 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Geisler, Hans-Ferdinand 1891 births 1966 deaths Luftwaffe World War II generals Military personnel from Hanover Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Reichsmarine personnel German World War I pilots Imperial German Navy personnel of World War I Military personnel from the Province of Hanover Generals of Aviators 20th-century Freikorps personnel