Paul Deichmann (27 August 1898 – 10 January 1981) 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 ...

. He was a recipient of 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 ...

, an award for bravery or superior leadership service.

Life

Deichmann was born in

Fulda Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a city in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the city hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival. Histor ...

on 27 August 1898 and was educated with the cadet corps. He entered the German Imperial Army as a ''

Fähnrich Fähnrich () is an officer candidate rank in the Austrian Bundesheer and German Bundeswehr. The word comes from an older German military title, (flag bearer), and first became a distinct military rank in Germany on 1 January 1899. Howeve ...

'' in the 86th Regiment of Fusiliers on 29 March 1916, and was commissioned 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 ...

'' a week prior to his eighteenth birthday. In the following August he began service with

Luftstreitkräfte The ''Deutsche Luftstreitkräfte'' (, German Air Combat Forces)known before October 1916 as (The Imperial German Air Service, lit. "The flying troops of the German Kaiser’s Reich")was the air arm of the Imperial German Army. In English-langu ...

as an observer, and continued this duty to 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 ...

. After the end of the war, Deichmann joined a

Freikorps (, "Free Corps" or "Volunteer Corps") were irregular German and other European paramilitary volunteer units that existed from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. They effectively fought as mercenaries or private military companies, rega ...

fighting in Courland and was accepted into the

Reichswehr ''Reichswehr'' (; ) was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first two years of Nazi Germany. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshaped ...

in May 1920. On 1 October 1920, he transferred to the 3rd Prussian Infantry Regiment, and in August 1925 was promoted to ''

Oberleutnant (English: First Lieutenant) is a senior lieutenant Officer (armed forces), officer rank in the German (language), German-speaking armed forces of Germany (Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the Swiss Armed Forces. In Austria, ''Oberle ...

''. He was temporarily released from the Army in 1928 and returned to active duty in 1931 with the 1st Infantry Regiment, and was promoted to ''

Hauptmann () is an officer rank in the armies of Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. It is usually translated as ''captain''. Background While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has, and originally had, the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literall ...

'' in 1933. With the official establishment of the German

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 ...

on 1 October 1934, he entered the

Reich Air Ministry The Ministry of Aviation (, abbreviated RLM) was a government department during the period of Nazi Germany (1933–45). It is also the original name of the Detlev-Rohwedder-Haus building on the Wilhelmstrasse in central Berlin, Germany, which ...

WWII

*1939 to 1940 Chief of Staff to the Chief of Air Force Training *1940 to 1942 Chief of Staff of the II Flying Corps *1942 to 1943 Chief of the General Staff of the Commander-in-Chief South and the 2nd Air Fleet *1943 Commander of the 1st Aviation Division *1943 to 1944 Commanding General of the I. Fliegerkorps *1945 Commander-in-Chief of Luftwaffe Command 4

Post-WWII

Deichmann was released as a

POW POW is "prisoner of war", a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. POW or pow may also refer to: Music * P.O.W (Bullet for My Valentine song), "P.O.W" (Bull ...

on 22 December 1947, having already completed his first writings for the Operational History (German) Section of the Historical Division of the United States Army. From 1952 to 1958, he was the control officer and therefore head of the "German Air Force Monograph Project" of the USAF Historical Division in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

. He was then appointed head of a historical study group (''Studiengruppe'') at the Führungsakademie der Bundeswehr (FüAkBw), where he also gave numerous lectures.

Death

General der Flieger (ret.) Deichmann died on 10 January 1981 in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

Awards and decorations

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

(1914), 2nd and 1st Class * ''Preußisches Flugzeugbeobachter-Abzeichen'' (Prussian Observer Badge) *

Hanseatic Cross The Hanseatic Cross () was a military decoration of the three Hanseatic city-states of Bremen, Hamburg and Lübeck, who were members of the German Empire during World War I. Each republic established its own version of the cross, but the design ...

Hamburg *

Wound Badge The Wound Badge () was a German military decoration first promulgated by Wilhelm II, German Emperor on 3 March 1918, which was first awarded to soldiers of the Imperial German Army, German Army who were wounded during World War I. Between the worl ...

(1918) in Black *

Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 The Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 (), commonly referred to as the Hindenburg Cross or the German WWI Service Cross, was established by Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, President of the German Weimar Republic, by an order dated 13 July ...

with Swords *

Wehrmacht Long Service Award The Wehrmacht Long Service Award () was a List of military decorations of the Third Reich, military service decoration of Nazi Germany issued for satisfactory completion of a number of years in military service. History On 16 March 1936, Adolf ...

, 4th to 1st Class *

Clasp to the Iron Cross Clasp, clasper or CLASP may refer to: * Book clasp, fastener for a book cover * Folding clasp, a device used to close a watch strap * Lobster clasp, fastener for jewellery * Wrist clasp, a dressing accessory * Medal bar, an element in militar ...

(1939), 2nd and 1st Class *

German Cross The War Order of the German Cross (), normally abbreviated to the German Cross or ''Deutsches Kreuz'', was instituted by Adolf Hitler on 28 September 1941. It was awarded in two divisions: in gold for repeated acts of bravery or military leade ...

in Gold on 20 April 1942 *

on 26 March 1944 as ''

Generalleutnant () is the German-language variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO ...

'' and commanding general of the II. Fliegerkorps * Air University Award on 31 December 1963 as the first foreignerCajus Bekker: ''Angriffshöhe 4000. Ein Kriegstagebuch der deutschen Luftwaffe.'' 8th edition, Wilhem Heyne Verlag, München 1976, ISBN 978-3-453-00296-8, S. 9.

Works (excerpt)

* ''Luftwaffe Methods in the Selection of Offensive Weapons'' (together with Generalingenieur Dipl.-Ing. Ernst A. Marquard) ** Deichmann describes prewar and wartime operational problems, such as the need for weapons that could disperse the tightly packed American bomber boxes, prompting the Luftwaffe to rearm its aircraft—in this case with mortars, rockets, and even tow cables. Importantly, he frames weapons procurement as a technological, political, supply, and timing challenge. Putting the right bomb on target required having a responsive weapons development team (if the bomb type was not already in inventory) and getting munitions to the right unit at the right time. * ''Die Ausbildung der deutschen Luftwaffe bis zum Kriegsbeginn'', Studiengruppe Luftwaffe, US-Historical Division, Karlsruhe * ''Kampf um die Luftüberlegenheit im Feldzug gegen Frankreich'', Studiengruppe Luftwaffe, US-Historical Division, Karlsruhe * ''Unterstützung des Heeres durch die deutsche Luftwaffe'', Studiengruppe Luftwaffe, US-Historical Division, Karlsruhe ** German Air Force Operations in Support of the Army. New York Arno Press, 1968, Repr.: USAF Historical Studies No. 163, USAF Historical Division, Research Studies Institute, Air University 1962 * ''The System of Target Selection Applied by the German Air Force in World War II'', USAF Historical Studies No. 186, USAF Historical Division, 1956 * ''Der Chef im Hintergrund. Ein Leben als Soldat von der preußischen Armee bis zur Bundeswehr''. Stalling 1979 * ''Spearhead for Blitzkrieg – Luftwaffe Operations in Support of the Army, 1939–1945'', Ivy Book, New York 1996 .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deichmann, Paul 1898 births 1981 deaths People from Fulda Luftwaffe World War II generals Recipients of the Gold German Cross Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Military personnel from Hesse-Nassau Prussian Army personnel Reichswehr personnel Luftstreitkräfte personnel German Army personnel of World War I Generals of Aviators 20th-century Freikorps personnel Military personnel from Hesse