Aged 58 in 1939. Field-Marshal Albrecht von Kesselring joined the German Army in 1904 as an officer cadet and during WWI served as a staff officer in the artillery. He also spent time in training as a balloon observer where he met and befriended Hermann Goering. After the war he remained in the army and by 1932 had risen to the rank of Major General. The following year he transferred to the newly established Luftwaffe where Goering appointed him as the Chief of Staff - a promotion that did not go down very well with other Luftwaffe officers such as Erhard Miltch. When WWII started Kesselring was appointed as commander of the First Air Fleet where he supported General von Bock's Army Group North in the invasion of Poland. In 1940 he was transferred to command the Second Air Fleet to support the invasions of Belgium, Holland and France and in this role he failed to carry out Goering's promise to prevent the British evacuation of Dunkirk. Despite this disappointment he was made a Field Marshal in July 1940. When Germany invaded Russia in June 1941 Kesselring's Second Air Fleet was once again deployed to support General von Bock who now commanded Army Group Centre. Problems in the Mediterranean Theater led Hitler to transfer Kesselring in December 1941 to be commander of all German land and air forces in the Mediterranean. In this role Kesselring targeted Malta, and launched an aerial offensive against that island in May 1942. The worsening situation in Russia and the need to support General Rommel's operations in Egypt diverted forces from the assault on Malta and the island survived. In November 1942 Kesselring was appointed by Mussolini as deputy commander of Italian forces and this additional authority enabled Kesselring to create a unified command structure for the Axis forces in the Mediterranean. The defeat of Rommel at El Alamein and the allied landings in French North Africa were the turning points for the war in the Mediterranean, and by early 1943 Kesselring had been forced permanently onto the strategic defensive. He had overall command of the Axis forces during their defeats in Tunisia and Sicily and their slow withdrawal up the Italian peninsula. Kesselring's reputation did not suffer in these defeats. By 1943 the Allied steamroller had accumulated sufficient men and material to make the outcome of the Mediterranean campaign merely a matter of time and Kesselring's tacitly understood role was to delay that outcome for as long as possible. Despite some local failures Kesselring dealt successfully with the Allied landings at Salerno and Anzio and the Italian defection from the Axis alliance. By mid 1944 Kesselring's forces were entrenched along the Gustav Line across the north of Italy and keeping the Allies from a successful conclusion of their Mediterranean campaign. In October Kesselring was injured in a car accident and hospitalized for three months. After his convalescence Kesselring was appointed Commander in Chief West in March 1945 where he presided over the final disintegration of the German western armies. He ended the war as Commander in Chief South with responsibility for the southern half of Germany. He was taken prisoner in May 1945 and sentenced to death for war crimes. His sentence was commuted to life imprisonment and he was released for health reasons in 1952. Kesselring published his autobiography 'A Soldier to the Last Day’ (1953) and died in 1960.
- The bio starts with the general's age at the start of the war. I figure that gives a better picture of the person than their year of birth.
- The full name plus highest rank achieved and any titles comes next.
- A brief history of their experiences and education prior to the war.
- The bulk of the article must be their history in the war.
- Finish with their post-war history including listing any books they wrote (for people who want to read further).
- Always include at least one "bet you didn't know this" type of anecdote so the reader comes away having learned something.
- With famous Generals you won't fit in everything about the person so don't try.
- Aim for 400-600 words (The Kesselring article above is 567 words).
- If you're dealing with a general who runs to two sentences in Wikipedia and a footnote in E.B. Long's "Civil War: Day by Day" then pad it out with additional detail about any battles they were in.
Anyway, that's how I did it in MWiF.
I'm open to suggestions.
EDIT: I understand the text space for Forge of Freedom won't run to 400-600 words. I'm just explaining the guidelines I used for MWiF. I'm sure FofF will have its own guidelines.
