Wolfram von Richthofen (10 October 1895 – 12 July 1945) was a Field Marshal of the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany during World War II. The cousin of World War I aces Lothar von Richthofen and his brother Manfred von Richthofen, Richthofen led Luftwaffe forces during the Italian campaign until his retirement in 1944. He died of a brain tumor in 1945 before he could be tried for war crimes.
Biography[]
Wolfram von Richthofen was born on 10 October 1895 in Barzdorf, Silesia, German Empire (present-day Bartoszowek, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Poland). At the outbreak of World War I, he served on the Western Front, and in April 1918 Wolfram flew an Imperial German Air Force mission over France with his cousin Manfred von Richthofen, the mission which was the "Red Baron"'s last. After the war, Richthofen joined the Reichswehr and joined the new Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany in 1935. From 1939 to 1940, Richthofen commanded Luftwaffe units in the early stages of World War II, including the bombing of Poland and France. On 23 May 1940 he was awarded the Iron Cross for his bravery, and he continued to lead Luftwaffe units during the Battle of Britain and the April War in 1941. His greatest success occurred in the Great Patriotic War during the campaign in Crimea in 1942, where he helped in the bombing of Sevastopol and assisted the Axis Powers forces in pushing back the Red Army. Following the defeat at the Battle of Stalingrad, he was transferred to the Mediterranean Sea, where he commanded the Luftwaffe in Italy, fighting against the Allies there until his 1944 retirement. He was arrested by the US Army at the end of the war, but he died on 12 July 1945 in Bad Ischl, Upper Austria of a brain tumor before he could be tried for war crimes.