Helmuth Wilberg

Helmuth Wilberg
Birth name	Helmuth Christian Wilberg
Birth date	1 June 1880(1880-06-01)
Place of birth	Berlin, Province of Brandenburg, Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire
Death date	20 November 1941 (aged 61)
Place of death	Kamenz, northeast of Dresden, German Reich
Resting place	Parkfriedhof Lichterfelde, Abteilung „Im Walde" (war cemetery), Grab #400
Allegiance	German Empire Weimar Republic National Socialist Germany
Service/branch	Prussian Army Imperial German Army Reichswehr Luftwaffe
Years of service	1899–1941
Rank	General der Flieger
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Iron Cross House Order of Hohenzollern Grand Imperial Order of the Red Arrows
Relations	∞ 1922 Elisabeth von Saucken

Helmuth Christian Wilberg (sometimes Helmut or Hellmuth; 1 June 1880 – 20 November 1941) was a German officer of the Prussian Army, the Imperial German Army, the Reichswehr and the Wehrmacht, finally General der Flieger of the Luftwaffe in WWII.

The flight pioneers who, before the outbreak of the First World War on 1 August 1914, had passed the pilot's test in accordance with the regulations of the German Aviation Association (Deutscher Luftschiffer-/Luftfahrer-Verband; DLV) in Germany founded in 1902, were honorably called Alte Adler ("old eagles"). Wilberg belonged to this elite.

During World War I, Wilberg gained valuable experience in aerial strategy and became one of the most successful German air commanders of the war. He specialized in ground-attack tactics and direct support of the Landser in the trenches, also pioneering the use of radios in airplanes to coordinate their strikes with infantry units below. Those ground-support innovations would become the foundation for modern air combat and infantry support.

General Hans von Seeckt, General Staff Chief and Army Commander, was crucial to the transformations in German military tactical doctrine, organization, and training that laid the foundations for fighting Germany's future wars. The general, along with a few other "visionary" officers--including armor tactician Ernst Volckheim (1898–1962) and air tactician Helmuth Wilberg--collaborated to develop the core doctrine for what became the Blitzkrieg.

Life

Introduction

Helmuth Wilberg radiated confidence, was built like a linebacker, excelled at sports and had clear blue eyes that gazed out from his square face. Typical of his class, he was apolitical, a consummate professional and a devoted patriot. When Wilberg just turned two years old, his father had fallen ill and died on 3 Juni 1882 during a trip to Paris, making it difficult for the family to earn a living. Fortunately for them, Crown Princess Auguste Viktoria (1858–1921), the later German Empress, had taken painting lessons from Helmuth’s father before his death and had gotten to know the family. After her teacher’s death, the princess looked after the Wilbergs, and it was through that connection that Wilberg was able to find a place in the Royal Prussian Main Cadet School in 1898, where he continued to perform well. After being commissioned, he received a special assignment as military tutor to relatives of Kaiser Wilhelm II, a position usually given only to officers of high academic standing. Through a combination of good fortune and hard work, by 1910 Wilberg had earned a coveted spot at the General Staff Academy and entree to the highest levels of command in the German army. Taken with the possibilities of aviation, 1st Lieutenant Wilberg then became one of the first pilots in Germany.

Military career (chronology)

• 18 April 1899 Joined the 1st Company/Füsilier-Regiment „von Gersdorff“ (Kurhessisches) Nr. 80 in Wiesbaden
  • attended war school (Kriegsschule)
  • 1901 Officer in the 8th Company/Füsilier-Regiment „von Gersdorff“ (Kurhessisches) Nr. 80
  • 1902 Officer in the 4th Company/Füsilier-Regiment „von Gersdorff“ (Kurhessisches) Nr. 80
• 9 November 1904 Best man of his regimental comrade, Lieutenant Erich von Bonin
• 20 March 1906 Appointed as an educator at the Naumburg Cadet School
• 22 March 1907 Appointed as an educator at the Berlin-Lichterfelde Main Cadet Institute
• 18 September 1908 Return to the Füsilier-Regiment „von Gersdorff“ (Kurhessisches) Nr. 80
• 1 October 1908 Commanded to the War Academy for almost three years
  • 15 September 1910 1st Lieutenant Wilberg was the 26th German to receive a civilian pilot's license issued by the DLV, although sometimes sources state it was on 18 August 1910
    • As early as 1910, he trained as a pilot at his own expense at the Wright Flying Machine Company (Flugmaschinen Wright GmbH) during his vacation / leave time from the academy and acquired the International Pilot's License No. 26 at Johannisthal Airfield with a biplane (Wright Model A).
• 11 to 13 September Participated in the Kaiser maneuvers in Uckermark and Mecklenburg
• October 1911 Commanded to the Wiesbaden district command
• 1 October 1913 Appointed adjutant of the Inspection of the Aviation Troops (IdFlieg) under Colonel Walter von Eberhardt
  • as such, he wore the uniform of the Aviation Battalion No. 1 (Flieger-Bataillon Nr. 1) in Döberitz
• 2 August 1914 Delegated with the leadership of the 11th Field-Flying-Battalion (Feld-Flieger-Abteilung 11 )
• 27 July 1915 to December 1918 Commander of the Pilots / Commander of Flying with various Army-High-Commands ending with Army-High-Command 4 (Kommandeur der Flieger der 4. Armee; Kofl 4)
  • When Kofl 4 Wilberg went on leave in 1917, he was temporarily replaced by Percy Baron von Ascheberg, as various Kofl 4 reports of the period show.
• December 1918 to 30 September 1927 Advisor in the Prussian War Ministry, in the Reichswehr Ministry (RWM) and in the Troop-Office (Luftschutzreferat)
  • In 1924, this department (Referat) was expanded to a group and Wilberg became group leader.
• 1 February 1928 Commander of the II. (Prussian) Battalion/18. Infanterie-Regiment in Münster
• 1 October 1929 Commandant of the Fortress Breslau
• 30 November 1932 Retired
• 1 October 1934 Joined the not yet unmasked Luftwaffe at the request of Hermann Göring
  • Head of a department at the Reich Aviation Ministry (RLM) in Berlin
• 1 October 1935 Commander of the Aerial War School Werder an der Havel
• 1 April 1936 Commander of the Higher Air Force School Berlin (Luftkreisschule II)
• 1 October 1937 Commander of the Special Staff W in the High Command of the Army (Sonderstab W im Oberkommando des Heeres)
  • This staff was the secret planning group for the deployment of the Condor Legion in the Spanish Civil War.
• 31 March 1938 Retired again in the wake of the Blomberg-Fritsch affair
• August 1939 Military advisor for director Karl Ritter's feature film LEGION CONDOR
  • Ritter (1888–1977) starting writing the script during the six weeks he and his oldest son Heinz were in Spain filming his IM KAMPF GEGEN DEN WELTFEIND documentary film in early 1939. He planned to use some of that battle footage of the Spanish Civil War in action scenes and as rear projection images for a feature film. LEGION CONDOR would show the proud German Luftwaffe in battle for the first time since it's resurrection in 1935. Hermann Göring and the top military brass signed off on the idea. Hundreds of extras, tanks and aircraft were committed. Some of Germany's top actors were cast. Shooting of the staunchly anti-communist (and therefore anti-Stalinist) film began but suddenly halted by Joseph Goebbels when the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact was signed.
• 26 August 1939 Placed at disposal of the Luftwaffe and appointed Higher Flying Training Commander 4 (Höherer Fliegerausbildungskommandeur 4)

Luftschutzreferat

In fulfillment of the Treaty of Versailles of 28 June 1919, which overshadowed the entire military development of the Weimar Republic, the Luftstreitkräfte of the German Empire were disbanded in 1920, namely the air force on 8 May 1920, and the airship force (Feldluftschiffer) on 30 September 1920. Shortly before, on 1 March 1920, General von Seeckt, who had been head of the Troop Office (TA) in the Army Command since 1919, had already set up a new aviation department under the code name "Air Defense Department" (Luftschutzreferat) - TA (L). The department head, Captain Helmut Wilberg, who had already served as an advisor on aviation issues to von Seeckt, the military expert at the peace negotiations in Versailles, in 1919, was responsible for dealing with all questions relating to future air forces. Unaffected by the political changes of the Weimar Republic, he began to plan and prepare the Reich's air defense.

In 1924, Sportflug GmbH was founded with ten flying schools for the camouflaged training of military aircraft pilots. In line with the growing tasks, the LS department was also expanded to a group in 1924; Wilberg (major since 1921) continued his duties as group leader. On 1 April 1925, the German Commercial Pilot School (DVS) was founded as a military cover organization. On 25 April 1925, an agreement was concluded with the Soviet Union, according to which (if not already from 1924) the Lipetzk Flight Center could be set up as a military pilot school. Courses in map reading were also given there.

From the beginning of 1925, the LS group even existed openly under the designation T 2 III (L), but had to be officially disbanded in the autumn due to Allied objections and then worked again disguised under the previous designation TA (L). At the beginning of 1927, the Inter-Allied Military Control Commission (IMKK) finally agreed to the establishment of an air raid protection department, so that the group officially appeared as T 2 V (L) from around April 1, 1927. Captain Hugo Sperrle was in charge of Department I. After Wilberg's transfer on 15 August 1927, Sperrle became major and group leader. From 1 February 1929 to 1933, Hellmuth Felmy (as major and successor to Sperrle) led the group. On 1 October 1929, this was transferred to the Inspectorate of Weapons Schools (In 1), now the Inspectorate of Weapons Schools and the Air Force, in order to be able to exercise greater influence through its inspector. Felmy, now a lieutenant colonel under the title of Chief of Staff of In 1, continued to lead the departments of the flying group, which, however, remained integrated into the Troops Office in terms of operations.

Wilberg Group (USA)

The deployment of German officers to the US Army one year after Captains Speich and Zülow was extraordinary in two respects. Firstly, it was the first time that specialists from a technical department of the Reichswehr Ministry were travelling to the United States, and secondly, this group consisted of members of another "foreign mission". Friedrich von Boetticher, again in collaboration with the new American military attaché but old acquaintance Arthur Conger, had spent a long time planning the deployment of Major Helmuth Wilberg, Captain Leopold Vogt and Captain Adolf Baeumker. All three officers were leading organizers of secret armaments and training in Russia. Wilberg had been head of the "Air Defense Department" in the Troop Office, TA (L), since 1920, and thus at that time was the "central authority for aviation matters" in the Reichswehr. Baeumker was the second man after Wilberg and head of the technical department in the Air Defense Department. Captain Vogt was chairman of the Air Armament Economics Department in the Weapons Office (WaWi L). In addition, two officers, Wilberg and Baeumker, were involved who, as Michael Geyer describes, were among the military reformers and discussed the problem of future war for their field. In the field of military aviation, the theories of the Italian Giulio Douhet were groundbreaking in the early 1920s and were also perceived in the USA. The controversial American General William Mitchell stood out in particular here, whose theories were based on Douhet, among others, and were also received with interest in the Reichswehr press. The US Army and the United States thus also seem to have played a role in the conception of the German aviation specialists and to have suggested possibilities for transfer processes that could be used for the "scheduled pilot training" that had been introduced in the Reichswehr in 1924. This expansion was in practical terms on 15 April 1925, the day before the "Wilberg Group" left for the USA, when the flight school was founded in Lipetsk. The parallelism of the two dates can therefore hardly be considered a coincidence in this context. Unfortunately, it is difficult to say what the exact purpose of the trip to America was, as the trips in 1925 and 1926 in particular are very poorly documented. Only a report by Captain Fritz Nagel, who was assigned to the group by the Army Statistics Department as an interpreter, about the American land army is available. Therefore, it is difficult to say anything about the purpose and outcome of the mission. Since these were the top personnel of the forbidden air armament, it can be assumed that there was a close relationship with secret armament in Russia. Under the impression that "the United States [...] is currently the leading force in all experiments in the field of aviation, submarines, heavy artillery and automobiles", an attempt was definitely made to keep up with the development of a modern air force. The framework examined will also have been strongly based on the objectives of the Lipetsk flying school. Helmuth Wilberg described this objective as follows on 29 September 1926: "The flying school is suitable for the formation of a core flying force on a very small scale, which will replace the troop practice we lack, train young people to a limited extent, collect experience in air tactics and provide suggestions for the technical development of the equipment." In addition, the flying school collected practical knowledge on a tactical, technical and organizational level. [...] A transfer of methods or technology from the Red Army to the Reichswehr was therefore out of the question, so that practical insights into other armies were necessary. The US Army, with which connections already existed through the T3 department, was now available for this purpose. The fact that the mission of the "Wilberg Group" was apparently successful in this respect is shown by the wealth of material that they brought back to Germany. This included such a large amount of sensitive and confidential material – from design drawings to test results – that it caused slight resentment in the War Department. For the Reichswehr, however, the possibility of a technological transfer had now obviously arisen, so that in the following years officers with technical knowledge were repeatedly sent to the US Army. This showed the difference in interests between the Red Army and the US Army. The Russian side provided workshops and training grounds for testing and training purposes, the "hardware" so to speak. The "software" such as technology, training doctrine and practice was to be organized by the Reichswehr. For this, the American Army now offered many new approaches and possibilities for the special case of aviation.

Death

After the death of Generalluftzeugmeister Generaloberst Ernst Udet on 17 November 1941, the Führer ordered a state funeral for the officer who died in such a tragic way while fulfilling his duty. All Luftwaffe officers of rank and name were invited to take part in the state ceremony in the Reich Air Ministry and in the funeral procession to the Invalids Cemetery on 21 November 1941. Wilberg knew Udet well, they were friends, attending the funeral was therefore not only an obligation but a personal need.

On 20 November 1941, his pilot was to be Lieutenant Colonel Dr. Heinrich "Heiner" Kürbs from the flight readiness (Flugbereitschaft). Kürbs was a veteran of WWI, where his brothers Egon (FEA 3) and Paul (Bosta 6/Bogohl 5) had fallen as members of the Fliegertruppe. Academic Kürbs joined the new Wehrmacht as a supplemental officer (Ergänzungsoffizier) and served with the press office of the Reich Air Ministry as Hauptmann (E), later Major (E), for which he would later receive the Gold Medal of the Grand Imperial Order of the Red Arrows. In 1938, he was appointed commander of the pilot's school FFS (E) A/B München-Oberwiesenfeld. It was a cold November day, and the four-seater Bf 108 (Werknummer: 1,984) took off without incident but crashed only a short time later due to icing. The two officers could only be recovered dead.

Family

Helmuth was the son of artist and professor at the Royal Prussian Academy of Arts in Berlin Johann Christian Wilberg (1839–1882) and his, as some sources claim, Jewish wife Lucie Magda Jenny Ida, née Heymann, who had converted to Christianity.

Marriage

On 1 June 1922, Major Wilberg married his young fiancée Elisabeth Margarete Klara Marie Auguste von Saucken (1895–1957) from Charlottenburg.

Promotions

• 18 April 1899 Charakter als Fähnrich (Honorary Officer Cadet)
• 27 January 1900 Leutnant (2nd Lieutenant)
• 18 October 1909 Oberleutnant (1st Lieutenant)
• 1 October 1913 Hauptmann (Captain)
• 1 June 1921 Major
• 1 April 1927 Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel)
• 1 October 1929 Oberst (Colonel)
• 1 October 1932 Generalmajor (Major General)
• 1 December 1935 Charakter als Generalleutnant (Honorary Lieutenant General)
• 1 April 1936 Generalleutnant (Lieutenant General)
• 31 March 1938 Charakter als General der Flieger (Honorary General der Flieger)
• 1 September 1940 General der Flieger

Awards and decorations

Reichswehr Major General Helmuth Wilberg (right) with Reich air sports leader (Reichsluftsportführer) Bruno Loerzer (center; de)

• Prussian Order of the Crown (Preußischer Kronenorden), 4th Class
• German Military Pilot’s Badge (Militär-Flugzeugführer-Abzeichen)
• Iron Cross (1914), 2nd and 1st Class
• Mecklenburg-Strelitz Cross of Merit for Distinction in the War (Mecklenburg-Strelitzsches Verdienstkreuz für Auszeichnung im Kriege), 2nd Class (StK2)
• Grand Ducal Mecklenburg-Schwerin Military Merit Cross (Großherzoglich Mecklenburg-Schwerinsches Militär-Verdienstkreuz), 2nd Class (MK2)
• Bavarian Military Merit Order, 4th Class with Swords (BMV4⚔/BM4⚔)
• Bulgarian Order of Bravery, 4th Class, 2nd Grade (BT4b)
• Royal Bulgarian Badge for Observers from Aircraft (de)
• Military Merit Cross (Austria-Hungary), 3rd Class with the War Decoration (ÖM3K)
• Austro-Hungarian Field Pilot Badge (de)
• Gallipoli Star (Eiserner Halbmond; TH)
• House Order of Hohenzollern, Knight's Cross with Swords (HOH3⚔)
• Aviator Commemorative Badge (Flieger-Erinnerungsabzeichen)
• Prussian Long Service Cross for 25 years (Königlich Preußisches Dienstauszeichnungskreuz)
• Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 with Swords
• Luftwaffe Observer Badge (Beobachterabzeichen (Wehrmacht))
• Wehrmacht Long Service Award (Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung), 4th to 1st Class
• Grand Imperial Order of the Red Arrows, Grand Cross on 26 December 1940

Gallery

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Writings (excerpt)

• Fliegeraufklärung im Kaisermanöver 1911, ihr Wert und Einfluß auf die Führung im Vergleich zur Kavallerieaufklärung ("Aerial Reconnaissance in Kaisermanöver 1911: Its value and influence on leadership compared with the cavalry reconnaissance")
• Luftkriegführung (The Conduct of Air Operations), in: "Luftwaffe Dienstvorschrift 16" (Air Field Manual No. 16), 1934

Further reading

• General der Flieger Helmuth Wilberg verunglückt, in: "Der Adler", Issue 25, 9 December 1941