Stefan Fröhlich

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Stefan Fröhlich
Stefan Fröhlich I.JPG
Birth date 7 October 1889(1889-10-07)
Place of birth Orschowa, Austria-Hungary
Death date 2 October 1978 (aged 88)
Place of death Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany
Allegiance Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary
Austria First Austrian Republic
 National Socialist Germany
Service/branch Gelbe Fahne der k. u. k. Armee.jpg Austro-Hungarian Army
Deutschösterreichische Volkswehr.jpg Deutschösterreichische Volkswehr
Roundel of the Austrian Armed Forces.png Austrian Bundesheer
Luftwaffe eagle.jpg Luftwaffe
Years of service 1908–1914 (Common Army)
1914–1918 (k. u. k. Army)
1918–1920 (Volkswehr)
1920–1938 (Bundesheer)
1938–1945 (Luftwaffe)
Rank General der Flieger
Commands held
  • Kampfgeschwader 76
  • Fliegerführer Afrika
  • 2. Flieger-Division
  • 9th Air Corps
  • 2nd Air Corps
  • Luftflotte 10
Battles/wars World War I
World War II
Awards Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross
Relations ∞ Paula Kunthrad

Stefan Fröhlich (1889–1978) was a German officer from Austria, General of the Wehrmacht and recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during WWII.

Life

Walter Storp (left), Major General Stefan Fröhlich (center) and Alois Lindmayr (right)
Stefan Fröhlich IV.jpg
Stefan Fröhlich.jpg

At the age of fifteen, Stefan Fröhlich entered the Imperial and Royal Pioneer Cadet School in Hainburg.[1] From there, on 18 August 1908, he was transferred to the Imperial and Royal Sapper Battalion 1 of the Common Army (Gemeinsame Armee), where he was trained to be a Pionier expert. In this battalion, he served as a company officer until January 1911. After his transfer to the Pioneer Battalion 12 on 1 November 1911, he served in the same capacity until April 1913. In May 1913, Fröhlich joined the Sapper Battalion 6 in Pola, where he served as a platoon leader until the outbreak of the First World War. He went into the field as a battalion adjutant at the Eastern Front. He later experienced the war mainly on the Italian front, where he earned a whole series of awards. On 1 July 1917, he was promoted to captain and two months later became the head of a sapper company (Sappeur-Kompanie 13). In late summer 1918, he was appointed company commander and instructor at the Pioneer Cadet School in Hainburg which he knew so well.

After the end of the war, Fröhlich initially found employment in the staff of the railway equipment depot in Korneuburg. In June 1920, Captain Fröhlich was appointed adjutant to the 2nd Pioneer Battalion of the Austrian Federal Army. He was later employed as a company commander. After being promoted to major in 1928, he was assigned to Department 6 of the Vienna Federal Ministry of the Army as an engineer officer. Promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1933, he took part in a pilot training course in 1934/35 and was then transferred to the "Air Protection Command". In December 1937, he became commander of the newly established flying school regiment and commandant of the Zeltweg air base.

After the Anschluss of Austria, he was taken over by the German Luftwaffe as Lieutenant Colonel. He was initially assigned to the bomber pilot group (Kampffliegergruppe) in Memmingen. On 1 January 1939, he was then assigned to the staff of Kampfgeschwader 158. On 1 February 1939, he was appointed commander of the I. Group of Kampfgeschwader 158, succeeding Lieutenant Colonel Dipl. Ing. Eduard Riesch. At the same time, he was also appointed air base commandant of Wiener-Neustadt. On 1 May 1939, he was appointed commander of the I. Group of Kampfgeschwader 76 when the wing was renamed. At the start of World War II in the summer of 1939, he and his group took part in the Polish campaign and was then appointed commodore of Kampfgeschwader 76 in mid-November 1939. In the spring of 1940, he led his wing into the Western campaign. On 1 July 1940, he was promoted to major general. On 4 July 1940, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for his leadership of the wing.

“Generalmajor Stefan Fröhlich, Kommodore of a Geschwader, is a model for all the crews of his Geschwader due to his devotion to duty and offensive spirit. His Geschwader flew numerous missions under his personal leadership, among the most important of which were attacks against airfields near Paris.”[2]

After the Battle of Britain, Fröhlich gave up his command of Kampfgeschwader 76 in mid-February 1941 and took over the role of "Flight Leader Africa" ​​on 20 February 1941. His good relationship with General Erwin Rommel led to a good relationship between the German Army and the German Air Force in Africa.

  • Commander of the 2nd Flying-Division (12 Apr 1942-28 Dec 1942)
  • Commanding General of the IX. Flying-Corps (29 Dec 1942-03 Sep 1943)
  • Commanding General and Commander in Air-Region XVII, Vienna (04 Sep 1943-28 Feb 1944)
  • With the Staff of Air-Fleet 3 (01 Mar 1944-31 Aug 1944)
  • Commander of Luftwaffe-Command South-East (01 Sep 1944-04 Nov 1944)
  • Führer-Reserve OKL (04 Nov 1944-27 Feb 1945)
  • Commander-in-Chief of Air-Fleet 10 (Replacement-Luftwaffe) (27 Feb 1945-28 Apr 1945)
  • Führer-Reserve OKL (28 Apr 1945-30 Apr 1945)
  • Retired (30 Apr 1945)[3]
    • According to most sources, there was no war imprisonment after 8 May 1945.

Family

Fröhlich married his fiancée Paula Kunthrad from Damüls, Austria (another source states from Rovigno, Austrian Littoral). They had two children: Daughter Elfriede (b. 25 June 1920 in Korneuburg near Vienna; d. 2000 in Duisburg), later married to Werner Wiemer (1911–1981) and mother of two children, and son Ferdinand (b. 6 January 1923; d. 24 January 1923) who only lived 18 days.

Promotions

  • 18 August 1908 Kadett-Offiziers-Stellvertreter (Officer Cadet; renamed Fähnrich on 13 November 1908)
  • 1 May 1911 Leutnant (2nd Lieutenant)
  • 1 August 1914 Oberleutnant (1st Lieutenant)[4]
  • 1 August 1917 Hauptmann (Captain)
  • 7 July 1921 Major (title, not rank)
  • 1 March 1923 Stabshauptmann (Staff Captain or Captain 1st Class)
  • 27 October 1927 Major (title, not rank)
  • 19 January 1928 Major (Dienstklasse V)
  • 28 December 1935 Oberstleutnant (Lieutenant Colonel)
    • later received German Rank Seniority (RDA) from 1 July 1935

Wehrmacht

  • 1 April 1939 Oberst (Colonel) with Rank Seniority (RDA) from 1 March 1938
    • later received Rank Seniority (RDA) from 1 August 1937
  • 26 June 1940 Generalmajor (Major General) with effect from 1 July 1940
    • January 1941 received Rank Seniority (RDA) from 1 December 1939
  • 1 January 1942 Generalleutnant (Lieutenant General)
  • 1 July 1943 General der Flieger

Awards and decorations

  • Jubilee Cross 1908 (Austria-Hungary)
  • Military Merit Medal (Austria-Hungary) in Bronze and Silver (Signum Laudis) on the ribbon of the Military Merit Cross with Swords
  • Military Merit Cross (Austria-Hungary), 3rd Class with the War Decoration (ÖM3K)
  • Iron Cross (1914), 2nd Class
  • Karl Troop Cross
  • Swords to his Military Merit Cross (Austria-Hungary) 3rd Class with the War Decoration (ÖM3K⚔)
  • Austrian Pilot's Badge (Heeresfliegerabzeichen from April 1934)
  • Silver Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria
  • Austrian War Commemorative Medal (Österreichische Kriegserinnerungsmedaille) with Swords
  • Hungarian World War Commemorative Medal (Ungarische Kriegs-Erinnerungs-Medaille) with Swords
  • Golden Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria
  • Military Merit Cross, 3rd Class on 22 February 1938
    • This decoration must not be confused with the Imperial Military Merit Cross. This Militärverdienstkreuz was established by Kurt Schuschnigg on 9 July 1935.
  • Honour Cross of the World War 1914/1918 with Swords
  • Sudetenland Medal
  • Wehrmacht Long Service Award (Wehrmacht-Dienstauszeichnung), 4th to 1st Class (25-year Service Cross) on 1 January 1939
  • Luftwaffe Observer Badge (Beobachterabzeichen (Wehrmacht))

WWII

Gallery

  • Heeresfliegerabzeichen, Österreich, 1934.JPG
  • General der Flieger Stefan Fröhlich (1889-1978) II.jpeg
  • General der Flieger Stefan Fröhlich (1889-1978) I.jpeg

Sources

  • Christian Frech / Markus Pichler / Peter Steiner / Iakovos Vlachos: Österreichs Generäle 1919–1955 – Die Generäle der 1. Republik und des Bundesstaates bis zur 2. Republik 1955, 4 Volumes, Verlag Militaria, Wien 2021

External links

References

  1. ↑ Fröhlich, Stefan
  2. ↑ Fröhlich, Stefan (General der Flieger)
  3. ↑ General der Flieger Stefan Fröhlich
  4. ↑ The ranks of the former Austrian officers had to be adjusted with those of the Wehrmacht in 1939. If they had served in the Prussian Army and later the Reichswehr, their promotions would have been slower. Fröhlich therefore received an administrative date as an 1st Lieutenant from 18 August 1916, as a Captain from 1 May 1923 and as a Major from 1 July 1933. This discrepancy would be balanced out in subsequent promotions.
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