Alfred Gerstenberg

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Alfred Gerstenberg (April 6, 1893 in Grainau - January 1, 1959 in Bad Tölz) was a German Luftwaffe general. During World War II he organized a very effective defensive perimeter around oil fields in Ploieşti, Romania.

Gerstenberg began his army service in 1912 in a cavalry unit. During the World War I he was sent to the Eastern Front. Later, he was transferred into the air force and flew as an observation aircraft pilot. In 1916 joined the Richthofen Squadron led by Manfred von Richthofen. In October 1917 his plane was shot down and Gerstenberg suffered a heavy injury. Year later he returned to the unit as a non-flying officer. After the war served in several cavalry units, retiring in 1926. He rejoined Luftwaffe in 1934 and since 1938 served as Luftwaffe attaché at embassies in Warsaw and Bucharest.

During February 15, 1942 - August 27, 1944 Gerstenberg served as the commanding general of Luftwaffe (Kommandierender General und Befehlshaber der Deutschen Luftwaffe in Rumänien). His most important task was to set up protection zone around oil fields in Ploieşti, the largest single source of oil available for Nazi Germany. He managed to procure enough of men and matériel to create an effective anti-aircraft defense system and to harden up the refineries and other infrastructure against air attacks. He commanded around 25,000 men in Ploieşti and 11,000 near Bucharest. As a result, the first massive air attack on the fields on August 1, 1943 (US Air Force operation Tidal Wave) failed to knock out the oil production and suffered heavy losses.

When Romania switched sides during the World War II (August 23, 1944) Gerstenberg with 4,000 men entered Bucharest trying to occupy its key points. This attempt failed, his troops were encircled, in spite of Brandenburgers paratroopers dropped in as a support. On August 28 he surrendered to the Soviets and was kept in captivity until October 12, 1955. Gerstenberg died of tuberculosis.