Hubertus Hitschhold (7 July 1912 – 10 March 1966) was a German general and ground-attack pilot during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany.
Early life and career Hitschhold was born on 7 July 1912. After completing the Abitur, he began military service in the Reichswehr cavalry on 1 April 1930. Hitschhold and was selected for and began flight training. Hitschhold received his commission in March 1931 and was promoted to Leutnant on 1 March 1934. Part of the training was conducted at the Lipetsk fighter-pilot school at Lipetsk Air Base, Soviet Union. This military cooperation was secret and in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. In January 1933 the Nazi Party seized power under the leadership of Adolf Hitler. Cooperation ceased. The Reichswher was renamed the Wehrmacht; the Nazi German Armed Forces. In March the Luftwaffe (Air Force) was founded with the creation of the Reichsluftfahrtministerium (Reich Air Ministry; RLM) in March 1933. The Oberkommando der Luftwaffe (High Command of the Air Force) was created to control all aspects of aerial warfare.
Hitschhold transferred to the organisation. Initially he transferred to the Jagdfliegerschule (fighter pilot school) for further training in early 1935. On 1 October 1935 Hirschold was promoted to Oberleutnant. He moved to the Sturzkampfgeschwader (Dive-bomber wings) I./StG 162, then II. and III./StG 162. On 1 October 1936 Hitschold was appointed a Staffelkapitän (squadron leader) in I./StG 163, commanding 1 staffel. In 1936 it began equipping with the Junkers Ju 87 Stuka. The staffel, along with the gruppen (groups) were reformed into Sturzkampfgeschwader 2 "Immelmann" on 1 May 1939. Hitschhold commanded 1./StG 2. Histchhold held the rank of Hauptmann upon the appointment [dated 1 January 1939].
World War II StG 2 was subordinated to Luftflotte 4 in May 1939 and initially subordinated to the 2 Fliegerddivision (2nd Flying division), Luftflotte 4 and based at Nieder-Ellguth in Silesia. The wing formed part of the dive-bomber fleet with StG 1, StG 51, StG 76, and StG 77. The wing was to form the southern part of Case White, the Invasion of Poland in September 1939. The invasion was to act in unison with the Soviet invasion of Poland and it began World War II in Europe. The purpose of the division was to provide close air support to the 8th, 10th and 14th army. The division was reinforced by Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen, commanding VIII. Fliegerkorps (8th Flying Corps), a specialised ground attack air corps. Richthofen was formally transferred to Luftflotte 4 in the first week of September 1939. In September 1939 Richthofen's force was a mere flying command (Fliegerfuhrer zbV).
Poland On 1 September 1939, the Wehrmacht invaded Poland. I./StG 2 began the invasion with 37 combat ready aircraft from 38. On the first day, I Gruppe bombed Wieluń, with other elements of the wing. The StG 76 and 77 were also involved in the bombing against the undefended town which may have occurred when faulty intelligence reports asserted the existence of a Polish cavalry formation was present.Kraków, Katowice and Wadowice were bombed by the group on the first day of the invasion.
Luftflotte 4's bombers dropped 389 tons of bombs on 1 September, 200 on Kraków in 1,200 sorties. Leutnant Frank Neubert and Unteroffizier Frank Kilnger from Hitschhold's staffel are believed to have claimed the first aerial victory of the war against a PZL P.11. Captain Mieczysław Medwecki, 121 Squadron, was taking off from Balice airfield.
On 2 September I./StG 2 were credited with having devastated a large Polish Army force detraining in Piotrków Trybunalski. The gruppe supported the advance to Częstochowa then engaged in the Siege of Warsaw. Hitschhold's group assisted in the destruction of the Łódź Army's cavalry brigades alongside Richthofen's forces. I./StG 2 then fought in the Battle of the Bzura which destroyed Army Poznań and Army Pomorze; it bombed Polish forces in and around the Iłża forest. Hitschhold's unit then bombed rail targets in support of the Battle of Radom and Battle of Modlin. Hitschhold was appointed as Gruppenkommandeure (Group Commander) of I./StG 2 on 16 October 1939, ten days after the Polish capitulation.
Hitschhold transferred to Golzheim. I./StG 2 trained there during the Phoney War. Over the winter, 1939, Hitschhold's gruppe trained to knock out Belgian fortresses at Liège and opposite Maastricht, in the Netherlands in preparation for Fall Gelb. StG 2 was transferred to Richthofen in October 1939. In January 1940 it was probably located at Marburg. StG 2 crews undertook training in Graz, Austria. Targets were marked out with silhouettes to represent battleships to prepare the wing for anti-surface warfare.
Western Europe
On 10 May 1940 Hitschhold commanded a group of 40 Ju 87B dive bombers; 33 were combat ready. StG 2 remained under Richthofen's air corps command, part of Luftflotte 2, belonging to Albert Kesselring. During the Battle of France and Battle of Belgium, StG 2 transferred to Hugo Sperrle's Luftflotte 3. Hitschhold's attacked Fort Eben-Emael. The Battle of Fort Eben-Emael was crucial in allowing the German Army to breach Belgian Army fortifications along the border. The carried out attacks against Belgian reserves moving to the frontline. The Belgian defences in the region crumbled the following afternoon, after the French failed to relieve them under attack from StG 2 and Lehrgeschwader 2.
On 11 May Hitschhold's I./StG 2 continued operations over Belgium in support of the 6th army crossing the Meuse river. The operations were successful but costly. Five Ju 87s were shot down near Tirlemont 42 km east-south-east of Brussels in combat with Hawker Hurricanes of the RAF Advanced Air Striking Force. Three of his men were killed in action, one wounded in action and one was captured. Their assailants were from No. 87 Squadron RAF. 11 Ju 87s from I. and II./StG 2 were lost to 3, 87 and No. 607 Squadron RAF, despite fighter protection from Jagdgeschwader 27. Over Louvain the following day, Hitschhold lost two more aircraft to 3 Squadron. Hitschhold's group supported the 3rd Panzer Division and 4th Panzer Division at the Battle of Hannut. They conducted a 30-minute attack against Thisnes and Crehen to break the French Cavalry Corps. The group fought in support of the Battle of Gembloux on 15 May. Over 15–17 May, Hitschhold's group moved to Saint-Quentin, Aisne.
The capture of Liège airfield permitted close air support units to focus on the Battle of Sedan. The airfield came under artillery fire from forts still occupied by the Belgians until StG 2 intervened. StG 2 remained to support the 6th army's advance through the Dyle line before switching to support the 12th army for two days, south of Namur from 18 May. The wing contributed 200 sorties to the Sedan operation.
StG 2 and 77 intervened in the Battle of Arras on behalf of Erwin Rommel's 7th Panzer Division. StG 2 advanced into north-eastern France during the dash to the English Channel. It fought during the Siege of Calais and Battle of Boulogne. The ports were taken after bombardment from StG 2 and 77. Hitschhold's commanding officer Oskar Dinort lost both wingmen over Boulogne on 25 May. Four were lost. In a major action, Dinort led 39 Ju 87s and two in an attack on Admiral James Somerville's forces off Calais on 24 May. The 10th Panzer Division requested air support against Royal Navy warships bombarding their positions as the division fought its way into Calais. Dinort ordered Hitschhold to select a target. The light cruisers Arethusa, Galatea, and destroyers Grafton, Greyhound, Verity, Wessex, Wolfhound, Vimiera and Polish Navy destroyer Bzura were subjected to an intense dive-bombing attack. Wessex was sunk; Vimiera and Bzura was damaged. The Ju 87s suffered no loss in their unopposed attacks. Six of the Wessex crew were killed and 15 wounded. From 29 May Hitschhold led his formation in the Battle of Dunkirk until 2 June 1940, attacking shipping and Royal Navy vessel supporting Operation Dynamo.
I./StG 2 spent 5–7 June reorganising. From 8 June in supported the 6th and 9th army in crossing the Seine and Marne. It supported the 9th army's advanced on Laon. Hitschhold's group lost three crews on 8 June. Hitschhold operated over Longpont, north-east of Paris and the group claimed to have destroyed 20 to 30 French tanks preparing a counterattack north-east of the capital. Thereafter Hitschhold flew in the battles of Péronne, Roye, Chauny and Nogent. I./StG 2 provided air cover in the advances through Yonne and Loire. By the Armistice of 22 June 1940, Hitschhold's command had lost 13 aircraft.
Battle of Britain In July 1940 the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht initiated plans for Operation Sea Lion, the invasion of the United Kingdom. The Oberkommando der Luftwaffe began an air offensive codenamed Operation Eagle Attack. The objective was the destruction of RAF Fighter Command in south-eastern England. The Luftwaffe began bombing British convoys in the English Channel to draw Fighter Command into battle and deplete its strength. The first phase of what became the Battle of Britain was termed the Kanalkampf (Channel War).
Hitschhold's I./StG 2 moved to Falaise in Normandy. The group transferred to Laon-Couvron. It staged through the Pas de Calais for attacks on the Channel convoys. In late July it relocated to Cherbourg. The group was placed under Richthofen's Fliegerkorps VIII. The group was equipped with 35 aircraft with 29 operational.
Hitschhold and first group were involved in the battles from 4 July. That morning Convoy OA 178 (convoy outbound atlantic) of 14 heavily laden merchantmen left the Thames Estuary, bound for the west coast and passed Dover safely on 3 July. German radar picked up the convoy and the Luftwaffe was ordered to intercept the ships. A Junkers Ju 88 reconnaissance aircraft from 1.(F)/123 flew over the Channel and reported that the convoy was south-west of Portland. I./StG 2 took off, led by Geschwaderkommodore Oskar Dinort and Hitschhold, from Falaise, Calvados with 24 Ju 87s, escorted by a Staffel of fighters from I./JG 1. The attack was followed by 23 Ju 87s of III./StG 51 after they had been hastily re-fuelled and rearmed. The ships were close to the French coast; Dallas City was damaged, engulfed in flames and collided with Flimson which was also hit and the ships took 15 minutes to disengage; Dallas City later sank. Antonio limped into Portland Harbour with Flimson. Deucalion (1,796 GRT), Kolga (3,526 GRT) and Britsum (5,225 GRT) were sunk and SS Canadian Constructor, was damaged for no Luftwaffe loss.
On 21 July 1940 Hitschhold was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and promoted to Major as Gruppenkommandeur of I./Sturzkampfgeschwader 2 "Immelmann". On 8 August Hitschhold was involved in a large series of battles over Convoy Peewit. In the late morning StG 2, 3 and 77 from Angers, Caen and St. Malo were escorted by Messerschmitt Bf 110s from V./LG 1, to attack the convoy south of the Isle of Wight, with about 30 Bf 109s from II. and III./JG 27 for cover. Supermarine Spitfires of 609 Squadron and Hurricanes from 257 and 145 squadrons attacked the German formations, joined later by 238 Squadron. The Ju 87s severely damaged SS Surte, MV Scheldt and SS Omlandia and sank SS Balmahasoon after. SS Tres was sunk by StG 77. SS Empire Crusader, in the lead, was hit by StG 2 and sank several hours later; four ships were sunk and four were damaged in the attacks. From 20 to 30 RAF fighters attacked the German aircraft and I. and II./StG 2 suffered one damaged Ju 87 each, StG 3 lost three Stukas from I. Gruppe and two damaged.