Luftgaukommando XIV (2nd)
Luftgaukommando XIV (2d Formation)
(FpN: none assigned)
Kommandierender General:
Gen.Lt. Martin Harlinghausen (21 Sep 44 - 26 Apr 45)
Subordination:
Luftflottenkdo. Reich (6 Sep 44 - 27 Mar 45)
Subordinate Commands:
Kommando Flughafenbereiche (airfield regional commands) and Fliegerhorstkommandanturen (air base commands), Luftnachrichten (air force signals), Sanitäts (medical), Flak (antiaircraft), civil air defence, supply, schools, replacements and sundry other ground service and support commands, staffs and units located within its territory of authority. These changed frequently and in the absence of surviving source documentation it is not possible to list them accurately or completely.
Formation and History. (Sep 44 - Mar 45)
Formed 6 September 1944 in Wiesbaden (ex-Stab/Feld-Luftgaukommando Belgien-Nordfrankreich) and comprised the territory formerly included in Luftgaukdo. XII, mainly the Rhineland and Pfalz regions and the southern part of Hesse. Luftgaukdo. XIV was established as a direct result of the German withdrawal from France and the Low Countries in the latter part of August 1944, and the eventual stabilization of the front along the German-French and German-Belgian borders. Although 6 September is given as the date of formation, this process really did not begin until Gen.Lt. Harlinghausen took command on 21September. Two months later, on 22 November, the Stab reported an authorized strength of 1,257 officers and men, but only 652 had so far been assigned to duty. From 16 December 1944 to the end of January 1945, the Luftgaukdo. played a key role during the Ardennes Offensive (Battle of the Bulge), since nearly all of the airfields used by the Luftwaffe to support the offensive were within its territory. By 23 February 1945, after the offensive had failed and the Allies had counterattacked and moved forward all along the front, the Stab had moved to Nürnberg, where it was ordered disbanded on 27 March 1945.[1]
© by Henry L. deZeng IV (Work in Progress).
(1st Draft 2023)
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References
- ↑ G.Tessin-Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen-SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939-1945, Teil 14: Die Luftstreitkräfte (Osnabrück, 1980); H.Boog-Die deutsche Luftwaffenführung 1935-1945: Führungsprobleme, Spitzengliederung, Generalstabsausbildung (Stuttgart, 1982); K.Mehner/R.Teuber - Die deutsche Luftwaffe 1939-1945: Führung und Truppe (Norderstedt: 1993), p.165; PRO London: DEFE 3 ULTRA signals; NARA WashDC: RG 242 (scattered microfilm citations found in T-321, T-405 and T-971, especially T-971 roll 34 - Luftgaukdo. XIV KTB and Anlagen).