The Memoirs of Field Marshal Kesselring

Field-Marshal Albert Kesselring was the only high-ranking German officer to have held continuous command throughout the war. He was also, arguably, Germany’s greatest military leader during the Second World War. Despite this, his reputation remains overshadowed by his better-known subordinates such as Rommel, Panzer and Guderian. Originally a Bavarian Army officer, he transferred to the Luftwaffe in 1935 and became Goering’s deputy, commanding air fleets during the invasion of France and the Battle of Britain. In 1941 he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of Axis Forces in the Mediterranean, charged with the difficult task of taming the charismatic Rommel, the one commander he openly criticises in these memoirs. Whilst in Italy, his brilliant defence of the peninsula became legendary. Written during his imprisonment after the Second World War, Kesselring’s memoirs rank among the great military autobiographies of the period. They provide a fascinating insight into the life of a German high commander who fought in all the major theatres of the war. Concluding with Kesselring’s account of his trial and imprisonment for war crimes, these memoirs are essential reading for anyone wanting a greater understanding of the Second World War.