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Kurt Student (May 12, 1890-July 1, 1978) was a
Germany|German Luftwaffe General who fought as a
pilot on the Eastern Front during the World War
I|First World War and as the commander of the
German Parachute|parachute troops during the
Second World War.

He was the pioneer of parachute warfare in Germany
and his troops proved their value during the
Blitzkrieg of 1940 in the Netherlands. In the same
campaign, his troops captured the Belgian fortress
of Eben-Emael. In 1941 he led the capture of Crete
from his HQ in Athens. The operation was
successful, but had taken too many lives.

In 1943 he led Unternehmen Eiche, the successful
spectacular raid of a special Luftwaffe unit
(landing with gliders and STOL aircraft on a
hilltop), to free Benito Mussolini. The well known
SS-commander Otto Skorzeny took part in this
operation.

He was transferred to Italy and later to France,
where he was involved in the defence of Normandy
in 1944. He was put in charge of the First
Paratroop Army and took part in countering the
allied Operation Market Garden, near Arnhem. After
a brief time at the Eastern Front (WWII)|Eastern
Front in Mecklenburg in 1945, he was captured by
the United Kingdom|British in Schleswig-Holstein
in April of that same year. He was freed in 1948.

==See also==
*German 1st Parachute Division