Background
Nothing is really known about his background except that he was born in 1890, Germany.
Nothing is really known about his background except that he was born in 1890, Germany.
Dietl joined the army on 1 October 1909 as a Fahnenjunker in the 5th Infantry Regiment "Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig of Hesse" of the Bavarian Army in Bamberg.
As commander of the 99th Alpine Regt he took part in the Anschluss (1938) and the conquest of Poland (1939). On 1 Apr 1939 Dietl was promoted to generalmajor heading the 3d Mtn Div. Exactly a year later he was advanced togeneralleutnant and leader of the expedition to Narvik. Surviving Lord Cork's relief efforts, Dietl was awarded the RK (9 May 1940) and named commander of Mountain Corps Norway (16 June 1940). Hitler personally awarded the first Oak- leaves (1/890) to the “Victor of Norway" in Berlin on 19 July 1940 and promoted him (the same day) to Gen of Mtn Troops.
Dietl’s next mission was to capture Murmansk. Undertaking a 60-mile offensive from around Petsamo, he advanced through rugged, unmapped terrain until stopped by 17 July 1941, when it was apparent his forces were not up to the task. Hitler, who had never had confidence in Falkenhorst, issued a directive on 7 Nov 1941 that created the Army of Lapland under Diell to command German force in Finland, and Falken-horst returned to Oslo from Rovaniemi.
In a series of subsequent reorganizations Dietl assumed command of the Army of Lapland on 15 Jan 1942 and of the 20th Army the following June. Operations in Norway and Finland continued without significantly affecting the war. A few hours after attending the Berghof war conferences of 21-22 June 1944, Dietl and his corps commanders were killed 23 June 1944 in a plane crash near Hartberg. He was posthumously awarded the Swords (72/159) and given a state funeral.
Dietl was well-liked by his men, who affectionally nicknamed him Buffel, or Buffalo, for his tough personality.