Alfred Gerstenberg (6 April 1893, in Grainau – 1 January 1959, in Bad Tölz) was a general of the Nazi German Luftwaffe (air force) in World War II, serving as commanding general of the Luftwaffe mission to Romania, and organizing a very effective defensive perimeter around the oil fields in Ploiești.

In 1917, he joined Jagdstaffel 11 led by von Richthofen, where he served until the end of the war; he did not shoot down any enemy aircraft.

Gerstenberg returned to Germany in January 1932, and commanded a cavalry regiment until 1934, when he was named chief of staff of the German Air Sports Association.

With orders received from Adolf Hitler, he then began to enact Operation Margarethe II, the plan to invade Romania in case the government surrendered to the Allies.

With some 4,000 men under his command,[5] Gerstenberg took over the airports of Băneasa and Otopeni, from where Luftwaffe aircraft began bombing Bucharest.

Gerstenberg was sentenced to 25 years of prison by Soviet military tribunal in 1952, but released on 12 October 1955 and handed over to the authorities of the Federal Republic of Germany.