Martin Fiebig (7 May 1891 – 23 October 1947) was a German Luftwaffe general who commanded several air corps and equivalent-sized formations during World War II.
He observed that Soviet air training was too focused on the quantity of pilots produced, and that there were significant deficiencies in theoretical instruction.
His pleas to Generaloberst Maximilian von Weichs at Army Group B, and even to the commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe, Reichsmarshall Hermann Göring were rebuffed, and despite his good relationship with Adolf Hitler, no-one would allow him to express his opposition to the Führer himself.
[7] Ultimately, Fiebig's assessment regarding Stalingrad was proven correct; the necessary tonnages could not be flown in by the available transport aircraft, and the 6th Army ran out of ammunition and food in early February 1943, after which it surrendered.
In a very short time Fiebig had assembled Air Transport Mission Crimea (German: Lufttransporteinsatz Krim), and had established a network of airfields for it to operate from.
These new formations immediately began operating, evacuating at least 50,000 soldiers over the next month, and supplying the remaining troops with an average of 500 tons of fuel and ammunition each day, protected by its own fighters.
Fiebig's establishment and operation of Air Transport Mission Crimea has been used as an example of the flexibility demonstrated by the Luftwaffe during World War II.
On 8 May 1945 Fiebig was initially captured by the British, but was transferred to Yugoslavia on 6 February 1946, where he was found guilty in a war crime trial on 10 September and sentenced to death.