Dietrich Peltz Generalmajor Dietrich Peltz ( born 9 June 1914 in Gera – died 10 August 2001 in Munich ) was a German World War II " Luftwaffe " bomber pilot . He was also a recipient of the Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords ( ) . The Knight ' s Cross of the Iron Cross and its higher grade Oak Leaves and Swords was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership . Career . Peltz joined the army in 1934 , switched over to the airforce and underwent pilot training in 1935 . After training , he flew in the Polish and French campaigns with Sturzkampfgeschwader 76 ( StG 76 — 76th ground assault wing ) , flying 102 missions on the Junkers Ju - 87 Stuka before converting to the Junkers Ju - 88 with II . / KG 77 in the summer of 1940 . He was awarded the Knight ' s Cross in October 1940 . In March 1941 , Hauptmann Peltz was elevated to " Gruppenkommandeur " of II Gruppe . In the late summer of 1941 , the unit was transferred to East Prussia , to fly missions against targets in the Northern sector , including the Leningrad - Moscow railway line , canals and lock gates . Here , Peltz was instrumental in developing accurate bombing techniques , allowing his group to achieve success against precision targets which previously could be achieved only with much larger bomber forces . Peltz was awarded the Oak Leaves to the Knight ' s Cross in December 1941 . In late 1941 , Major Peltz was made Commanding Officer of the Bomber Unit Commanders School at Foggia , where all operational bomber commanders were trained in the latest operational techniques . Peltz was then tasked to raise I . / KG 66 , a unit to develop the use of pioneering types of precision guided munitions then under development in Germany , such as the Fritz X and Henschel Hs 293 , against Allied shipping . Operational by October 1942 , this unit was sent to Norway against the Allied Murmansk convoys , but only three weeks later was switched to bases in Sardinia to counter the Allied ' Torch ' invasion . " Oberst " Peltz then became the first Commander , Bomber Force and Inspector of Combat Flight . Peltz received the Swords to the Knight ' s Cross on 23 July 1943 and he was commander of the " IX . Fliegerkorps " in August 1943 . In January 1944 , Dietrich Peltz , 29 years old , was elevated to Major General , became " Angriffsführer " ( attack leader ) of England , and took command of " Luftwaffe " bomber forces in Operation Steinbock , the retaliatory bombing of England , referred to as the " Baby Blitz " , which ended in heavy losses for German bombers . In December and early January , Peltz carefully husbanded together some 500 aircraft including Ju 88s , Ju 188s , Do 217s , Me 410s and the troublesome He 177A onto French airfields to form " IX Fliegerkorps " . The attacks dwindled to a halt in late May after heavy losses to the Germans , with little to show for the effort . In the autumn of 1944 , the bomber crews of " IX Fliegerkorps " were remustered as infantry or as fighter pilots . Peltz , ( somewhat controversially , as he was a bomber expert ) became the commander of the " II . Jagdkorps " which saw action during the Ardennes offensive .