question: Who led a paratroop drop into the American rear during the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II
answer: Oberst Freiherr Friedrich August Freiherr von der Heydte
context: Title: Operation Stösser
  Passage: Operation Stösser (English: Operation Auk) was a paratroop drop into the American rear in the High Fens area during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II.  Its objective was to take and hold the crossroads at Belle Croix Jalhay N-68 - N-672 until the arrival of the 12th SS Panzer Division.  Both roads were main supply routes, the N-68 Eupen to either Malmedy or Elsenborn and the N-672 Verviers up to Belle-Croix hence up to either Malmedy or Elsenborn.  The operation was led by Oberst Freiherr Friedrich August Freiherr von der Heydte, who was given eight days to prepare the mission.  The majority of the Fallschirmjäger (paratroopers) and pilots assigned to the operation were undertrained and inexperienced.  Kampgruppe Von Der Heydte took up a position at Porfays in the forest east of the N-68 and conducted some local skirmishes on small US convoys and made even some POWs.  The mission was a failure.
  Title: Operation Spring Awakening
  Passage: Operation Spring Awakening ("Unternehmen Frühlingserwachen") (6 – 16 March 1945) was the last major German offensive of World War II.  It took place in Hungary on the Eastern Front.  This offensive was also referred to in Germany as the Plattensee Offensive and in the Soviet Union as the Balaton Defensive Operation (6 – 15 March 1945).
  Title: Battle of Kursk
  Passage: The Battle of Kursk was a Second World War engagement between German and Soviet forces on the Eastern Front near Kursk (450 km south-west of Moscow) in the Soviet Union during July and August 1943.  The battle began with the launch of the German offensive, Operation Citadel (German: "Unternehmen Zitadelle" ), on 5 July, which had the objective of pinching off the Kursk salient with attacks on the base of the salient from north and south simultaneously.  After the German offensive stalled on the northern side of the salient, on 12 July the Soviets commenced their Kursk Strategic Offensive Operation with the launch of Operation Kutuzov (Russian: Кутузов ) against the rear of the German forces in the northern side.  On the southern side, the Soviets also launched powerful counterattacks the same day, one of which led to a large armoured clash, the Battle of Prokhorovka.  On 3 August, the Soviets began the second phase of the Kursk Strategic Offensive Operation with the launch of Operation Polkovodets Rumyantsev (Russian: Полководец Румянцев ) against the German forces in the southern side of the Kursk salient.
  Title: Operation Citadel
  Passage: Operation Citadel (German: "Unternehmen Zitadelle" ) was a German offensive operation against Soviet forces in the Kursk salient during the Second World War on the Eastern Front that initiated the Battle of Kursk.  The deliberate defensive operation that the Soviets implemented to repel the German offensive is referred to as the Kursk Strategic Defensive Operation.  The German offensive was countered by two Soviet counter-offensives, Operation Polkovodets Rumyantsev (Russian: Полководец Румянцев ) and Operation Kutuzov (Russian: Кутузов ).  For the Germans, the battle was the final strategic offensive that they were able to launch on the Eastern Front.  As the Allied invasion of Sicily began Adolf Hitler was forced to divert troops training in France to meet the Allied threats in the Mediterranean, rather than use them as a strategic reserve for the Eastern Front.  Germany's extensive loss of men and tanks ensured that the victorious Soviet Red Army enjoyed the strategic initiative for the remainder of the war.
  Title: Walter E. Lauer
  Passage: Major General Walter E. Lauer (20 June 1893 – 13 October 1966) was a senior United States Army officer who fought in both World War I and World War II.  During World War II he commanded the 99th Infantry Division in the Battle of the Bulge.  The green troops of the 99th, along with the battle-tested 2nd Infantry Division, held a key sector controlling access to Spa and Leige and large repositories of ammunition, fuel, and supplies.  Despite being outnumbered by German forces at least five to one, during the Battle of Elsenborn Ridge they did not yield.  It was the only sector of the American front lines during the German offensive where the Germans failed to advance.  Lauer was a veteran of both World War I and II.
  Title: Battle of the Bulge
  Passage: The Battle of the Bulge (16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945) was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II.  It was launched through the densely forested Ardennes region of Wallonia in eastern Belgium, northeast France, and Luxembourg, towards the end of World War II.  The surprise attack caught the Allied forces completely off guard.  American forces bore the brunt of the attack and incurred their highest casualties of any operation during the war.  The battle also severely depleted Germany's armored forces, and they were largely unable to replace them.  German personnel and, later, Luftwaffe aircraft (in the concluding stages of the engagement) also sustained heavy losses.
  Title: South German Offensive
  Passage: The South German Offensive is the general name of one of the final offensives of World War II in Europe.  The offensive was led by the Seventh and Third armies of the United States along with the First Army of France.  Soviet troops linked up with American forces in Czechoslovakia notably in the Battle of Slivice.  The offensive was made by the US 6th Army Group to protect the US 12th Army Group's right flank and to prevent a German last stand in the Alps.  However German resistance was much more fierce than in the north, which slowed the 6th Army Group's progress.  However, by the end of April, many German divisions surrendered without a fight to the advancing American forces to avoid the inevitable destruction.  The VI Corps of the Seventh Army linked up with the US Fifth Army, which fought through Italy, in the Alps as the Third Army advanced into Austria and Czechoslovakia, where it linked up with Soviet forces advancing from the east.  Fighting continued a few days after the Surrender of Germany on 8 May, due to German forces fighting west to surrender to the Americans instead of the Soviets.
  Title: Hindenburg Line
  Passage: The Hindenburg Line ("Siegfriedstellung" or Siegfried Position) was a German defensive position of World War I, built during the winter of 1916–1917 on the Western Front, from Arras to Laffaux, near Soissons on the Aisne.  In 1916, the German offensive at the Battle of Verdun had been a costly failure.  The Anglo-French offensive at the Battle of the Somme had forced a defensive battle on the Germans, leaving the western armies ("Westheer") exhausted.  On the Eastern Front, the Brusilov Offensive had inflicted huge losses on the Austro-Hungarian armies in Russia and forced the Germans to take over more of the front.  The declaration of war by Romania had placed additional strain on the German army and war economy.  Construction of the Hindenburg Line in France was begun by the Germans in September 1916, to make a retirement from the Somme front possible, to counter an anticipated increase in the power of Anglo-French attacks in 1917.
  Title: Second Battle of the Marne
  Passage: The Second Battle of the Marne (French: "Seconde Bataille de la Marne" ), or "Battle of Reims" (15 July – 6 August 1918) was the last major German offensive on the Western Front during the First World War.  The attack failed when an Allied counterattack by French and American forces, including several hundred tanks, overwhelmed the Germans on their right flank, inflicting severe casualties.  The German defeat marked the start of the relentless Allied advance which culminated in the Armistice with Germany about 100 days later.
  Title: Operation Nordwind
  Passage: Operation North Wind (German: "Unternehmen Nordwind" ) was the last major German offensive of World War II on the Western Front.  It began on 31 December 1944 in Alsace and Lorraine in northeastern France, and ended on 25 January.
citations: Battle of the Bulge Operation Stösser