Ferdinand Jodl entered the German Army in August 1914 as an ensign, serving as a Lieutenant in a Bavarian Field Artillery Regiment from 1915 until the end of World War I. He remained in the army after 1918, becoming a general staff officer. In this capacity he served with XII Corps in the early part of World War II, then moving to XXXXIX Mountain Corps. From 1942 he served in Finland and North Norway, first as chief of staff of the 20th Mountain Army, then as commander of the XIX Mountain Corps,[1] receiving the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for his command of this corps in January 1945.[2] He ended the war as commander of German forces in North Norway, grouped under the name Army Detachment Narvik, having attained the rank of General of Mountain Troops.[1]
Ferdinand Jodl died in Essen on 9 June 1956, aged 59 and was buried on Frauenchiemsee in Bavaria.[3]
Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN978-3-7909-0284-6.
Lucas, James (1980). Alpine Elite: German Mountain Troops of World War II. Jane's Publishing. ISBN0531037134.
