Albert von Berrer

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Albert von Berrer

Albert Berrer , since 1899 from Berrer , (* 8. September 1857 in Unterkochen ; † 28 October 1917 in San Gottardo northeast Udine ) was a württembergischer lieutenant general in the First World War .

Life

origin

Berrer was the son of a camera administrator and the oldest of six children. Two of his brothers embarked on an officer career. Hermann, the eldest son, made it up to colonel in a Landsturm battalion during the First World War, Theodor made it up to major general . Albert attended school in Aalen and moved with his mother to Stuttgart after his father died in 1870. In 1871/72 he first attended grammar school in Heilbronn , then in Stuttgart.

Military career

Berrer joined the 1st Infantry Regiment (Grenadier Regiment Queen Olga) No. 119 of the Württemberg Army in Stuttgart as a volunteer on September 14, 1874 , where he was appointed Ensign on April 12, 1875 and on February 7, 1876 Second Lieutenant was promoted. From November 1, 1878 to September 30, 1880 Berrer acted as adjutant of the district command Calw , then served in his main regiment again and was used as a battalion adjutant from August 17, 1881. At the same time he was promoted to Prime Lieutenant on June 14, 1886, he was transferred to the infantry regiment "Kaiser Friedrich, King of Prussia" (7th Württembergisches) No. 125 . Berrer was then assigned to the Prussian War Academy from October 1, 1886 to July 21, 1889 and briefly to the General Staff in Berlin from March 24 to April 1, 1890 . After he had become a captain on March 22, 1891 , he was appointed company commander shortly afterwards on March 31 . Until his transfer on April 21, he held this position as First General Staff Officer in the General Staff of the 4th Division . With simultaneous promotion to major , Berrer came to the War Ministry on March 22, 1897 . Two years later he was appointed commander of the III. Battalion of the Infantry Regiment "Alt-Württemberg" (3rd Württembergisches) No. 121 .

After 25 years of service, Berrer was raised to the rank of personal nobility in 1899 by being awarded the Cross of Honor of the Order of the Württemberg Crown .

From April 18, 1901 to December 8, 1902 he served as First General Staff Officer in the General Staff of the XVI. Army Corps and was then transferred to the General Staff, where he was entrusted with the management of the department head on May 19, 1903. In this function Berrer was promoted to lieutenant colonel on September 11, 1903 , then commissioned on January 27, 1904 with the management of the chief of the General Staff of the VIII Army Corps and finally appointed chief on March 10. As a colonel (since May 25, 1906), Berrer was given command of 10th Infantry Regiment No. 180 on April 14, 1907 . After three years of service, he was assigned to lead the 52nd Infantry Brigade on April 25, 1910, and Berrer was given command on May 17, 1910 while being promoted to major general . He was then transferred to the 31st Division on February 4, 1913 , where he was initially entrusted with the management of the unit and, after his promotion to lieutenant general, was appointed commander on February 18, 1913.

With the outbreak of World War I and mobilization , his division was initially deployed on the Western Front . After the turn of the year, the division moved to the Eastern Front in late January / early February 1915 and fought there for the first time in the winter battle in Masuria . Berrer was then on August 27, 1916 leader of the General Command z. b. V. 51 , was able to prove itself particularly during the Kerensky offensive and distinguished itself with the capture of Tarnopol . In September 1917 Berrer was appointed leader of the army group named after him that took up the position on the Italian front . Berrer fell during the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo .

On October 27th it was erroneously reported that the 26th Division (1st Royal Württembergische) Udine , until then the seat of the command of the headquarters under Luigi Cadorna , had reached. Berrer made his way to the division and drove over the Torre Bridge in his motor vehicle . In this way he immediately got into a position of around 60 Italian soldiers. They immediately opened fire on his car. Berrer was shot in the head and died. Udine itself was not taken over by Reserve Jäger Battalion No. 18 of the 200th Infantry Division until the following day . Due to Berrer's death, the army report could not report the capture until October 30th.

Berrer and his orderly officer, who had also died, were buried on November 1, 1917, in the Cividale cemetery. A few weeks later, his body was exhumed and taken to Germany. The military memorial service took place on December 22, 1917 at the Prague cemetery in Stuttgart , at which the Württemberg King Wilhelm II personally laid a wreath. After the funeral service he was transferred to Heidenheim and buried in the Meebold family crypt.

family

Berrer married Else Meebold on March 21, 1896 in Heidenheim. The son Manhart emerged from the marriage.

Honors

literature

  • Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand, Christian Zweng: The knights of the order Pour le Mérite. Part 2: The knights of the Pour le Mérite order of World War I. Volume 1: A-G. Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1999, ISBN 3-7648-2505-7 , pp. 107-108.
  • Hanns Möller : History of the knights of the order Pour le Mérite in the world war. Volume 1: A-L. Verlag Bernard & Graefe, Berlin 1935, pp. 85-88.
  • Hanns Möller: Albert v. Berrer. The life picture of a German general who died in the World War. Bernard & Graefe, Berlin 1941.
  • Otto von Moser : The Wuerttembergians in the World War. A history, memory and folk book. Belser, Stuttgart 1927.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Hanns Möller: Albert von Berrer. Verlag Bernard & Graefe, Berlin 1941, pp. 13–15.
  2. ↑ Hanns Möller: Albert von Berrer. Bernard & Graefe publishing house, Berlin 1941, p. 19
  3. ↑ Hanns Möller: Albert von Berrer. Bernard & Graefe publishing house, Berlin 1941, pp. 74-75
  4. ↑ Hanns Möller : History of the knights of the order pour le mérite in the world war. Volume 1, Verlag Bernard & Graefe, Berlin 1935, p. 87
  5. ^ Gustav Stoffleth : History of the Reserve Jäger Battalion No. 18. Bernard & Graefe, Berlin 1937.
  6. ↑ Hanns Möller: Albert von Berrer. Bernard & Graefe publishing house, Berlin 1941, p. 18.
  7. ↑ Otto von Moser : Die Württemberger in the world wars. 2nd expanded edition, Chr.Belser AG, Stuttgart 1928, p. 111.
personal data
SURNAME Berrer, Albert von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Berrer, Albert (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Württemberg Lieutenant General in the First World War
DATE OF BIRTH September 8, 1857
PLACE OF BIRTH Undercooking
DATE OF DEATH October 28, 1917
Place of death near St. Gottardo northeast of Udine