Albrecht Duke of Württemberg

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Official portrait of Duke Albrecht

Albrecht Maria Alexander Philipp Joseph Duke of Württemberg (born December 23, 1865 in Vienna ; † October 29, 1939 in Altshausen ) was the eldest son of Duke Philip I of Württemberg, the founder of the Catholic line of the Württemberg royal family, and Archduchess Marie Therese of Austria , daughter of Archduke Albrecht .

Life

Archduchess Margaretha Sophie of Austria and her husband, Duke Albrecht of Württemberg

Albrecht studied law at the University of Tübingen . In 1893 he married Archduchess Margarete Sophie of Austria (1870–1902). After the early death of his wife, he did not enter into another marriage. Since King Wilhelm II of Württemberg had no sons, Albrecht was assigned the role of heir to the Württemberg throne early on. That is why the family resided in the Kronprinzenpalais Stuttgart since the 1890s .

As royal prince, Albrecht was a member of the Württemberg First Chamber from 1887 to 1918 . At first he was represented by other members of the Chamber, but later also took part in meetings in person.

Military leader

Duke Albrecht of Württemberg

In 1885 he entered the Württemberg army service and served as a second lieutenant in the Uhlan regiment "King Karl" (1st Württembergisches) No. 19 . He then received further training in the Prussian Army . After serving in several grenadier and cavalry regiments, he became commander of the 4th Guards Cavalry Brigade in Potsdam in September 1896 . Albrecht was promoted to major general on June 15, 1898 and lieutenant general on June 16, 1901 . Since 1898 he was also the colonel owner of the kuk infantry regiment No. 73 . Since September 14, 1900 he led the 51st Infantry Brigade and on April 13, 1901, he took over command of the 26th Division in Stuttgart. On September 22, 1906 he was promoted to General of the Cavalry and Commanding General of the XI. Army Corps appointed in Kassel. On February 25, 1908, he took over the XIII. (Royal Württemberg Army Corps in Stuttgart and was promoted to Colonel General on September 24, 1913 ). On March 1, 1913, he became General Inspector of the 6th Army Inspection .

With the beginning of World War I on August 2, 1914, he became Commander-in-Chief of the 4th Army on the Western Front . He was instrumental in the victory in the Battle of Neufchateau in the Ardennes . Under his command in October 1914, however, the notorious attack by semi-trained volunteers at Langemarck in the First Battle of Flanders (transfigured into the myth of Langemarck ) and the first poison gas attack on April 22, 1915 near Ypres in the Second Battle of Flanders took place.

Albrecht was considered to be one of the "most capable German military leaders of the world war". Due to his military merits, Kaiser Wilhelm II awarded him the Order of Pour le Mérite on August 22, 1915 and the oak leaves on February 25, 1918 in his capacity as King of Prussia . He also appointed him on August 1, 1916, Prussian field marshal . Since March 7, 1917, he commanded the entire southern section of the western front from Verdun to the Swiss border as commander in chief of the Army Group "Duke Albrecht" . In contrast to the Prussian Crown Prince Wilhelm and the Bavarian Crown Prince Rupprecht , he stayed at his post until just before Christmas 1918 after the outbreak of the November Revolution and led the Army Group troops under him safely back home.

After the First World War

The abdication of King Wilhelm II on November 30, 1918, he did not join in person. The monarch gave him the Altshausen Castle , 40 kilometers north of Lake Constance in Upper Swabia , as his residence. The family moved there in 1919. When Wilhelm II died on October 2, 1921, the entire household property passed to Albrecht. It was administered by the " Hofkammer des Haus Württemberg " (renamed "Rentkammer des Haus Württemberg" from 1919 to 1933). Alfred Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg , the father of the Hitler assassin on July 20, 1944, was President of the Rentkammer until 1928 .

At his funeral in Altshausen in October 1939, no high-ranking National Socialists appeared because the family was known for their oppositional stance. Adolf Hitler only had a wreath sent.

In 1965, the Bundeswehr barracks in Münsingen (Baden-Württemberg) were named after Albrecht Duke of Württemberg: Herzog-Albrecht-Kaserne .

progeny

Albrecht von Württemberg's children in 1903

From his marriage to Archduchess Margarete Sophie of Austria, daughter of Archduke Karl Ludwig and aunt of Karl I , three sons and four daughters were born. His eldest son, Philipp II. Albrecht von Württemberg, succeeded him as head of the House of Württemberg.

see also: genealogical table of Württemberg

literature

  • Württemberg under the government of King Wilhelm II . v. V. Bruns. Stuttgart 1916.
  • Bernhard Schwertfeger:  Albrecht Maria Alexander Philipp Joseph. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 1, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1953, ISBN 3-428-00182-6 , p. 175 f. ( Digitized version ).
  • Frank Raberg : Biographical handbook of the Württemberg state parliament members 1815-1933 . On behalf of the Commission for Historical Regional Studies in Baden-Württemberg. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-17-016604-2 , p. 1036-1037 .
  • Eberhard Fritz: Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg and the dukes of Württemberg. Reflections on the motives for the assassination attempt on July 20, 1944. In: Journal for Hohenzollerische Geschichte. 47, 48/2012. Pp. 225-261.

Web links

Commons : Albrecht Herzog von Württemberg  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Court and State Manual of the Kingdom of Württemberg 1866 , p. 10.
  2. ^ Südkurier : Friedrichshafen - Das Haus Württemberg , December 8, 2008.
predecessor Office successor
Wilhelm II. Head of the House of Württemberg
1921–1939 		Philip II
personal data
SURNAME Württemberg, Albrecht Duke of
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Württemberg, Albrecht Maria Alexander Philipp Joseph Duke of (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German nobleman, army leader in the First World War
DATE OF BIRTH December 23, 1865
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH October 29, 1939
Place of death Altshausen