Alfred von Kleist

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Friedrich Wilhelm Victor Alfred von Kleist (born November 16, 1857 in Magdeburg , † May 13, 1921 in Brandenburg an der Havel ) was a Prussian lieutenant general in the First World War .

Life

origin

Alfred came from the Pomeranian noble family von Kleist . He was the son of the Prussian general Alfred von Kleist (1818–1890) and his wife Emmilie, née von Morstein (1827–1866).

Military career

On April 15, 1876 Kleist joined as second lieutenant in the old Prussian Infantry Regiment No. 2 (1806) - Grenadier Regiment No. 1 of the Prussian Army and was transferred to the field artillery regiment "Prince August of Prussia" (1st Litthauisches) No. 1 to Königsberg on December 23 of the same year . From October 1878 to September 30, 1880 he was commanded for further training at the United Artillery and Engineering School . He then went back to work in Königsberg and served from June 1, 1883 to December 31, 1886 as a military teacher at the chief fireworks school. After Kleist had been promoted to prime lieutenant on March 22, 1887 , he was again ordered to the chief fireworks school and transferred to the field artillery regiment "Grand Duke" (1st Badisches) No. 14 while leaving this command . While being promoted to captain at the same time , Kleist began his service as battery boss on December 15, 1890 . On April 18, 1903, he was appointed commander of the chief fireworks school in Berlin. This command led Kleist until his appointment as commander of the Torgau Field Artillery Regiment No. 74 on October 14, 1909. By order of April 25, 1911, he was assigned to the German embassy in Rome as a military attaché. Before that, the "Instructions for the Foreign Military and Naval Attachés" of February 2, 1900 had been sent to him by the intelligence office of the Reichsmarinamt. In Rome he replaced the incumbent military attaché Arnold Freiherr von Hammerstein-Equort (1867–1933). He arrived in Rome on April 30, 1911 and one of his first major activities was taking part in the military maneuvers of the Italian armed forces in Tyrol in August. On June 1, 1911, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel. When Italian troops occupied parts of Libya in September of the same year in order to push back Turkish supremacy in this region, he traveled to the front as an observer. In November he was in the theater of war near Tripoli. During his tenure he took part in the imperial maneuvers in Germany several times. So also in September 1913. In the following month he was promoted to major general. His replacement at the beginning of 1914 was delayed because his intended successor as military attaché Major von Zitzewitz was not available in time. Therefore he stayed in Rome until May 25, 1914.

When the First World War broke out, Kleist was in command of the 6th Field Artillery Brigade on the Western Front . On April 1, 1915, Kleist became the commander of the 115th Infantry Division , with which he was initially engaged on the Western Front and in mid-August 1915 on the Eastern Front . There he was promoted to lieutenant general on November 6, 1917. In February 1918 Kleist was promoted to commanding general of the General Command z. b. V. No. 58 appointed. In this capacity he was awarded the order Pour le Mérite on October 18, 1918 .

After the end of the war, Kleist acted briefly from January 10th to 18th, 1919 as leader of the VI. Reserve Corps , was then made available as an officer by the army and was finally commissioned on February 1, 1919 with the command of the IV Army Corps . He held this position until July 7, 1919, when he was put on hold and retired.

He was an honorary knight of the Order of St. John and died on May 13, 1921 in the city of Brandenburg.

family

Kleist married Elisabeth Gevers (1873–1944) on May 8, 1894 in Posen . She was the daughter of Major General Wilhelm Gevers (1845-1935) and Laura von Bobers. His older brother Erwin von Kleist (1855–1910) was also a general.

literature

  • Dermot Bradley (ed.), Markus Brockmann, Karl Friedrich Hildebrand: Die Generale des Heeres 1921–1945. The military careers of the generals, as well as the doctors, veterinarians, intendants, judges and ministerial officials with the rank of general. Volume 7: Knabe-Luz. Biblio Verlag, Bissendorf 2004
  • Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand, Christian Zweng: The knights of the order Pour le Mérite of the First World War. Volume 2: HO. Biblio Verlag, Bissendorf 2003, ISBN 3-7648-2516-2 , pp. 215-217.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Gustav Böhm, Heinz Hürten, Georg Meyer: Adjutant in the Prussian War Ministry. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, 1977, p. 144.
  2. ^ Klaus-Volker Giessler: The institution of the naval attaché in the empire. Harald Boldt Verlag, Boppard am Rhein 1976, p. 258ff.
  3. ↑ Heinrich Otto Meißner: Military attachés and military representatives in Prussia and in the German Empire. History of Military Diplomacy. Rütten & Loening Verlag, Berlin 1957.
  4. ↑ Weblink: Biography of Alfred von Kleist (1857–1921).
personal data
SURNAME Kleist, Alfred von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kleist, Friedrich Wilhelm Victor Alfred von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian Lieutenant General in the First World War
DATE OF BIRTH November 16, 1857
PLACE OF BIRTH Magdeburg
DATE OF DEATH May 13, 1921
Place of death Brandenburg on the Havel