Anton Schiesser, nobleman from Reifegg

Lieutenant Field Marshal Anton Schiesser Edler von Reifegg - Riva del Garda Fortress Commander (Trento)

Anton Schiesser, Edler von Reifegg (born May 6, 1863 in Schenkenfelden , † October 19, 1926 in Innsbruck ) was an officer in the Austro-Hungarian Army .

Life

Anton Schiesser was born on May 6, 1863 in Schenkenfelden. Since he came from the Harruck family and thus benefited from the Dominik Harrucker Scholarship Foundation, he was able to attend the secondary school in Linz . After graduating from this school with great success, he entered the Technical Military Academy in Vienna in 1881 .

On August 12, 1884, he was appointed lieutenant in the Genieregiment ( Pioneers ) No. 2. His subsequent 35-year military career took him to various areas of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. After completing the higher genius course in 1893, he joined the engineering troops in Krakow , where he took part in the expansion of the fortress as the construction manager of a tank fort. Afterwards he was the construction manager of the barrier fortifications La Corte and Ruaz at the Geniedirektion Brixen and in 1899 was transferred to the 12th Corps Command in Sibiu, where he was appointed major in the staff of geniuses. From 1901 to 1906 he was a teacher at the war school in Vienna, moved as a lieutenant colonel for troop service to the 41st Infantry Regiment in Cernowitz and was then appointed director of genius in Mostar and in 1910 director of genius in Trento , where he expanded the border fortifications, including the forts the Folgaria-Lavahrone plateau.

In May 1914 he was appointed fortress commander in Riva del Garda and was in command of the Riva section during the war. For his military achievements in the defense of this fortress, he received the following awards: On May 16, he was appointed field marshal lieutenant and, according to the decision of l. November 1916, the Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty, with the highest resolution of October 13, 1916, conferred the Austrian nobility tax-free on the Imperial and Royal Field Marshal Lieutenant Anton Schiesser, fortress commanders of Riva (called von Reif in the old German documents) with the words of honor "Noble" and the predicate " from Reifegg ”. He also received personal awards and commendations from Emperor Franz Josef and Emperor Karl.

After the armistice, he and his troops were taken prisoner of war on November 4, 1918 . During the war as commander of Riva, he suffered gas poisoning during one of his numerous inspections of the foremost positions , from the consequences of which he could no longer recover. On July 30, 1920 he returned to his hometown, where the communities of Schenkenfelden, Königsschlag and Lichtenstein gave him a great reception.

On August 1st, there was a big homecoming party, at which Schiesser gave a speech. The years after his return from Italian captivity brought him not only material worries as an old pensioner, but also severe physical suffering, from which he was released on October 19, 1926 in Innsbruck through his sudden death (from the parish chronicle of Reichenthal and Schenkenfelden).

Web links

• Anton Schiesser's military career