Arthur Giesl of Gieslingen

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Arthur Giesl von Gieslingen in general uniform (1914)
Arthur Giesl of Gieslingen (1884)
Vienna Central Cemetery - Grave of Barons Giesl von Gieslingen, in which u. a. Heinrich and Arthur Giesl von Gieslingen are buried.

Arthur Giesl Freiherr von Gieslingen (born June 19, 1857 in Cracow , † December 3, 1935 in Vienna ) was an Austrian officer (most recently general of the cavalry) and temporarily head of the registry office , the kuk military intelligence service . He was involved in both the Mayerling affair of Crown Prince Rudolf of 1889 and the Redl affair of 1913, which shook the Danube monarchy .

Life

Arthur Giesl Freiherr von Gieslingen was the eldest son of the later Feldzeugmeister Heinrich Karl Giesl Freiherr von Gieslingen . After training at the Theresian Military Academy , he was assigned to a dragoon regiment of the army in 1875 . In the early 1880s he became a member of the General Staff . Between 1877 and 1887 he is said to have been on various secret assignments for the registry office .

In 1887 Giesl was appointed orderly officer of the heir to the throne Archduke Rudolf . He was one of the few people who, after Rudolf's death, saw the corpses of the heir to the throne and Mary Vetsera on the night of January 29th to 30th, 1889 in Mayerling Castle . Giesl was instrumental in covering up the murder of Rudolf's lover. In February of the same year, the captain was awarded the Order of the Iron Crown , an unusually high distinction for his military rank. In 1891 he became the wing adjutant of Emperor Franz Joseph for a year .

In 1898 Giesl was appointed head of the registry office. Because most of the military intelligence files were destroyed in November 1918, next to nothing can be said about his activities as director of the Evidenzbureau . Alfred Redl was one of his employees .

In 1903 he took command of an infantry brigade, shortly thereafter he was promoted to major general . In 1905 he was appointed commander of the Theresian Military Academy in Wiener Neustadt , the most important training center for officers in the monarchy. In 1907 he was promoted to field marshal lieutenant.

In 1910 he took over command of the 29th Infantry Division in Theresienstadt . In 1912 he became the commandant of the VIII Corps in Prague . In this function, General brought Alfred Redl, who had meanwhile become colonel and deputy head of the registry, to his staff. In May 1913, Redl was exposed as a spy; since 1903 he had betrayed military secrets to Russia . As the former head of the registry office and Redl's direct superior, Giesl von Gieslingen was fully privy to the affair and belonged to the group of senior officers entrusted with the (unsuccessful) cover-up of the affair.

In 1913 Giesl received its own regiment (Infantry Regiment No. 16). At the beginning of World War I , the VIII Corps he commanded took part in the campaign against Serbia . The troops were repulsed surprisingly and suffered heavy losses. After the failure of these offensives, Giesl - like other officers - was relieved of his command and sent into retirement with salary halved. In 1917 he was reactivated by Emperor Karl and finally retired in 1919.

Arthur Giesl von Gieslingen was the brother of Wladimir Giesl von Gieslingen , the locomotive designer Adolph Giesl-Gieslingen was his son.

Austrian military awards (as of December 31, 1918)

Web links

Commons : Arthur Giesl von Gieslingen  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Austro-Hungarian Army - Arthur Giesl Freiherr von Gieslingen (Engl.)
personal data
SURNAME Giesl von Gieslingen, Arthur
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Giesl Freiherr von Gieslingen, Arthur (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian field marshal lieutenant
DATE OF BIRTH June 19, 1857
PLACE OF BIRTH Krakow
DATE OF DEATH December 3, 1935
Place of death Vienna