Arthur of Gabain

Arthur of Gabain

Arthur von Gabain (born August 1, 1860 in Graudenz ; † March 6, 1939 in Berlin-Lichterfelde ) was a German infantry general and president of the Imperial Military Court .

Life

Gabain was born to Huguenot parents in West Prussia . His father died as a captain in the war in 1866 . He was educated in the cadet corps and entered on April 15, 1878 as a second lieutenant in the 8th East Prussian Infantry Regiment No. 45 in Insterburg . In 1883 and 1884 he was assigned to the military gymnasium and as an educator to the Wahlstatt cadet house . On March 11, 1886 he was transferred to Ehrenbreitstein to the infantry regiment "von Goeben" (2nd Rheinisches) No. 28 . From there, Gabain was commanded on April 1, 1888 as a prime lieutenant to the main cadet institution , where he acted as an educator. On April 1, 1889, he was transferred to the grenadier regiment "King Friedrich I." (4th East Prussian) No. 5 in Danzig and shortly afterwards from October 1, 1889 to April 1, 1892, he was assigned to the Prussian War Academy . On March 29, 1892 Gabain was promoted to captain and then used as a company commander . Two years later he became a teacher at the Neisse War School and on August 18, 1899, he returned to service as a company commander in the Infantry Regiment "Graf Barfuß" (4th Westphalian) No. 17 . With the promotion to major on January 27, 1902 Gabain was transferred to Metz in the 5th Lorraine Infantry Regiment No. 144 . From April 22, 1903 to October 17, 1907 he was in command of the III. Battalion in Diedenhofen . Gabain then became the commander of the Gdansk War School . Here he was promoted to colonel on April 21, 1911, and three days later he took command of the 1st Nassau Infantry Regiment No. 87 stationed in Mainz . At the same time as his promotion to major general on May 3, 1914, he was then commander of the 12th Infantry Brigade in Brandenburg an der Havel .

First World War

As part of the 6th Division , Gabain's brigade marched at the outbreak of the First World War in the III. Army Corps on the Western Front . With personal commitment he fought in August 1914 at Charleroi , at Jemappes and in the battle of Mons in neutral Belgium and in early September at Villers-Cotterêts and the battle of the Ourcq . After the retreat from the Marne and the fighting on the Aisne , the 12th Brigade was the end of September 1914 in the trench warfare over. After the Battle of Soissons in January 1915, he took part in the Loretto Battle from May to July 1915. On May 6, 1915 Gabain was temporarily leader of the 5th Division when he had to represent Georg Wichura . In September 1915 the 6th Division was transferred to the Balkans, where it took part in the beginning of October in the Serbian campaign. Gabain's brigade crossed the Danube at Semendria on October 7, 1915 and fought at the Palanka position from October 21 to 23 . This was followed by the fighting on the Raca and Lepenica and, from November 1, after several days of fighting, the occupation of Kragujewac and the pursuit of the enemy as far as the Morawa. Due to a bruise of the left lower leg that Gabain had contracted in Serbia, he had to give up command of the 12th Brigade in early 1916 and go to hospital treatment. After his recovery, Gabain was appointed commander of the 103rd Division on September 12, 1916 , which excelled in defending its positions during the coming weeks during the Battle of the Somme . She was then pulled from the front to freshen up and recuperate, spent some time in Champagne, and was relocated to Verdun in early 1917 . Gabain gave up command of his division and was appointed commander of the 17th division . With her he proved himself at Arras , even if he could not prevent the loss of Gavrelle. Gabain was also able to distinguish himself in the following Battle of Flanders , for which he was awarded the Pour le Mérite on November 8, 1917 .

In the spring of 1918 the division was used by the 17th Army in the Artois . During the spring offensive , it stormed the Ecoust position, took the Vraucourt and the Beugnâtre position after heavy fighting. In the meantime Gabain had been promoted to lieutenant general on March 22, 1918 and for his work during the offensive he was awarded the oak leaves to the Pour le Mérite on April 17, 1918.

Gabain's grave at the Lichterfelde park cemetery

On July 31, 1918, Gabain took over as leader of the XXIII standing between Marne and Vesle . Reserve Corps . Shortly before the corps was disbanded, Gabain was given the task of commanding the X Reserve Corps in Flanders on August 6, 1918 . After the battle of the Lys , the corps returned to the Antwerp - Maas position.

After the end of the war and the demobilization of the X Reserve Corps, Gabain was appointed Inspector General of Military Education in Berlin on January 18, 1919 . At the same time, he was also President of the Reich Military Court from June 25, 1919. He was relieved of both posts on September 30, 1920 and retired.

On 18 December 1920, gave Gabain the character as General of Infantry.

Awards

• Order of the Red Eagle III. Class with the loop
• Order of the Crown III. class
• Prussian service award cross
• Iron Cross (1914) 2nd and 1st class

literature

• Hanns Möller: History of the knights of the order pour le mérite in the world war. Volume I: A-L. Verlag Bernard & Graefe, Berlin 1935, pp. 348-350.
• Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand, Christian Zweng: The knights of the order Pour le Mérite of the First World War. Volume 1: A-G. Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1999, ISBN 3-7648-2505-7 , pp. 454-456.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ German Gender Book . Vol. 63. 1929, p. 138.
2. ↑ Dermot Bradley (ed.), Günter Wegner: Occupation of the German Army 1815-1939 Volume 1: The higher command posts 1815-1939. Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1990, ISBN 3-7648-1780-1 , p. 32.
3. ↑ ^{a b c} Ranking list of the Royal Prussian Army and the XIII. (Royal Württemberg) Army Corps for 1914. Ed .: War Ministry , ES Mittler & Sohn , Berlin 1914, p. 62.