Artur of Mecenseffy

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Lieutenant Field Marshal Artur Edler von Mecenseffy

Artur Edler von Mecenseffy (born June 23, 1865 in Vienna , † October 6, 1917 near Asiago ) was a field marshal lieutenant in the Austro-Hungarian Army and was one of the highest-ranking Austrian officers who died in the First World War .

Life

Mecenseffy began his military career with the pioneer regiment in Klosterneuburg near Vienna and was retired as a lieutenant in 1885. After graduating from the Military Academy in 1887 the General Staff assigned, followed in 1895 he was appointed captain of the General Staff and the dislocation in the operation office of the General Staff. In 1909 he became a lieutenant colonel in charge of the replenishment department . He was considered an excellent specialist in all questions of logistics . On November 1, 1912 he was promoted to major general and entrusted with the command of the 18th Infantry Brigade of the Prague Division.

At the beginning of the First World War he had been assigned to the General Staff of the 2nd Army from July 29, 1914 , but after disputes with its commanders, General Böhm-Ermolli , the Chief of the General Staff, General Conrad von Hötzendorf , recalled him from there. His new assignment was the position of Quartermaster of the 4th Army of General Auffenberg .

On January 20, 1915, he became the commander of the 10th Infantry Division, which was used as part of the 4th Army on the Russian front. With her he was involved in the success of the Battle of Gorlice-Tarnów . On September 1, 1915, he was promoted to field marshal lieutenant. In the spring of 1916 he took part in the South Tyrol offensive with the 10th Infantry Division, meanwhile assigned to the 3rd Army . He then stayed with this division on the plateau of the Seven Communities until he gave up command in August.

In September 1916 he took command of the Graz 6th Division. In the difficult mountainous terrain of the Ortigara massif south of the Valsugana and north of Asiago , the division was able to successfully repel the heavy attacks of the Italian Alpini in June 1917.

When Mecenseffy got into his motor vehicle on October 6, after completing an inspection of the positions of his troops near the front, it was hit by an enemy artillery shell. He was so badly wounded that he died shortly afterwards.

Of the seven Austria-Hungarian officers in the rank of general who fell in World War I, Lieutenant Mecenseffy is considered the highest-ranking officer in the Imperial Army . Only the field marshal lieutenant of the ku Landwehr , Ernst Anton von Froreich-Szábo, was higher in rank than he was .

literature

Web links

Commons : Artur von Mecenseffy  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Austrian Federal Ministry and War Archives (ed.): Austria-Hungary's Last War 1914–1918. Register tape . Verlag der Militärwissenschaftlichen Mitteilungen, Vienna 1938. pp. 183–184
  2. ^ Austrian Federal Ministry and War Archives (ed.): Austria-Hungary's Last War 1914–1918. Register tape . Verlag der Militärwissenschaftlichen Mitteilungen, Vienna 1938. pp. 178–179
personal data
SURNAME Mecenseffy, Artur of
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Mecenseffy, Artur Edler von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austro-Hungarian field marshal lieutenant
DATE OF BIRTH June 23, 1865
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH October 6, 1917
Place of death at Asiago