Eduard Cruse

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Eduard Cruse

Eduard (Eke) Cruse (born October 10, 1873 in Hasenberg, † June 5, 1961 in Hamburg-Groß Flottbek ) was a German major general in the Reichswehr .

Life

family

Eduard was one of nine children of Richard Cruse (1833-1906) and his wife Magdalene, nee Thaer (1848-1917), a daughter of Albrecht Philipp Thaer . His paternal grandfather was Gustav Leopold Cruse (1799–1881), a medical councilor .

Cruse married Elsbeth von Werner (* 1882) on June 21, 1912 in the garrison town of Lüderitzbucht in German South West Africa , who died on December 1, 1912 in Ukamas , on the southeast border of German South West Africa - probably due to an unfavorable pregnancy or child birth. She was buried in the Cruse's family cemetery in Podollen in East Prussia . The marriage remained childless.

Military career

Cruse joined the Fusilier Regiment "Graf Roon" (East Prussian) No. 33 of the Prussian Army on April 15, 1893 as a charged ensign from the cadet corps . After his promotion to second lieutenant , Cruse was used as an adjutant of the 2nd Battalion. In July 1900 he was transferred to the 1st East Asian Infantry Regiment in China and took part in the suppression of the Boxer Rebellion as an adjutant of the 2nd Battalion .

In autumn 1902 Cruse returned to Germany with the transfer back to the Fusilier Regiment "Graf Roon" (East Prussian) No. 33 and was promoted here on May 17, 1904 to first lieutenant . On February 25, 1905, he was transferred to the Schutztruppe in German South West Africa for the first time .

The battle at Gawachab 1906

Cruse became known in Germany by participating in a battle as part of the Herero uprising .

Johannes Christian , captain of Bondelswart , had joined the Nama , who had rebelled since 1904, under their captains Jakobus Morenga and Hendrik Witbooi . After a defeat on April 20, 1905 against a German unit under a captain Henck, Christian and his warriors had to walk through the small Karas Mountains (today: "Little Karas-Berg") to the Lion River .

There, south of Gawachab , on May 5, 1906, the 7th mounted company of the 1st Field Regiment under Lieutenant Cruse met Christian's unit. Despite the superior strength of the Nama, Cruse attacked. A fierce battle broke out in the difficult mountainous terrain, during which Christian's troops evacuated their positions and went back south. Cruse was badly wounded and was shot in the right side of his stomach

After a year of service in the colony, Cruse returned to Germany and was employed in the Grenadier Regiment "King Friedrich I." (4th East Prussian) No. 5 . At the same time as his promotion to captain , Cruse was appointed chief of the 5th Company on July 21, 1908 . He commanded this until November 24, 1910 and then rejoined the protection force for German South West Africa. In 1914 he applied for “leave” to the protection force for another three and a half years.

First World War

After the outbreak of the First World War , Cruse managed to return to Germany, where he was again used in the Grenadier Regiment "King Friedrich I." (4th East Prussian) No. 5. With the regiment he fought on the Eastern Front a . a. in the battle of Łódź until he was transferred to the "Kronprinz" (1st East Prussian) No. 1 grenadier regiment in early August 1915 as a major . Shortly afterwards he was appointed commander of the 1st Battalion. He remained in action on the Eastern Front, relocated to the Western Front in March 1916 and participated in the loss-making battles for Verdun . Then moved back to the Eastern Front, Cruse and his battalion took part in the fighting on the local theater of war after Romania entered the war . In 1918, Cruse was finally appointed commander of Reserve Infantry Regiment No. 228 on the Western Front.

post war period

After the Armistice of Compiègne , he led his regiment back home, where it was first demobilized in Torgau and finally dissolved. Cruse was then transferred back to the "Kronprinz" (1st East Prussian) No. 1 grenadier regiment. After its demobilization, he joined a free formation formed from it. With the formation of the Provisional Reichswehr , Cruse was transferred to Reichswehr-Schützen-Regiment 1 on October 1, 1919, which later became the 1st (Prussian) Infantry Regiment . He initially commanded a battalion, was promoted to lieutenant colonel on December 18, 1920 with seniority from October 1, 1920 , and was promoted to the regimental staff in Königsberg on January 1, 1922 . In this position, he was promoted to colonel on January 1, 1924 , until he was finally retired from active military service on January 31, 1926, conferring the character of major general.

Awards

literature

  • Dermot Bradley (ed.), Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand, Markus Rövekamp: The Generals of the Army 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 2: v. Blanckensee-v. Czettritz and Neuhauß. Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1993, ISBN 3-7648-2424-7 , pp. 483-484.
  • Ernst Kabisch (Ed.): The leaders of the Reichsheeres 1921 and 1931. In memory of the 10-year return of the founding of the Reichsheer on January 1st, 1921. With 800 portraits. Dieck, Stuttgart 1931.
  • Eberhard Willich: Descendant table by Martin Willich (1583–1633). As of December 2004, Heidelberg 2004

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Peter von Brackel: Various pictures, articles, family tables and other things about the Thaer families (v. Thaer), especially the Pantener and Mögliner tribe, v. Dresler et al. Scharfenstein and Cruse (Kruse) as well as some ancestors and relatives of these families. Bad Honnef 2005, p. 254ff.
  2. ^ The fighting of the German troops in South West Africa. Great General Staff. War History Department II (Ed.) Mittler. 1906. p. 278
  3. ^ Karl Ludwig von Oertzen, Heinrich von Löbell , Gerhard von Pelet-Narbonne : Armament and Disarmament, a review of the army and warfare of all countries. Volume 33, ES Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1906, p. 479.
  4. ^ HE Lenssen: Chronicle of German South West Africa. A brief list of historical events from the German colonial period from 1883–1915. Publishing house of the SWA Scientific Society. 1988. p. 187
  5. ↑ Quarterly books for troop command and military studies. Grosser Generalstab (Ed.) Volume 4. Mittler. 1907. p. 603
  6. ↑ German Colonial Journal. Official Journal of the Reich Colonial Office. Volume 17, Kolonialamt (Ed.) 1906, p. 310.
  7. ↑ German Colonial Journal. Volume 25. 1914. p. 489
  8. ↑ a b c d e f g Reichswehr Ministry (Ed.): Ranking list of the German Reichsheeres. ES Mittler & Sohn , Berlin 1925, p. 114.
personal data
SURNAME Cruse, Eduard
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Cruse, Eke
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German major general of the Reichswehr
DATE OF BIRTH October 10, 1873
PLACE OF BIRTH Hasenberg
DATE OF DEATH 5th June 1961
Place of death Hamburg