Eugene von Clauss

Eugen Clauss , Knight of Clauss since 1914 , (born October 25, 1862 in Nuremberg , † February 23, 1942 in Prien am Chiemsee ) was a German infantry general and division commander in the First World War .

Life

family

He was the son of the wholesaler Karl Clauss and his wife Elise, née von Süßmilch called Hörnig. Clauß married Elsa Sieler on June 4, 1897. The marriage resulted in a son and three daughters.

Military career

After attending a humanistic grammar school , Clauß joined the 14th Infantry Regiment "Hartmann" of the Bavarian Army in his hometown on September 1, 1881 as a three-year-old volunteer . He was assigned to the Munich War School in 1882/83 and then promoted to secondary lieutenant in December 1883 . From mid-November 1887 he served as a regimental adjutant and was transferred to the Nuremberg District Command on August 1, 1890 for two years as an adjutant . As a prime lieutenant , Clauss graduated from the War Academy for three years from October 1, 1892 , which made him qualify for the higher adjutantage and the subject. With his promotion to captain on March 17, 1897 he was appointed company commander in the 14th Infantry Regiment "Hartmann". Clauss worked in this position until the end of August 1902. Then he was assigned to the railroad department of the Great General Staff in Berlin for three weeks and was placed in this command à la suite of the 14th Infantry Regiment "Hartmann". On October 23, 1903, Clauss was appointed railway commissioner in Ludwigshafen am Rhein , and Clauss had the same position, having been promoted to major on August 20, 1905 , from October 12, 1906 in Munich. In mid-August 1908, Clauß returned to service and became battalion commander in the 8th Infantry Regiment "Grand Duke Friedrich II of Baden" . In addition to this activity, he acted from January 1, 1909 for almost six months as chairman of the court martial of his regiment . At the same time he was promoted to lieutenant colonel on August 6, 1909, he was transferred to the staff of the 11th Infantry Regiment "von der Tann" in Regensburg . On March 7, 1912, he was assigned the command of the 9th Infantry Regiment "Wrede" in Würzburg , whose commander Clauss was appointed Colonel on April 22, 1912. He gave up the regiment on December 16, 1913, was commander of the 6th Infantry Brigade and on January 7, 1914 Major General .

First World War

With this brigade Clauss moved into the field after the outbreak of World War I and initially participated in the border battles against the French and the battle in Lorraine . This was followed by the battles at Nancy - Épinal and on the Somme , before Clauss and his large unit went into trench warfare. During the Battle of Ypres , his troops succeeded in conquering the village as well as the castle and the park of Hollebeke despite heavy fighting and falling darkness. With this he had created a good starting position for his superordinate division for the further offensive approach of the coming days. For this achievement Clauss was on October 30, 1914 by King Ludwig III. entrusted with the Knight's Cross of the Military Max Joseph Order . With the award the elevation to the personal nobility was connected and he was allowed to call himself Ritter von Clauss after the entry in the nobility register .

In the course of the further fighting, Clauss was wounded on November 9, 1914 and was only able to take over command of his brigade again from December 20, 1914 after a stay in the hospital and recovery. In 1915 he was with his brigade mainly in trench warfare in Flanders and Artois and took part in the spring and autumn battles at La Bassée and Arras . The following year he fought in the Battle of the Somme and was finally appointed commander of the 9th Reserve Division on September 29, 1916 . The large association was still in the formation at this point and from October 6, 1916 intervened in the fighting on the Western Front . Initially fighting on the Aisne , the division was involved in the double battle on the Aisne and in Champagne in April 1917 , then moved to Lorraine and was deployed in Flanders and Cambrai from August . During the subsequent fighting in the Siegfried Line , Clauss was promoted to Lieutenant General on December 14, 1917 .

After appropriate preparation, Clauss and his division went on the offensive in the Great Battle of France on March 21, 1918, until the German attack efforts were halted and the large formation found itself in permanent defensive battles. After the battle of Noyon , the division had to be disbanded, as no adequate replacement of soldiers and material could be made available from the stage . Clauss had already taken over the 5th Division on June 23, 1918 , which he commanded beyond the end of the war . After the armistice, he led the remnants of his large association back home, where Clauss was put up for disposal on June 26, 1919 after the demobilization .

Clauss received the character of General of the Infantry on August 27, 1939, the so-called Tannenberg Day.

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. 441-442.
• Othmar Hackl : The Bavarian War Academy (1867-1914). CH Beck'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Munich 1989, ISBN 3-406-10490-8 , p. 418.
• Rudolf von Kramer, Otto Freiherr von Waldenfels: The royal Bavarian military Max-Joseph-Order. Self-published by the kb Militär-Max-Joseph-Order, Munich 1966, pp. 88, 272.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Othmar Hackl: The Bavarian War Academy (1867-1914). CH Beck´sche publishing house bookstore. Munich 1989. ISBN 3-406-10490-8 . P. 418.