Eugen von Falkenhayn (General, 1853)

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Eugen von Falkenhayn (born September 4, 1853 at Belchau Castle near Graudenz ; † January 3, 1934 in Berlin ) was a Prussian cavalry general in World War I and chief steward of the Empress Auguste Viktoria .

Life

origin

Eugen was the son of the landowner Fedor von Falkenhayn (1814-1896) and his wife Franziska, née von Rosenberg (1826-1888). He had six siblings, u. a. Arthur (1857–1929), later political tutor to Crown Prince Wilhelm , and Erich (1861–1922), later General of the Infantry and Prussian Minister of War .

Tomb of Eugen v. Falkenhayn in Steinfurth / Western Pomerania

Military career

Falkenhayn began his military career on August 2, 1870 as an ensign with the entry into the Cuirassier Regiment "Queen" (Pommersches) No. 2 in Pasewalk , on December 8, 1870 he became a lieutenant . On April 14, 1885, he became Rittmeister , in 1889 he joined the headquarters of Wilhelm II and, together with his brother Arthur, acted as educator of the two older sons of the German imperial couple.

On May 23, 1890 he was appointed major , from July 14, 1895 he was chief of the 1st Guard Dragoon Regiment "Queen Victoria of Great Britain and Ireland" in Berlin. On July 18, 1896 he became a lieutenant colonel and two years later on January 27, 1898 as chief of staff of the IX. Army Corps appointed in Altona. On March 25, 1899, he became a colonel and on December 18, 1901, he was given command of the 19th Cavalry Brigade in Hanover . On March 20, 1906, he took over the inspection of the 3rd Cavalry Division in Münster and was promoted to lieutenant general on April 10 of the same year . On April 15, 1908, he replaced General von Goßler as commander of the 11th Division in Breslau . On the day of his departure on May 2, 1910, he received the character of general of the cavalry and received the position of chief steward of the Empress Auguste Viktoria.

At the beginning of the First World War , Falkenhayn was reactivated and on September 10, 1914 to the commanding general of the XXII. Reserve Corps appointed to lead the entire war. In the autumn of 1914 his corps was deployed in the First Battle of Flanders , in the spring of 1915 it was still on the Yser, from June 1915 onwards it was transported to the Eastern Front , where it was used to advance to the Bug after the breakthrough battle in Galicia .

For the leadership and performance of the corps on the Eastern Front , Falkenhayn was awarded the Pour le Mérite on August 28, 1915 . At the beginning of October the XXII. Reserve corps during the campaign in Serbia temporarily assigned to the Austro-Hungarian 3rd Army under General Kövess . For the success of the corps in the conquest of Belgrade and Serbia, Falkenhayn received the oak leaves for Pour le Mérite on November 13, 1915.

In February 1916, his corps relocated to the Western Front and was briefly in reserve in the Lille area. From the end of March it was used in the Battle of Verdun and arrived on the western bank of the Meuse as reinforcement for the 5th Army . His troops were deployed on the western slope of the Toten Mann, in the Cumières - and Rabenwald. After the Brusilov offensive broke out , his corps was thrown back to the Eastern Front and deployed in Volhynia . Before the turn of the year they moved again to Verdun on the western front and from February 1917 the corps took part in the defense of the positions on the Aisne. Relocated to the east again from November 1917, the corps remained on the eastern front until the end of the war; in February 1918 it was again in the Kovel area and participated in the advance towards Kiev . In November 1918, Falkenhayn returned his troops to their homeland, where his mobilization provision was lifted after demobilization on January 30, 1919 and Falkenhayn was retired.

family

Falkenhayn was married to Louise, nee Freiin von Dörnberg on Rysum . One of her daughters was Theda von Falkenhayn (1905–1984), who married Alexander von Quistorp (1892–1974) in 1926 . Their daughter Maria , born in 1928, became the wife of Wernher Freiherr von Braun in 1947 .

Falkenhayn was born Countess von Bismarck-Bohlen on the estate of his daughter Auguste Victoria . von Falkenhayn (1894–1964) is buried in Steinfurth near Karlsburg in Western Pomerania. His daughter was married to the last Count Fritz Ulrich von Bismarck-Bohlen (1884–1945).

Awards

literature

  • Mentioned in NDB 5 (1961), p. 12
  • Hanns Möller: History of the knights of the order pour le mérite in the world war. Volume I: A-L. Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Berlin 1935, pp. 299-301.
  • 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. 394-396.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Ranking list of the Royal Prussian Army and the XIII. (Royal Württemberg Army Corps for 1909 , Ed .: War Ministry , Ernst Siegfried Mittler & Son , Berlin 1909, p. 69
personal data
SURNAME Falkenhayn, Eugen von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian general of the cavalry in World War I and chief steward
DATE OF BIRTH September 4, 1853
PLACE OF BIRTH Belchau Castle near Graudenz
DATE OF DEATH January 3, 1934
Place of death Berlin