Felix Viktor from Hepke

Felix Viktor Hepke , since 1901 von Hepke (born November 23, 1848 in Posen , † July 14, 1932 in Potsdam ) was a Prussian lieutenant general .

Life

origin

He was the son of the Secret Legation Councilor in the Foreign Office Robert Ferdinand Hepke (1820–1898) and his wife Luise Kora, née von Mosch (1812–1891).

Military career

From 1854 Hepke attended the higher boys' school of Dr. Sachse in Berlin and graduated from the French grammar school from 1860 to 1868 . Then he joined the 6th Brandenburg Infantry Regiment No. 52 of the Prussian Army in Frankfurt (Oder) on April 1, 1868 as a flag boy . Here Hepke rose to secondary lieutenant until mid-October 1869 and fought with the association at the beginning of the war against France in the Battle of Spichern . On August 11, 1870, Hepke came to the 5th Division as an orderly officer and subsequently took part in the battles at Vionville , Gravelotte , Beaune-la-Rolande and Orléans, as well as the siege of Metz . His achievements were honored by being awarded the Iron Cross, 2nd class.

After the peace treaty , Hepke returned to his regiment on May 18, 1871, and from June 30, 1871 acted as adjutant of the 2nd Battalion in Cottbus . From October 1, 1872, he graduated from the War Academy for three years , was subsequently promoted to Prime Lieutenant and in February 1877 was commanded as an adjutant to the 4th Infantry Brigade in Danzig . Left in this command, he was transferred to the Lower Rhine Fusilier Regiment No. 39 on July 21, 1877 , to which Hepke was assigned à la suite on August 15, 1878 . On May 13, 1880, transferred to the 6th Thuringian Infantry Regiment No. 95 in Hildburghausen , he was commanded directly to the Great General Staff in Berlin. From August 3, 1881 to September 12, 1882, Hepke acted as adjutant of the 24th Infantry Brigade in Neisse and was then promoted to captain in the 4th Pomeranian Infantry Regiment No. 21 . There Hepke was appointed chief of the 12th company on July 12, 1884 . Under position à la suite of the regiment, he then worked from September 16, 1885 to January 31, 1889 as a teacher at the Engers War School. He was then ordered to serve in the railway department of the Great General Staff and on March 22, 1889, Hepke was appointed railway commissioner. In this function he was also a member of the Upper Military Examination Commission . Left in this command, Hepke was placed on December 14, 1889 with his promotion to Major à la suite of the Grenadier Regiment "Prince Carl of Prussia" (2nd Brandenburg) No. 12 . On March 25, 1893, Hepke returned to service and until January 26, 1895 commanded the 2nd Battalion of the 3rd Magdeburg Infantry Regiment No. 66 . Under position à la suite of the regiment he was then appointed director of the Engers War School and as such promoted to lieutenant colonel on March 19, 1896 . On February 17, 1898, he was entrusted with the management of the inspector of the military penal institutions. At the same time as his promotion to colonel on June 15, 1898, he was appointed inspector. Hepke had also been a member of the study commission for the war schools since October 17, 1899, before he was appointed commander of the infantry regiment "von der Goltz" (7th Pomeranian) No. 54 in Kolberg on June 16, 1900 has been.

Due to his many years of service , Wilhelm II raised him to the hereditary Prussian nobility on January 18, 1901 .

On October 18, 1901, Hepke was entrusted with the command of the 5th Infantry Brigade in Stettin and finally on December 18, 1901, when he was promoted to major general, he was appointed commander of this brigade . In recognition of his achievements in the command of the troops, he was awarded the Order of the Red Eagle, 2nd class with oak leaves, on January 18, 1903 . In the same year Hepke suffered a complicated, severe broken arm when he fell from his horse, which meant that he was no longer fully usable. He then submitted his departure and was put up for disposal on April 18, 1903 with the statutory pension .

After his departure, Hepke moved to Neuwied and worked there as Chamber Director of the Prince of Wied. He was also an elected member of the provincial committee in the Koblenz district . In addition, Hepke had already worked as a military writer during his active service and published a. a. in the military weekly .

When the First World War broke out , it was reused and initially employed as a Landsturm inspector in the area of ​​the VIII Army Corps . On September 29, 1914, Hepke was appointed Chief of the General Staff of the Deputy General Command of the VIII Army Corps in Koblenz . In this position he was given the character of Lieutenant General on August 18, 1915 . In addition, Wilhelm II honored him on April 1, 1918 with the star for the Order of the Crown, 2nd class. Following the Compiègne armistice , its mobilization provision was lifted on November 26, 1918. After his death he was buried next to his late wife in the Bornstedter cemetery .

family

Hepke married Rosamunde Mathilde Charlotte Eva von Kleist (1859–1929) on October 10, 1878 in Rheinfeld . She was a sister of the later Prussian general of the cavalry Karl Wilhelm Heinrich von Kleist . The marriage had three children:

• Ernst Georg Robert (born July 10, 1880 in Berlin; † December 29, 1959 in Seebach), German colonel, most recently commander of the military district command in Spittal an der Drau ⚭ March 28, 1905 in Frankfurt an der Oder with Asta Freiin von Senden and Bibran (September 18, 1881 at Gut Reisicht; † January 3, 1968 in Seebach)
• Helene (born November 21, 1882 in Bromberg; † September 14, 1965 in Neuwied)
• Georg Fritz Ferdinand (born November 1, 1887 in Engers, † November 30, 1965 in Wiesbaden), retired German lieutenant colonel. D., most recently at the Liegnitz military replacement inspection

literature

• Kurt von Priesdorff : Soldier leadership . Volume 10, Hanseatische Verlagsanstalt Hamburg, undated [Hamburg], undated [1942], DNB 986919810 , pp. 467-470, no. 3334.
• Wilhelm von Rintelen : History of the Lower Rhine Fusilier Regiment No. 39. ES Mittler & Sohn , Berlin 1893, Appendix, p. 76.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Handbook on the Royal Prussian Court and State for the year 1914. Deckers Verlag, Berlin 1913, p. 741.
2. ↑ Friedrich von Senden: History of the barons of sending and baron Schuler of sending. Pro BUSINESS GmbH, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-86805-628-0 , p. 142 .