Franz Kreß von Kressenstein

Franz Otto Freiherr Kreß von Kressenstein (born July 23, 1881 in Augsburg , † January 14, 1957 in Planegg ) was a German officer , most recently general of the cavalry and from 1936 to 1938 commanding general of the XII. Army Corps of the Wehrmacht .

Life

family

Franz came from the old Nuremberg patrician family Kreß von Kressenstein . He was the son of the later Bavarian Colonel General and War Minister Otto Kreß von Kressenstein and his wife Johanna, née von Orff. Kressenstein married in 1924 in Breslau with Charlotte Drescher, the daughter of the Germanist Carl Maria Drescher . The marriage resulted in two daughters.

Military career

After attending a humanistic grammar school , Kressenstein joined the 1st Heavy Rider Regiment "Prince Karl of Bavaria" of the Bavarian Army in Munich on July 15, 1900 as a flag squire . From March 1, 1901 to February 9, 1902, he was assigned to the Munich War School and promoted to lieutenant on March 9, 1902 . After he became first lieutenant on March 3, 1911 , he graduated from October 1, 1911 for three years at the War Academy , which made him qualified for the General Staff. There he was also promoted to Rittmeister on June 26, 1914.

With the outbreak of World War I , Kressenstein came to the staff of the 1st Infantry Division as an orderly officer , with which he took part in the fighting in Lorraine and France. On December 25, 1914, he was appointed second general staff officer. In the same function, he switched to the cavalry division on September 16, 1915 , with which Kressenstein fought in Poland. In the same year he was also appointed treasurer . On March 12, 1918, he was transferred to the 8th Reserve Division .

After the end of the war, Kressenstein was accepted into the Reichswehr , where he was deployed from 1920 to 1922 as squadron chief in the 17th (Bavarian) cavalry regiment and promoted to major on July 1, 1921 . He was then transferred to the staff of the 2nd Cavalry Division until January 31, 1926. While simultaneously being promoted to Lieutenant Colonel on February 1, 1926, he was transferred to the staff of the Infantry Leader of the 7th (Bavarian) Division in Munich. Then Kressenstein was given command of the 7th (Prussian) cavalry regiment in Breslau on November 1, 1928 and promoted to colonel on November 1, 1930 . On April 1, 1931, he gave up this command and moved to the 2nd Cavalry Division as Chief of Staff. On October 1, 1933, he became major general and was also chief of staff in Group Command 1 in Berlin until October 15, 1935.

On April 1, 1935 he was promoted to lieutenant general and on October 15, 1935 he was appointed commander of the 14th Infantry Division . On October 1, 1936 he rose to the position of General of the Cavalry, followed by his appointment as Commanding General of the XII on October 6. Army corps and commander of military district XII . On February 28, 1938, he was honored and retired from the army.

When he left, he received approval to wear the uniform of Cavalry Regiment 17 with the general badge and was continued in the rankings of 1939 and 1944/45.

Awards

Iron Cross (1914) 2nd and 1st class
Order of the Crown IV class
Bavarian Order of Military Merit IV class with swords and crown
Bavarian Service Award Cross II. Class
Knight's Cross 2nd class of the Albrecht Order
Hanseatic Cross Hamburg
Order of Henry the Lion IV class
Braunschweig War Merit Cross, 2nd class

literature

Dermot Bradley (ed.), Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand, Markus Rövekamp: The Generals of the Army 1921–1945. Volume 7: Knabe-Luz. Biblio Publishing House. Bissendorf 2004. ISBN 3-7648-2902-8 .
Othmar Hackl : The Bavarian War Academy (1867-1914). CH Beck´sche publishing house bookstore. Munich 1989. ISBN 3-406-10490-8 . P. 501.

Individual evidence

↑ Othmar Hackl: The Bavarian War Academy (1867-1914). CH Beck´sche publishing house bookstore. Munich 1989. ISBN 3-406-10490-8 . P. 501.
↑ Othmar Hackl: The Bavarian War Academy (1867-1914). CH Beck´sche publishing house bookstore. Munich 1989. ISBN 3-406-10490-8 . P. 330.
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Ranking list of the German Imperial Army. Ed .: Reichswehr Ministry . Mittler & Sohn publishing house. Berlin 1930. p. 113.

personal data
SURNAME	Kreß von Kressenstein, Franz
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Kreß von Kressenstein, Franz Otto Freiherr
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German officer, general of the cavalry
DATE OF BIRTH	July 23, 1881
PLACE OF BIRTH	augsburg
DATE OF DEATH	January 14, 1957
Place of death	Planegg

[1] Othmar Hackl: The Bavarian War Academy (1867-1914). CH Beck´sche publishing house bookstore. Munich 1989. ISBN 3-406-10490-8 . P. 501.

[2] Othmar Hackl: The Bavarian War Academy (1867-1914). CH Beck´sche publishing house bookstore. Munich 1989. ISBN 3-406-10490-8 . P. 330.

[Rangliste-3] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Ranking list of the German Imperial Army. Ed .: Reichswehr Ministry . Mittler & Sohn publishing house. Berlin 1930. p. 113.