Franz von Soden (General)

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Franz von Soden

Franz Ludwig Freiherr von Soden (* 9. March 1856 in Stuttgart , † 29. November 1945 in Lingen ) was a württembergischer General of Infantry in the First World War .

Life

origin

Franz was the son of the Chamberlain , Real Privy Councilor and President of the Administrative Court in Stuttgart, Alfred von Soden (1826-1894) and his wife Emilie , born in Rome (1835-1913).

Military career

Soden attended grammar school in Stuttgart and the academy in Neuchâtel . He joined the Grenadier Regiment "Queen Olga" (1st Württembergisches) No. 119 of the Württemberg Army on October 1, 1873, initially as a one-year volunteer , and was promoted to Second Lieutenant by February 8, 1875 . From October 1, 1880 to July 19, 1883 he was sent to the Prussian War Academy for further training . At the same time as his promotion to Prime Lieutenant on October 13, 1883, he was transferred to the grenadier regiment "King Karl" (5th Württembergisches) No. 123 . As early as July 7, 1884, Soden was reassigned and from May 1, 1886 he was assigned to the General Staff in Berlin. Here he was promoted to captain on April 28, 1888 . Soden spent the next few years in staff positions. So from January 27, 1889 to March 23, 1890 in the General Staff of the X Army Corps and then until September 18, 1891 in the General Staff of the 19th Division . He then returned to the troop service and was company commander in the Grenadier Regiment "Queen Olga" (1st Württembergisches) No. 119 until April 20, 1893. Then he was employed as first general staff officer in the staff of the 26th Division (1st Royal Württembergische ) and the meanwhile promotion to major on September 18, 1893. Two years later he had the same function in the staff of the XIII. (Royal Württemberg) Army Corps . On April 21, 1898 he was then transferred to Kassel , where he took over as commander of the 1st Battalion of the Infantry Regiment "von Wittich" (3rd Kurhessisches) No. 83 . He was to lead this command for the next two years, was appointed lieutenant colonel on April 18, 1900 and as such shortly afterwards on May 29, 1900 with the management of the business as chief of the general staff of the X. Army Corps. On June 16, 1901, he was finally appointed Chief of the General Staff. As a colonel (since April 22, 1902), Soden was then appointed on February 25, 1903, commander of the infantry regiment "Kaiser Friedrich, King of Prussia" (7th Württembergisches) no . From this command Soden was relieved on May 20, 1906, entrusted with the leadership of the 51st Infantry Brigade and at the same time as the promotion to major general on September 13, 1906 appointed brigade commander. On January 27, 1910 he was promoted to lieutenant general and on April 1, 1910, Soden was appointed commander of the 26th Division (1st Royal Württembergische). This command handed Soden on 21 March 1911 his successor Friedrich von Gerok and he was awarded the character as General of Infantry to the disposition provided.

With the outbreak of World War I, Soden made himself available and was given command of the 26th Reserve Division (1st Royal Württembergische) . This marched in association with the XIV Reserve Corps east of Schönau in Alsace and participated in the battles in the Vosges between Nancy and Epinal at the end of August / beginning of September . On September 9, 1914, she was withdrawn from here and transported to northern France via Germany. Unloaded at Cambrai , they marched on over Bapaume to then intervene in the first battle of the Somme . It then went into trench warfare and was almost unchanged in the Artois until mid-1916 . Movement did not start again until July 1, 1916 due to a seven-day barrage and the subsequent attacks by British infantry units in the Battle of the Somme . Soden was able to hold the section he was commanding on both sides of Thiepval despite losses and incursions in several places or to recapture lost terrain.

On December 17, 1916, when he was granted his patent as General of the Infantry, Soden was appointed Commanding General of the VII Reserve Corps . With this he was in action in the Champagne region in mid-January 1917 , repelling large-scale attacks several times and thwarting opposing breakthrough attempts. On July 27, 1917, he received the highest Prussian valor award, the Pour le Mérite, from the hands of the Crown Prince for his services . From the end of August to mid-November 1917 he was briefly with the leadership of the XI. Army Corps and was subsequently appointed Commanding General of the V Reserve Corps on November 17, 1917 . The supreme command of the Maas group east near Verdun was connected with this command . After the fighting there, he and his corps retreated in early autumn 1918, which was accompanied by defensive battles between the Maas and Beaumont. His king awarded Soden the Commander's Cross of the Order of Military Merit on February 20, 1918 , from Saxony he received the Grand Cross of the Order of Albrecht with the Golden Star and Swords on June 6, 1918, and the allied Kuk Monarchy honored him with the Cross of Military Merit on November 2, 1918 First class with swords and war decorations.

With the armistice , Soden led the troops under him back home, where the demobilization took place. Thereupon he was transferred to the officers of the army on January 25th and finally retired on January 31st, 1919 with the lifting of his mobilization provision.

After the war, Soden published a series of papers on the Württemberg Army in the Swabian Merkur and was chairman of the officers' association of the infantry regiment "Kaiser Friedrich, König von Preußen" (7th Württembergisches) No. 125.

family

On January 8, 1890, Soden married Amélie Freiin Hugo von Spitzemberg in Stuttgart , who volunteered in the field of Caritas and education and, as a politician of the German Center Party, was a member of the constituent assembly of the newly founded People's State of Württemberg in 1919 . From this marriage between 1890 and 1905 five daughters were born: Maria (* 1890), Irmgard (* 1892), Gisela (* October 20, 1895; she married the later major general of the Wehrmacht Hartmann Maria Freiherr von Ow auf Wachendorf in 1921 ), Elisabeth (* 1901) and Mechthild (* 1908). Her grandson Meinrad Freiherr von Ow bequeathed large parts of the family estate to the Baden-Württemberg State Archives .

Awards

Trivia

In the British BBC documentary The Somme. From Defeat to Victory (The Somme . From defeat to victory) about the Battle of the Somme, actor Rüdiger Kuhlbrodt took over the role of General Franz von Soden.

literature

  • Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand, Christian Zweng: The knights of the order Pour le Mérite of the First World War. Volume 3: P-Z. Biblio Verlag, Bissendorf 2011, ISBN 3-7648-2586-3 , pp. 323-325.
  • Hanns Möller: History of the knights of the order pour le mérite in the world war. Volume II: M-Z. , Verlag Bernard & Graefe, Berlin 1935, pp. 343-345.
  • Herman Niethammer: The officer corps of the infantry regiment Kaiser Friedrich, King of Prussia (7th Württemberg) No. 125. 1809–1909. Stuttgart 1909, pp. 270-271.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Soden, Alfred Freiherr von in der Deutschen Biographie , accessed on March 6, 2017.
  2. ↑ Otto von Moser : Die Württemberger in the world wars. 2nd expanded edition, Chr.Belser AG, Stuttgart 1928, p. 109.
  3. ^ Military Ordinance Sheet. No. 24 of June 13, 1918, p. 217.
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Prussian War Ministry (ed.): Ranking list of the Royal Prussian Army and the XIII. (Royal Württemberg) Army Corps for 1911. ES Mittler & Sohn , Berlin 1911, p. 1050.
  5. ^ Military Ordinance Sheet. No. 14 of March 6, 1915, p. 146.
  6. ^ Military Ordinance Sheet. No. 37 of July 19, 1916, p. 398.
  7. ↑ Film scene with Lieutenant General von Soden on youtube
personal data
SURNAME Soden, Franz von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Soden, Franz Ludwig Freiherr von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Württemberg general of the infantry
DATE OF BIRTH March 9, 1856
PLACE OF BIRTH Stuttgart
DATE OF DEATH November 29, 1945
Place of death Überlingen