Friedrich von Georgi

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Friedrich Robert Georgi , from 1901 Edler von Georgi , from 1912 Freiherr von Georgi , from 1919 Friedrich Georgi (born January 27, 1852 in Prague , Bohemia , † January 23, 1926 in Vienna ) was the kk national defense minister and a colonel general of the Austro-Hungarian k .uk army .

Friedrich Freiherr von Georgi as Colonel General

Life

The Georgi family originally came from Saxony , whose first known ancestor was Hans Görge and lived until 1692. The future general was only raised to the nobility at the beginning of the 20th century. The son of a retired colonel, he was destined for a military career.

Education and career before the war

After he attended the cadet institute in Hainburg , he successfully graduated from the Theresian Military Academy in Wiener Neustadt , and was finally assigned to Feldjäger Battalion No. 6 as a lieutenant on September 1, 1871 . For Lieutenant Friedrich Freiherr von Georgi was promoted in May 1877 after which he was then able usual in the army marriage bond deposit and marry a year later Bertha tribe. This marriage gave birth to four children, but two of them died at an early age. From 1879 to 1881 he attended the Imperial and Royal War School in Vienna, followed by service as a general staff officer in the 5th Mountain Brigade during the 1882 uprising in Herzegovina . After this mission, the first lieutenant was awarded the “Most High Commendation”, which later earned him a medal. After these two years in the General Staff and in the State Description Office, he did troop service again until 1890 with Feldjäger Battalion No. 6 and with kuk Infantry Regiment No. 27. During this time he was made captain 2nd class on May 1, 1884 and on November 1, 1885 for Promoted captain 1st class.

On March 17, 1891, Georgi was appointed chief of staff of the 15th Infantry Division, followed shortly by his appointment to major on May 1, 1891. In February 1893 he received a post as a teacher at the staff officer course, where he made it up to the president of the commission for assessment the staff officer aspirants managed, which he then held until 1898, only briefly interrupted by the troops serving in Infantry regiment. 100. In the meantime, he was promoted on May 1, 1894 on the lieutenant colonel , and December 31, 1896 , Colonel . From 1898 to 1903 he was head of the 10th Department in the War Ministry. During this time he received a high level of recognition from all of his commanders. In particular, General Albori and the Chief of the Army General Staff, Beck , gave him excellent reports. One of his talents was to be able to master completely new situations quickly and successfully. In addition, his personality made both superiors and subordinates feel that they could rely on him unconditionally.

Due to his 30 years of service as an officer and a campaign he took part in in the Balkans, Georgi was raised to the nobility on November 1, 1901 with the predicate Noble von . In the spring of 1903 he took command of the 42nd  Landwehr Infantry Brigade , shortly followed by his promotion to major general on May 2, 1903. On July 18, 1906, he received the post of section head in the Imperial and Royal Ministry of Defense . Soon after, he also became known for his brilliant speeches, memoranda and reform proposals. He was one of those young and modern-thinking generals around Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his former classmates in the military academy and Beck's successor as Chief of Staff of the entire army, Conrad von Hötzendorf . Georgi received his appointment as Lieutenant Field Marshal on May 1, 1907.

In the same year, on December 1st, he was appointed kk Landwehr Minister, and was thus responsible for all territorial forces in the cisleithan half of the empire, including the kk gendarmerie . At that time, the Landwehr was only an unpopular addition to the regular Austro-Hungarian Army , which was only established as a counterpart to the Hungarian Honvéd for political reasons and initially had a low budget, low training status and outdated material. The field marshal lieutenant now set about changing this situation. By speaking to the Reichsrat he was able to generate more money for his armed forces and was able to renew the equipment and to set up his own kk artillery and kk cavalry. In order to increase the level of education of his officers, in 1912 he detached the kk cadet schools from the previous structures and founded the kk Franz Joseph Military Academy , which was able to offer the same quality standards as the Theresian Military Academy . He also founded the kk military high school for basic training.

Together with his friend Conrad von Hötzendorf, he created the Landwehr mountain troops , which were specially trained for combat in higher regions. After long and difficult negotiations with the appropriate authorities, Georgi, who was promoted to General of the Infantry on November 1, 1911 (ranking date November 2), was able to introduce draft laws for a new military and military law. Both laws were signed by the Kaiser on July 5, 1912 and now brought the Landwehr to the same standard in many respects as the joint Austro-Hungarian Army. During the war, land defense units were still viewed as less reliable troop bodies, which was partly justified. Not all problems could be eliminated with increased financial resources alone. In 1912 he was also appointed Colonel of Infantry Regiment No. 15, and on September 9th of that year he was promoted to the rank of baron . When the war began, it was thanks to Georgi that the Imperial and Royal Landwehr achieved many of the wishes and goals set in them, while the Hungarian Honvéd still lagged behind.

First World War

After the outbreak of the First World War , Freiherr von Georgi applied for a command at the front, which he was refused - also in a later episode - due to his importance in his current post. During the following war years, his extraordinary organizational talent was recognized and praised several times. From 1915 he was Magistral Grand Cross Knight of the Sovereign Order of Malta . On 6 May 1916 he was appointed Colonel-General conveyed. After the murder of Austrian Prime Minister Stürgkh in October 1916, Conrad von Hötzendorf, along with other people, suggested him for this post. The chief of the general staff demanded for this office an energetic, intelligent, non-partisan, in no way committed man with a straight mind and organizational talent . Georgi also showed great commitment to the medical care of wounded soldiers, for which he has received several awards.

Known as a talented and successful bureaucrat in his position, he was one of the few people who were asked by Emperor Karl to remain in their post as minister. On March 31, 1917 he was made an honorary citizen of the city of Leitmeritz , and in the same year he was appointed by the emperor as a lifelong member of the manor house , the upper house of the Reichsrat . It was only with the end of Prime Minister Clam-Martinic's cabinet in the summer of 1917 that his career as Minister of the Imperial and Royal Landwehr came to an end; his successor as minister was General Czapp von Birkenstetten on June 23, 1917 .

Since Colonel-General Georgi, already 66 years old, saw no more chance of command in the field, he asked the Kaiser in 1918 to be put at disposition. He also removed himself from the political scene and settled in Vienna after the war, where he died in June 1926. In 1940 Georgistraße in Vienna- Floridsdorf (21st district) was named after him.

Awards

Web links

Commons : Friedrich von Georgi  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The title was made bourgeois on the basis of the "Law on the Abolition of the Nobility, Secular Knights and Ladies Orders and Certain Titles and Dignities" of the Republic of Austria (Nobility Repeal Act ) of April 3, 1919 with effect from April 10, 1919.
  2. ↑ Manfried Rauchsteiner: The death of the double eagle . Special edition. Verlag Styria, Graz, Vienna, Cologne 1997. ISBN 3-222-12454-X , p. 392.
  3. ^ Rauchsteiner 1997, p. 454.
  4. ^ Rauchsteiner 1997, p. 580.
predecessor Office successor
Julius Latscher from Lauendorf kk Minister for National Defense
December 1, 1907 - June 23, 1917 		Karl Czapp Freiherr von Birkenstetten
personal data
SURNAME Georgi, Friedrich von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Georgi, Friedrich Freiherr von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian general
DATE OF BIRTH January 27, 1852
PLACE OF BIRTH Prague
DATE OF DEATH January 23, 1926
Place of death Vienna