Friedrich Karl von Witzleben

Coat of arms of those von Witzleben

Friedrich Karl von Witzleben (born July 31, 1864 in Angelroda , † September 27, 1947 in Elgersburg ) was a German lieutenant general as well as a ministerial advisor and director of the main supply office in Berlin .

Life

origin

Karl came from the Thuringian noble family von Witzleben . He was the son of the first lieutenant a. D. and manor owner job Wilhelm Günther Ernst von Witzleben (1829–1880) and his wife Helene Wilhelmine Johanne, née Schierholz (1840–1916).

Military career

After his education in the Cadet Corps , Witzleben was transferred to the 2nd Hanseatic Infantry Regiment No. 76 of the Prussian Army on April 15, 1884 as a Second Lieutenant . From April 1, 1887 to September 30, 1890 he was adjutant of the 1st battalion and then came to the Hamburg district command for a year in the same position . Promoted to Prime Lieutenant on September 17, 1892, he was employed as adjutant of the Landwehr Inspection Berlin on September 12, 1894. With simultaneous promotion to captain , Witzleben was transferred to the 1st Thuringian Infantry Regiment No. 31 on November 18, 1897, leaving his command . Relieved of his command, he was transferred to the 5th Guards Regiment on foot in Spandau on May 26, 1898 and appointed company commander. After Witzleben had been aggregated into 3rd Posen Infantry Regiment No. 58 in Glogau on October 2 , he was appointed company commander on October 18, 1901. He commanded the first third, and later the first  company and, after almost eight years of service in early August 1909 as Major to the bar of the "I. King Frederick" Grenadier Regiment (4th Ostpreußisches) no. 5 of Danzig added. On May 31, 1912 Witzleben was appointed commander of the III. Battalion in the Danzig Infantry Regiment No. 128 .

This battalion led Witzleben after the outbreak of the First World War in the border guard battles of the XVII. Army Corps in East Prussia against the Russian Army . He took part in the battles near Gumbinnen , Tannenberg and the Masurian Lakes and was appointed commander of the grenadier regiment "King Friedrich I." (4th East Prussian) No. 5 during the subsequent campaign in southern Poland on October 16, 1914. Promoted to lieutenant colonel on November 8, 1914, after the Battle of Warsaw , Witzleben subsequently took part in the fighting near Kutno , Lodz and the Rawka - Bzura , which eventually resulted in trench warfare. The beginning of 1915 was marked by the heavy fighting at Humin and in January and February as well as at Stolniki in March. During the summer campaign his regiment penetrated into the Lithuanian swamps with the army group "Gallwitz" during the Narew offensive . Here Witzleben had to give up the association for a short time due to illness. During his absence, the regiment was transferred to the Western Front and took up positions between the Somme and Oise . After his recovery, Witzleben took command again and was used in the Battle of the Somme . He played a significant role in the successful defensive battles south of the river despite heavy losses. After the end of the battle, the regiment returned to trench warfare at the end of November 1916 and in spring 1917 took part in the retreat to the Siegfried Front. The battle of Arras followed in May, followed by trench warfare in Flanders and Artois . During the Third Battle of Flanders , in which the regiment had to face heavy defensive battles again, Witzleben was promoted to colonel on August 18, 1917 . From the end of December 1917 his regiment was then in front of St. Quentin for three months and he was also the commander of this fortress.

At the beginning of the German spring offensive , Witzleben and his regiment were deployed during the successful breakthrough battle near St. Quentin- La Fère and subsequently pushed as far as the Montdidier and Noyon area . In doing so, he lost over half of his regiment to enemy action, but was able to bring in around 1750 prisoners, 36 artillery pieces, 60 machine guns and numerous other military equipment and pieces of equipment at the same time . After the offensive got stuck and had to be broken off, the regiment was pulled from the front to refresh and recover. It was not until May 27, 1918 that the regiment resumed its combat activities and was used in the battle of Soissons and Reims . It succeeded the capture of the entire III. Battalion of a French infantry regiment with a strength of seven officers and 800 men. While the battle was still in progress, Witzleben was appointed commander of the 49th Infantry Brigade (1st Grand Ducal Hessian) on June 3, 1918. His division commander then submitted Witzleben to the order Pour le Mérite because of his achievements during the German spring offensive . Through AKO on June 23, 1918, Witzleben received this highest Prussian bravery award. Witzleben and his brigade were involved in permanent defensive battles until the end of the war.

After the Compiègne armistice , he led his troops back home. From demobilized parts of the 25th Division he formed a Freikorps named after him in Bad Nauheim and Friedberg , which participated in the suppression of the Spartakist riots in Hanau and Mannheim from January to March 1919 . In April 1919 he was assigned to the War Ministry in Berlin. Based on his experience, he was commissioned to transform the district commandos and the Landwehr inspection in Berlin into pension offices and main pension offices. Therefore he was appointed commander of the Landwehr District IV Berlin and then commanded him to the staff of the Landwehr Inspection Berlin. During this time Witzleben was involved in the drafting of new supply laws in the Reich Labor Ministry . After completion of this assignment, he was on 10 April 1920, awarding of the character as a major general retired from active military service.

On August 14, 1920, when he was appointed Ministerialrat, Witzleben took up his new position as director of the Main Welfare Office in Berlin, until he was finally dismissed on July 31, 1924 at his request. After his departure he devoted himself to the management of his manor in Angelroda.

Witzleben received the character of Lieutenant General on August 27, 1939, the so-called "Tannenberg Day".

He was chairman of the sex association . In February 1946 he had to leave his manor , which had been expropriated by the land reform .

family

Witzleben married Else Reimer (1867-1940) on April 20, 1890 in Berlin . The marriage resulted in three sons and a daughter:

• Job Ernst (1893-1914)
• Karl Eric (1891-1914)
• Kurt Hartmann (1890-1938)
• Irmgard (1896-1944)

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. 552-554.
• 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. 514-517.
• Gothaisches Adeliges Taschenbuch, Gotha 1923, p. 711.
• Harry von Rège : Officer master list of the infantry regiment No. 76. Mauke, Hamburg 1902, OCLC 252978009 , p. 116.
• Georg von Witzleben: "If it goes against Satan Hitler ...". Erwin von Witzleben in the resistance. Biography. Osburg, Hamburg 2013, ISBN 978-3-95510-025-4 . Pp. 84 f., P. 217.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Georg von Witzleben: "If it goes against Satan Hitler ...". Erwin von Witzleben in the resistance. Biography. Osburg, Hamburg 2013, p. 84.