Friedrich Sixt by Armin

Friedrich Sixt by Armin (1916)

Friedrich Bertram Sixt von Armin , wrongly also Sixt von Arnim, (born November 27, 1851 in Wetzlar , † September 30, 1936 in Magdeburg ) was a Prussian infantry general in the First World War .

Life

After completing his Abitur, Sixt von Armin became a flag junior in Queen Augusta's Guard Grenadier Regiment No. 4 in 1870 . A short time later he was seriously wounded at the Battle of Saint-Privat during the Franco-German War . He was awarded the Iron Cross, Second Class, and promoted to Second Lieutenant. He was appointed regimental adjutant , then adjutant of the 3rd Guard Infantry Brigade . In 1884 he was ordered to serve in the General Staff . As a captain , Sixt was transferred from Armin to the staff of the 22nd Division in Kassel . He became company commander in the Kaiser Franz Garde Grenadier Regiment No. 2 , and first general staff officer in the VII Army Corps in Munster . Promoted to major , he was appointed battalion commander of the Magdeburg Fusilier Regiment No. 36 . Promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1897, he was appointed chief of the general staff of the XIII. (Royal Württemberg Army Corps appointed.

In 1900 Sixt became a colonel from Armin and was given command of the infantry regiment "Graf Bülow von Dennewitz" (6th Westphalian) No. 55 . In 1901 he was already Chief of the General Staff of the Guard Corps . In 1903, Sixt became major general from Armin and took on the role of director of the General War Department in the War Ministry . In 1908, Sixt von Armin returned to Munster as commander of the 13th Division and was serving in the troops. In 1911 he took over from Paul von Hindenburg as the commanding general of the IV Army Corps in Magdeburg. In 1913 he was promoted to general of the infantry.

First World War

With the beginning of the First World War, the corps he commanded was part of the 1st Army on the Western Front a . a. used during the Battle of the Marne . For several years, the IV Army Corps was involved in the defensive battles . For fighting at Arras , the Loretto Battle , at La Bassée and at the Battle of the Somme , he was awarded the order Pour le Mérite on August 10, 1916 with the approval of General Fritz von Belows . On March 1, 1917 Sixt von Armin was commander of in Flanders that are available 4th Army . In the course of this year the 4th Army had to endure three heavy defensive battles , such as the so-called Third Battle of Flanders , against overpowering British troops. Sixt von Armin, who was given the honorary name Lion of Flanders here , received the Order of the Black Eagle for his achievements and, at the request of Hindenburg, the oak leaves for the Pour le Mérite.

Sixt von Armin also commanded his army during the German spring offensive in 1918 . On April 25, 1918, the Fourth Battle of Flanders , his units managed to storm the hard-fought Kemmelberg . For this he was awarded the Commander's Cross 1st Class of the Military Order of St. Henry by the Saxon King on May 7, 1918 . On March 9, 1918, he had already been awarded the Grand Cross of the Military Max Joseph Order .

Later, however, his army had to withdraw to the Antwerp - Meuse position.

post war period

With the armistice , Sixt von Armin took over command of " Army Group A " on November 11, 1918 , which he led back home. After the demobilization in Paderborn , Sixt submitted a resignation from Armin, which was approved on January 2, 1919.

Sixt von Armin lived in Magdeburg until his death in 1936. In the social life of the city he appeared frequently as a keynote speaker and guest of honor.

family

He had married Klara Pauline Auguste von Voigts-Rhetz (born October 1, 1859 in Berlin) on June 11, 1882. She was the daughter of the later Prussian general of the artillery Julius von Voigts-Rhetz . Like his father, the son Hans-Heinrich embarked on a career in the military. As Lieutenant General he came in 1942 in the Battle of Stalingrad in Soviet captivity and died in 1952 in captivity.

Honors

After his death he was buried with military honors. In 1928 a barracks and in 1933 a street ( Sixt-von-Armin-Weg ) were named after him in Magdeburg . Both objects were renamed again after 1945. In his hometown of Wetzlar there is still a Sixt-von-Armin-Straße today . The former largest garrison town in Hesse also named one of two barracks after him, but both of them were closed after the end of the Cold War. The Sixt von Armin barracks existed until 1992.

literature

• Markus Pöhlmann :  Sixt von Armin, Friedrich Bertram. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 24, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-428-11205-0 , p. 481 ( digitized version ).
• Jan Vancoillie: Friedrich Bertram Sixt von Armin (1851-1936) . In: Shrapnel . Volume 29 (2017) No. 3, The Western Front Association België vzw, pp. 75–78.

Web links

Commons : Friedrich Bertram Sixt von Armin  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Friedrich Sixt von Armin in the Magdeburg Biographical Lexicon

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The Royal Saxon Military St. Heinrichs Order 1736–1918. An honor sheet of the Saxon Army. Wilhelm and Bertha von Baensch Foundation. Dresden 1937. p. 75.
2. ^ Rudolf von Kramer, Otto von Waldenfels: VIRTUTI PRO PATRIA. The Royal Bavarian Military Max Joseph Order. Acts of War and Book of Honor 1914–1918. Self-published by the Royal Bavarian Military Max Joseph Order. Munich 1966. p. 448.
3. ^ Kurt von Priesdorff : Soldatisches Führertum . Volume 8, Hanseatische Verlagsanstalt Hamburg, undated [Hamburg], undated [1941], DNB 367632837 , p. 323, no. 2621.