Friedrich von Erckert

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Friedrich von Erckert as a Schutztruppe officer

Friedrich von Erckert (born December 30, 1869 in Bromberg ; † March 16, 1908 at Seatsub , Betschuanaland ) was a German officer in the Imperial Protection Force . Because of the first significant introduction of dromedaries into the German military, he is known as the "father of the camel rider troop".

Military background

In 1886 Friedrich von Eckert moved from the Freienwalde grammar school to the Wahlstatt cadet house in Lower Silesia . From 1886 to 1889 he moved to the main cadet school in Lichterfelde ; occasional service at court as a page .

He joined the Prussian Army on March 22, 1889 as a second lieutenant in the grenadier regiment "King Friedrich Wilhelm IV." (1st Pomeranian) No. 2 in Stettin . To build up the Chilean army on the Prussian model, he was released from August 18, 1895 to August 18, 1897 as a training officer ("Instructor"). After an application, he was drafted into the Imperial Protection Force in German South West Africa in November 1899 . In May 1900 he became district chief , later district captain of Omaruru . He returned to Germany on December 12, 1902 and took up service in the Braunschweig Infantry Regiment No. 92 . He was promoted to captain and company commander of the 2nd Company on May 22, 1904. After the start of the Herero War , he volunteered to re-join the protection force . He became leader of the 12th Company in the 2nd Field Regiment (IV Battalion ), and participated in various battles during the Herero and Nama uprising. In April 1907 he became the commander of the Northern Namaland Military District . In October 1908 he began to train the teaching staff for camel riding and to make further preparations. Erckert begins marching on March 4, 1908. During the storming of the Nama camp on March 16, he was one of the first Germans to be shot in the neck and was buried in the desert. When the body is later searched for to be buried in the cemetery of Gochas near Mariental on the edge of the Kalahari , it is no longer found. There is therefore an empty grave under the tombstone there.

Awards

"The train of Captain von Erckert"

The campaign against the " Simon-Kooper-Hottentots " (today Nama ), which had been prepared with great military thoroughness and had a tragic outcome, was treated literarily by Hans Grimm in his novel Volk ohne Raum ( 1926 ): Captain von Erckert was commissioned to deal with the last rebellious " Hottentots ”, who repeatedly attacked German settlements and posts from the Kalahari , from British territory. Von Erckert plans to equip his soldiers with camels in order to be able to pursue and beat the enemy in the desert. Every little thing was planned meticulously and the soldiers, who were used to horses, were trained on camels. The time of persecution was set in the ripening time of the desert melons, which are important as water reserves for humans and animals.

The relevant excerpt also appeared as a separate booklet Der Zug des Hauptmann von Erckert (1932). Grimm's book about the intellectual military, which in reality repeatedly offended narrow-minded superiors, made von Erckert famous as early as the Weimar Republic . During the time of National Socialism , Friedrich von Erckert was ultimately stylized as a role model for a generation.

Friedrich von Erckert himself wrote articles for the newspaper Die Zukunft under a pseudonym and contributed to the book Mit der Schutztruppe through German-Africa , where he wrote under the pseudonym Simplex Africanus .

His best-known quote, a motto, comes from his diary, which was found in the dead man: “First and foremost, the greatest self-respect - do nothing mean, keep body and soul pure - always control yourself; To be selfless, cheerful and courageous - to tell yourself that a straight, upright posture is also the expression of a straight soul - to enjoy simple things, do not ask for the impossible, but turn to an achievable goal patience, perseverance, collected will - never stay in Dirt. Even the best can occasionally get into it, but nobody needs to stay in it ”.

literature

  • Hans Schmiedel: Captain Friedrich von Erckert in German South West Africa and his time. Dortmund 1974.
  • Ernst Anders: Captain Friedrich von Erckert. A picture of life (supplement to the military weekly paper , 8/1910), Mittler , Berlin 1910 ( bibliographic evidence and digitized version )
  • Julius Ohlemann: With the camel rider corps of Captain von Erckert. In: On the way. Volume VI, 1909.
  • no name: battle report and obituary for Friedrich von Erckert. In: South West African Newspaper. dated March 25, 1908.
  • Captain von Erckert's expedition against Simon Copper. In: Die Woche magazine . July 1908.
  • Volker Lohse: 1908 - The Kalahari campaign of the Kopper-Hottentots. In: Zeitschrift Damals 1989.
  • Volker Lohse: Kalahari March against the Hottentots March 6-22, 1908. In: The tin figure. Issue 2/1974.
  • W. Grunow: Creation and deployment of the camel rider corps of the imperial protection force for DSWA. In: The tin figure. Issue 3/1974.
  • On the 50th anniversary of the death of Captain Friedrich von Erckert. In: Bulletin of the traditional association of former protection and overseas troops. No. 6, 1958.
  • Arne Schöfert: The Chilean order of Captain Friedrich von Erckert. In: magazine medals and decorations. Issue 66, April 2010 ( online version from February 2005 on the website of the traditional association of former protection and overseas troops ).
  • Walther Wülfing: At dawn against Kopper. Glanz & Gloria Verlag, Windhoek 2010, ISBN 978-99945-71-72-7 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Erckert, Friedrich von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German officer of the Imperial Protection Force
DATE OF BIRTH December 30, 1869
PLACE OF BIRTH Bromberg
DATE OF DEATH March 16, 1908
Place of death at Seatsub , Bechuanaland