Friedrich von Gontard

Lieutenant General Friedrich von Gontard

Friedrich Ferdinand Hans Erdmann von Gontard (born August 5, 1860 in Frankfurt (Oder) , † March 17, 1942 in Potsdam ) was a German infantry general .

Life

Gontard joined the Prussian Army in Naumburg (Saale) as a second lieutenant in the Magdeburg Jäger Battalion No. 4 on April 15, 1878 . From October 1, 1883 to July 21, 1886, he graduated from the War Academy and from March 22 to April 1, 1888 he was assigned to the General Staff . As Prime Lieutenant (since September 17, 1887), he was transferred to the Kurhessian Jäger Battalion No. 11 in Marburg on September 19, 1888 . From February 26, 1891 Gontard was adjutant of the 13th Infantry Brigade , was promoted as such to captain on January 27, 1893 and on September 14 of the same year company commander in Jäger Battalion No. 11. He was then transferred to the same position to Berlin to inspect the hunters and shooters. At the same time, while remaining in this position, Gontard was transferred to the Hannoversche Jäger Battalion No. 10 in Goslar on January 27, 1900 and promoted to major . On February 25, 1902, he took over the 1st Battalion of the Oldenburg Infantry Regiment No. 91 . On September 15, 1905, he was appointed commander of the 2nd Silesian Jäger Battalion No. 6 in Oels . Gontard was commissioned on February 21, 1909 with the command of the infantry regiment "Herzog Karl von Mecklenburg-Strelitz" (6th East Prussian) No. 43 and was appointed as regimental commander on April 20, 1909 , while being promoted to colonel . He valued Albert Krantz , the regiment's music master. Krantz owed the very rarely awarded title of Kgl to his recommendation . Music director .

Since October 1, 1912 Major General , Gontard commanded the 79th Infantry Brigade in the 14th Division (German Empire) and from January 27, 1913 the 4th Guard Infantry Brigade .

Gontard initially retained this command after the outbreak of World War I , commanded the 30th Division from December 17, 1914 and was deployed on the Western Front . On April 18, 1916, he was appointed lieutenant general and, from September 21, 1917, he was also appointed to represent the commanding general of the XIV Army Corps for six weeks . Finally, on November 2, 1917, he was appointed commanding general of the corps .

After the end of the war, Gontard was initially left at his post, made available on June 28, 1919, and adopted and retired on July 19, 1919.

On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the beginning of the First World War and the Battle of Tannenberg , he was awarded the character of General of the Infantry on August 27, 1939 .

Awards

• Prussian service award cross
• Cross of Honor of the Order of the Griffin
• Knight of Honor Cross 1st Class of the Oldenburg House and Merit Order of Duke Peter Friedrich Ludwig
• Reussian Cross of Honor 2nd class
• Commander II class of the Duke of Saxony-Ernestine House Order
• Herzog Ernst Medal
• Officer's Cross of the Lippe House Order
• Knight of the Legion of Honor
• Iron Cross (1914) 2nd and 1st class
• Order of the Red Eagle II class with the star, oak leaves and swords
• Order of the Crown II class
• Pour le Mérite with oak leaves
  • Pour le Mérite on April 9, 1918
  • Oak leaves on August 4, 1918

literature

• Dermot Bradley (ed.), Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand, Markus Brockmann: Die Generale des Heeres 1921-1945. The military careers of the generals, as well as the doctors, veterinarians, data officers, judges and ministerial officials with the rank of general. Volume 4: Fleck – Gyldenfeldt. Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1996, ISBN 3-7648-2488-3 , pp. 361-362.
• Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand, Christian Zweng: The knights of the order Pour le Mérite of the First World War. Volume 1: A-G. Biblio Verlag, Osnabrück 1999, ISBN 3-7648-2505-7 , pp. 505-507.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h} Prussian War Ministry (ed.): Ranking list of the Royal Prussian Army and the XIII. (Royal Württemberg) Army Corps for 1914. ES Mittler & Sohn , Berlin 1914, p. 50.
2. ↑ Army Pour le Merite Winners - Army Awards During World War I ( Memento of the original from November 24, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , alphabetical overview.