Fritz von Loßberg

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Fritz von Loßberg in uniform as Lieutenant General of the Reichswehr

Fritz (Friedrich) Karl von Loßberg (born April 30, 1868 in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe , † May 4, 1942 in Lübeck ) was a German infantry general .

Life

origin

Friedrich came from an old Hessian family that had produced a number of high-ranking officers. He was the son of the later Prussian major general Viktor von Loßberg (1835-1903) and his wife Melly, née Toussaint (1836-1926).

Military career

After visiting the main cadet institute on January 3, 1888, Loßberg joined the 2nd Guard Regiment on foot of the Prussian Army in Berlin as a flag squire . There he received his promotion to second lieutenant on September 17, 1888 and on June 16, 1894 to prime lieutenant . In the same year, on October 1, he was assigned to the military academy for further training and then to the General Staff on April 1, 1898 . As a captain (since March 22, 1900) he was transferred to the General Staff of the XIV Army Corps for the first time on July 5, 1900 . On March 1, 1903, Loßberg received his first command when he took over as company commander in the 6th Baden Infantry Regiment "Kaiser Friedrich III." In April 1905, he was used again in the General Staff, this time with the 19th Division . On January 27, 1907, Loßberg became major and as such he returned to the War Academy as a trainer in October. Three years later he came again to the General Staff of the XIV Army Corps. From October 1, 1912, he was on duty again, was appointed battalion commander in the infantry regiment "Grand Duke of Saxony" (5th Thuringian) No. 94 and was promoted to lieutenant colonel on January 16, 1913. Loßberg changed on October 1, 1913 as chief of staff to the XIII. Army Corps to Stuttgart .

First World War

When the First World War broke out , Loßberg and his corps were deployed from the Diedenhofen staging area , initially in the battle of Longwy . He remained in various general staff positions throughout the war. On January 24, 1915, he was transferred to the Supreme Army Command as deputy head of the operations department and was promoted to colonel there on July 24, 1915. A short time later, he was appointed Chief of Staff to Army High Command 3 . Here he was able to distinguish himself several times through a flexible defense strategy developed by him during the autumn battle in Champagne . These tactics led him to the hot spots on the Western Front as the war progressed . On July 3, 1916, after the beginning of the Battle of the Somme , Loßberg came to Army High Command 2 as Chief of Staff and in the same function on July 19 to Army High Command 1. His work enabled the Allied offensive to be stopped.

On April 11, 1917 Loßberg came to Army High Command 6 and here his tactics again proved their worth during the Battle of Arras , which began on April 1 . For his success in this battle, he received the oak leaves for Pour le Mérite on April 24, 1917. He then moved to Army High Command 4 on June 12 and was able to work out a defense plan for the first time before the attack by the Allies, which then came into effect in the Third Battle of Flanders from July 31, 1917. On August 3, 1917, Loßberg was promoted to major general and a year later he was appointed chief of staff of Army Group Boehn . In the same function, he joined Duke Albrecht von Württemberg's Army Group on October 31, 1918 and stayed there until the group was returned to Germany.

Reichswehr

At the beginning of 1919 Loßberg was briefly appointed Chief of Staff of the AOK South of the Border Guard East in the Provisional Reichswehr and handed over to him on July 24, 1919 the Reichswehr Brigade 26. From this command he was replaced on September 1 and became Chief of Staff of the group command 2 in Kassel .

When the Reichswehr was founded , Lieutenant General Loßberg took over the 6th Division in Münster / Westphalia (since October 1, 1920) . In this position he was also the commander of military district command VI . On November 1, 1924 Loßberg was commander in chief of Group Command 1 in Berlin and, as such, was promoted to General of the Infantry on October 1, 1926. He gave up his command on January 31, 1927 and was ceremoniously retired from the army on the same day.

Lübeck retirement home
former Meesen barracks

Loßberg spent his twilight years as a military writer in Lübeck . There he wrote numerous books and writings.

When Lossberg died, a state funeral was organized for him on Hitler's orders. This took place on May 21, 1942 in the courtyard of the Meesen barracks, which the Lübeck Regiment moved into in 1899 and was later named after one of his battles, near Loßberg's apartment .

The address was given by Colonel General Friedrich Fromm . In this address Fromm pointed out that he had met Loßberg personally as a company commander in Infantry Regiment No. 94 before the World War.

family

His son Bernhard last served as major general in the Wehrmacht command staff during World War II .

Awards

Loßberg was an honorary citizen of his hometown and holder of numerous orders and decorations :

literature

  • Heinz Kraft:  Loßberg, Friedrich von. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 15, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1987, ISBN 3-428-00196-6 , p. 198 f. ( Digitized version ).
  • Otto von Moser : The Württemberg people in the world war. Belser AG, Stuttgart 1928.
  • AOK 3 (ed.): The Champagne autumn battle 1915. Langen publishing house.
  • David T. Zabecki: Fritz von Lossberg. In: Spencer C. Tucker (Ed.): The Encyclopedia of World War I: A Political, Social, and Military History. ABC-Clio Inc. 2005, ISBN 978-1-85109-420-2 , p. 712.
  • Dermot Bradley (ed.), Karl-Friedrich Hildebrand, Markus Rövekamp: The Generals of the Army 1921–1945. The military careers of the generals, as well as the doctors, veterinarians, intendants, judges and ministerial officials with the rank of general. Volume 7: Knabe-Luz. Biblio-Verlag, Bissendorf 2004, ISBN 3-7648-2902-8 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Kurt von Priesdorff : Soldatisches Führertum . Volume 9, Hanseatische Verlagsanstalt Hamburg, undated [Hamburg], undated [1941], DNB 986919780 , p. 375, no. 2948.
  2. ↑ General of the Infantry Fritz von Loßberg. In: Lübeckische Blätter . 84th volume, number 2, edition of June 7, 1942, pp. 39-40.
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Reichswehr Ministry (Hrsg.): Ranking list of the German Reichsheeres. Mittler & Sohn Verlag, Berlin 1930, p. 37.
personal data
SURNAME Loßberg, Fritz von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Loßberg, Friedrich Karl von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German General of the Infantry of the Reichswehr
DATE OF BIRTH April 30, 1868
PLACE OF BIRTH Bad Homburg vor der Höhe
DATE OF DEATH May 4, 1942
Place of death Lübeck