Günther von Etzel

Günther von Etzel (born December 14, 1862 in Magdeburg ; † January 21, 1948 in Wiesbaden ) was a German cavalry general and military attaché in Japan .

Life

Günther was the son of Hermann von Etzel (1812–1883) and his wife Augusta, née Koch (1833–1875). His wife's father was the Prussian Lieutenant General Leopold von Klingspor , a highly decorated veteran of the war of 1870/71 . Etzel's brother Otto (1860–1934) made it to lieutenant general, who u. a. served in the great general staff .

Etzel came on 19 March 1881 as a cadet in the 2nd Guards Regiment on foot in Berlin one. Promoted to Second Lieutenant on September 13, 1882 , he was transferred to the 1st Grand Ducal Mecklenburg Dragoon Regiment No. 17 in Ludwigslust . From September 30, 1887 to February 13, 1888, he was assigned to the military riding institute in Hanover . Promoted to Prime Lieutenant on September 10, 1890 , he became adjutant of the 18th Cavalry Brigade in Altona on September 14, 1893 . Appointed to the Great General Staff in Berlin on March 17, 1894, he was transferred to the General Staff of the Grand Ducal Hessian (25th) Division in Darmstadt on March 22, 1895 and Rittmeister on December 9, 1895 . Since November 18, 1897 he was deputy commander of the 1st Brandenburg Dragoon Regiment No. 2 in Schwedt . On November 16, 1899, transferred to the General Staff of the Guard Cavalry Division in Berlin.

During the Boxer Rebellion in China , Etzel joined the staff of the High Command under General Field Marshal Alfred von Waldersee from December 8, 1900, and after his return was again active in the General Staff in Berlin on August 6, 1901. On September 19, 1901, Etzel was promoted to major and on May 29, 1902, he was transferred to the German Embassy in Tokyo as a military attaché . From 1904 to 1905 he was commanded to the Japanese Army in Manchuria for the duration of the Russo-Japanese War . Etzel traveled to China, Korea and the Philippines .

After his return to Germany he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel on May 18, 1908 , and took command of the Kurmärkische Dragoon Regiment No. 14 in Colmar . On April 21, 1911 he was appointed colonel and on April 22, 1912 commander of the 33rd Cavalry Brigade in Metz . His superior, General of the Infantry Ernst von Hoiningen declared in 1911:

"... Colonel von Etzel is a highly talented, excellent officer who has a very promising future."

On April 22, 1914 he was promoted to major general and, after the beginning of the First World War , led the 33rd Cavalry Brigade of the 4th Cavalry Corps (General von Hollen) as the 5th Army of the German Crown Prince Wilhelm marched into the Argonne . On September 24, 1914, he briefly took over the leadership of the Guards Cavalry Division from Lieutenant General von Storch and on December 3, 1914, he was appointed commander of the Leibhusaren Brigade. On May 3, 1915, General Wurmb was appointed commander of the 3rd Cavalry Division , and from August 31, 1916 to May 14, 1917, he replaced General Thumb von Neuburg as the commander of the 2nd Cavalry Division . Both large units were deployed against the Russians on the Austro-Hungarian front in Galicia in 1915 and in Romania in 1916 . From May 14, 1917 to June 23, 1918 he replaced General von Schoeler as commander of the 11th Division in the Noyon area . As Lieutenant General (since January 27, 1918) he was on June 23, 1918 as the successor of Lieutenant General von Webern with the leadership of the XVII. Army Corps instructed. Etzel received the Pour le Mérite on August 4, 1917 and the oak leaves for Pour le Mérite on October 25, 1918 for the performance of his troops in the defensive battles on the Western Front .

On August 27, 1918, Viktor Albrecht was succeeded General of the Infantry as Commanding General of the XVIII. Army Corps , which he was to command in the retreat battles of the 17th Army even after the end of the war.

His superior, General of the Infantry Bruno von Mudra , most recently Commander in Chief of the 17th Army, said about him:

“Von Etzel distinguished himself as a troop leader under adverse conditions and as a soldier showed a strong character with calm and energy. During the last battles on the Scheldt , when the troops disbanded due to exhaustion, he inspired by his personal influence and was able to seal off the enemy breakthrough everywhere. He is an energetic and extraordinary general who continued to have his troops firmly under control. "

Etzel was granted his departure on April 4, 1919 and he was retired.

On August 27, 1939, the so-called Tannenberg Day , Etzel was given the character of General of the Cavalry.

Awards

• Order of the Red Eagle III. Class with swords on rings
• Order of the Crown III. Class with swords
• Prussian service award cross
• Bavarian Military Merit Order III. class
• Knight's Cross of the Order of the Wendish Crown
• Mecklenburg Military Merit Cross II. Class
• Reussian Cross of Honor III. class
• Commander of the Order of the Rising Sun
• Officer of the Order of the Crown of Italy
• Order of the Iron Crown III. class
• Russian Order of Saint Anne III. class
• Russian Order of Saint Stanislaus II class with swords
• Iron Cross (1914) 2nd and 1st class

literature

• 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. 377-378
• Hanns Möller: History of the knights of the order pour le mérite in the world war. Volume I: A-L. Bernard & Graefe publishing house, Berlin 1935, pp. 284–286.
• Bavaria. (1905). Bavarian Law and Ordinance Gazette. Munich: Bavarian State Chancellery. OCLC 39377851

Web links

• Sisemore, James D. (2003). "The Russo-Japanese War, Lessons Not Learned," US Army Command and General Staff College.
• Takenobu Yoshitarō. (1906). Japan Year Book. Tokyo: Japan Year Book Office. OCLC 1771764

Single receipts

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l} Ranking list of the Royal Prussian Army and the XIII. (Royal Württemberg) Army Corps for 1914 , Ed .: War Ministry , Ernst Siegfried Mittler & Sohn , Berlin 1914, p. 99