Harry from Wright

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Pacing the front in front of the castle gate in Lübeck
Address by Wright for the handover of the two "booty guns"

Harry Francis von Wright (born July 12, 1859 in Saarbrücken , † May 20, 1925 in Rostock ) was a Prussian officer , most recently a lieutenant general .

Life

origin

He was the son of the later Prussian Lieutenant General Charles Harrison Wright (1821-1885) and his wife Sara Ellen Lloyd (born February 21, 1831 in London, † January 24, 1905 in Spandau). On his return from the Franco-Prussian War , his father was raised to hereditary nobility by King Wilhelm I on June 16, 1871, when the troops entered Berlin, “because of the bravery shown in the war against France” .

His brother, William Alfred Thomas, served until his transfer as major on February 20, 1909 in the infantry regiment "Grand Duke Friedrich Franz II of Mecklenburg-Schwerin" (4th Brandenburg) No. 24 to Neuruppin in the same regiment .

Military career

Wright was Portepee - commissioned officer in the Cadet Corps . From this he was transferred to the Hessian Fusilier Regiment No. 80 of the Prussian Army in Wiesbaden on April 14, 1877 . To the adjutant of the III. He was appointed to the battalion in Homburg vor der Höhe on November 4, 1881 and held this post until April 1, 1886. Following an inspection of the battalion on August 23, 1883 by the Crown Prince at the Homburg Tannenwald, he had breakfast in the Kurhaus with the battalion commander Schuch and the battalion adjutant. Back in Wiesbaden, he was appointed regimental adjutant on October 1, 1886 and promoted to prime lieutenant on March 22, 1887 . The name of his regiment was changed on January 27, 1889, the Emperor's birthday, to Fusilier Regiment "von Gersdorff" (Hessian) No. 80.

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of its existence as the Prussian regiment , the city made the Royal Theater available to the latter for the ceremony on October 29, 1891. The prologue and the explanatory descriptions of the Living Pictures were written by the regimental adjutant. He also performed the prologue, while the explanations of the pictures were spoken by the court actor Köchy.

From this command Wright was the promotion to captain and appointed to chief relieved the 12th company on 29 March 1892nd When an additional half battalion was formed within the regiment on October 2, 1893, Wright was appointed chief of the 13th Company, before becoming chief of the 2nd Company that same year.

In the presence of the Russian Tsar couple , Nicholas II and Alexandra Fjodorovna , the foundation stone of the Greek Chapel was laid in Homburg on October 16, 1896 . Two days later the Tsar couple came to Wiesbaden to visit the Greek chapel there. In the 19th century, Orthodox churches were referred to as "Greek churches".

For this visit, under the command of Major Leyen , one company each was formed from the teams of the two Wiesbaden battalions (I.) and (VI.) . These were (2) of the captains Wright and Diepenbroick-Grüter commands (3rd) and were at about three kilometers long way from the railway station to the chapel trellis .

Since 1894 Wilhelm II came to Wiesbaden every year. So he came to the unveiling of the Kaiser Friedrich III monument on October 18, 1897, the birthday of the deceased emperor. The garrisons from Wiesbaden and Biebrich and the 1st Hessian Infantry Regiment No. 81 from Frankfurt am Main took part in the celebration. Wilhelm's honor company was formed from the regular teams of the two battalions of the domestic regiment and led by Wright. Shortly before the emperor's appearance, the Infantry General Hahnke presented the leader of the honorary company with the Order of the Red Eagle, IV class , which had been awarded to him .

After the emperor arrived, the company of honor brought the flags of the military units present into the castle . The company appeared for the unveiling of the monument, but only with the flag of the local 1st Battalion and stood again for the ceremony on Wilhelmstrasse opposite the Nassauer Hof , where the memorial is located. On his left stood the 81st and on his right the remnants of the two battalions of the 80th regiment. It was also announced that day that the Emperor had appointed Empress Friedrich as head of the regiment .

In 1901 the history of the regiment, written by Hans Dechend , appeared. Captain Wright wrote his last chapter on the peacetime since 1871 . Lieutenant Edwin von Tautphoeus colored the graphics of the regiment's uniforms in the course of its history.

For the Emperor's birthday in 1902, the name of the regiment changed again. From now on it was the fusilier regiment "von Gersdorff" (Kurhessisches) No. 80.

On November 22, 1902, Wright was promoted to redundant major and transferred to regimental staff . He was appointed commander of the 1st Battalion on December 15, 1904. After he was promoted to lieutenant colonel on September 17, 1909 , on January 27, 1910, he was transferred to the Mainz infantry body regiment "Grand Duchess" (3rd Grand Ducal Hessian) No. 117 . Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig awarded him the Cross of Honor of the Order of Philip on January 27, 1912 for his achievements in troop leadership . With his promotion to Colonel Wright was appointed commander of the Grand Ducal Mecklenburg Fusilier Regiment "Kaiser Wilhelm" No. 90 in Rostock on April 22, 1912 . As announced for his 25th anniversary on June 16, 1913, Wilhelm II visited the regiment bearing his name on August 10 for his 125th birthday (for the last time) in the walls of the garrison. This showed him with the honor guard , the military honors. From his command, he was released on July 3, 1914 in approval of his leave request and with the statutory board for disposition made.

After the outbreak of the First World War , Wright was re-used as a zD officer and was given command of the 5th Reserve Infantry Brigade from Szczecin . On the Eastern Front he fought in the Battle of Gumbinnen and during the Battle of Tannenberg on August 25, 1914, he was appointed commander of the Hanoverian 39th Reserve Infantry Brigade fighting on the Western Front . With the brigade he took part in the battles at Marbaix , Fesmy and Le Breuil , the battles at St. Quentin , the Petit Morin , in the Champagne and the 4th battle near Perthes , the battles near Reims , the Aisne and Metzeral , as well as the trench warfare in Champagne and Upper Alsace .

General's Lübeck house

On September 8, 1915, Wright, who was meanwhile a major general, was transferred to the home army and appointed deputy commander of the 81st Infantry Brigade in Lübeck . In this position he received the character of Lieutenant General on September 20, 1918 .

In the spring of 1915, several people, such as Werner Lindner ( secretary at the German Homeland Security Association ), complained that cities comparable to Lübeck already listed "war memorials" as sights in their tourist guides . What was meant as such was enemy military equipment captured in the First World War . This changed on November 1, 1915 on the square between the Burgtor and the Burgtorbrücke . Two French booty guns were set up here two days earlier and were handed over in a solemn ceremony by the military administration , on behalf of Major General Wright, the Lübeck Senate , on behalf of Mayor Eschenburg . The captured guns were two Canon de 90 mm modèle 1877 with fortress mounts . The city awarded Wright the Lübeck Hanseatic Cross on December 18, 1915 .

On 6 June 1916, Senators Eschenburg , Neumann and Kuhlenkamp from the Hanseatic city as well as General Wright and Colonel Kuehnheim awaited the hospital train M3 of the Düsseldorf district on track 4 of Lübeck's main train station . This was occupied by 120 exchange wounded coming from Siberia via Sweden . After a speech by Eschenburg and Wright, they were fed before they were transported to the barracks hospital. The same train was welcomed two days later with another 133 exchange wounded coming from Russia on the same route .

The military drama of the Emperor's birthday (January 27th), which originally took place annually after the services on the Lübeck Burgfelde , was relocated to the Buniamshof under Wright, since the barrack hospital now took up this space .

To that in the main gymnasium of Lübeck Turnerschaft of 1854 held centenary of the German gymnastics on 5 March 1917 Wright was next to the from Altona who had traveled Deputy Commanding General of the IX. Army Corps , General of the Infantry Adalbert von Falk , the highest-ranking military person among the guests of honor. After all, the military side placed a particularly high value on gymnastics .

The last celebrations of the imperial birthday took place in 1918 without the drama under Wright. The replacement battalion stood in parade position on the market square in Lübeck in front of the 70-year-old mayor Fehling and the general. After their speeches, the mayor awarded Hanseatic crosses to "merited warriors".

In order to master the Kiel sailors' uprising , the chief of the naval station of the Baltic Sea and the Kiel governorate , Admiral Souchon , did not turn to the chief military commander in his home area on November 3, 1918, but rather to the deputy general command of the adjacent corps area in Altona. Their commanding general thereupon instructed the troop leader of the deputy brigade command closest to the Kiel fortress area, Wright, to collect all available infantry forces from the reserve battalion under his command and to transport them to Kiel that same night. The General Command had trains ready for their transports in Lübeck and Neumünster . Wright alerted the reserve battalions of the 162 and the local recruiting office of the Schleswig Reserve Regiment of the 84 in Lübeck and the 163 in Neumünster . However, since it was said during the night that the unrest in Kiel had already been suppressed, the measures introduced were reversed before midnight.

But the unrest there already revived the next morning. Souchon asked the chief of the Deputy General Staff of the Corps for help from Rendsburg ( 85 ) and Lübeck. Wright was then appointed by telephone from Altona at 11 a.m. to command all replacement battalions to be deployed against Kiel.

According to Wright's plan, all intervention troops arriving from the corps area were to be gathered south of Kiel and then marched into Kiel with united forces. The plan was based on his "experiences in the history of war" and on the general staff study from 1908 on the "fight in insurgent cities", which was distributed up to the brigade staff.

But since Souchon's point of view was out of the question that a troop commander of the land army was in command in the area of ​​the naval war port of Kiel, he categorically rejected the Wright and his plan. He got in touch with the military commander in Altona and managed to come to an understanding with him, largely asserting his personal reputation and immediate position . At noon Wright was informed by telephone from the General Command in Lübeck that he had been released from his command and that the reaction forces were under Souchon's direct command. He wanted to create Remedur within the fortress area with the help of the last formations still loyal to him and the army troops brought to them.

Contrary to the forceful counter-ideas of the army commander, who had been rejected by him, the station command allowed all special trains manned by intervention troops to enter the main station of the rebel- ruled city. The revolutionary crowd took the incoming transports by surprise.

"Hotel International"

Four warships with red flags coming from Kiel , one of them the SMS König , ran into Travemünde on the evening of November 5th, 1918 . From there, their teams moved up the Trave on their pinnacles or on foot, or from Kücknitz by tram to the center of Lübeck. There Wright met them with his gun drawn and tried to maintain military discipline .

Like the Lübeckischen ads in its evening edition of the 6th under Latest News vermeldeten, the brigade commander in the evening in his was business room in the Brown Street no. 11 of mutineers arrested and led away to the station. All is located in Hamburg senior officers were on the evening of 6 November 1918 in the "Hotel International" At the station no. 17 , interned . The Lübeck Soldiers' Council lifted both the district and brigade command on the 7th .

However, the ghost ended within a day. So the service in the district command was resumed on November 11th. According to an order from the Lübeck Soldiers' Council, senior officers were no longer allowed to be used. They would switch sides not for reasons of conviction but rather for reasons of opportunity . The brigade command remained vacant until the return of the staff on November 25th. The staff was warmly welcomed by the Lübeckers, as the Lübeck newspapers falsely announced the regiment's return for that day.

When Wright retired from service after the war , he settled in his last peace garrison. He joined the NSDAP before his death .

References

literature

  • CA Starke: Genealogical manual of the nobility. 1976, p. 191.
  • Herrmann von Loßberg: Officer master list of the Fusilier Regiment von Gersdorff (Kurhessischen) No. 80: 1813-1913. ES Mittler & Sohn , Berlin 1913.
  • Hans Dechend: History of the Fusilier Regiment von Gersdorff (Hess.) No. 80: and his regular regiment of the Electoral Hessian Life Guard Regiment from 1632 to 1900. ES Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1901.
  • Hans Dechend: History of the Fusilier Regiment von Gersdorff (Kurhessisches). Elwert'sche University and Publishing Bookstore, Berlin 1913.
  • Ernst-Heinrich Schmidt: Heimatheer and Revolution 1918. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt , Stuttgart 1981, ISBN 3-421-06060-6 .

Web links

Commons : Harry von Wright  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Dechend: History of the Fusilier Regiment von Gersdorff (Hess.) No. 80: and his regular regiment of the Kurhessischen Leibgarde Regiment from 1632 to 1900. ES Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1901, p. 575.
  2. ↑ Dechend: History of the Fusilier Regiment von Gersdorff (Hess.) No. 80: and his main regiment of the Kurhessischen Leibgarde-Regiment from 1632 to 1900. ES Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1901, S. 600f.
  3. ↑ Dechend: History of the Fusilier Regiment von Gersdorff (Hess.) No. 80: and his regular regiment of the Electoral Hessian Life Guard Regiment from 1632 to 1900. ES Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1901, p. 612.
  4. ↑ Dechend: History of the Fusilier Regiment von Gersdorff (Hess.) No. 80: and his regular regiment of the Kurhessischen Leibgarde-Regiment from 1632 to 1900. ES Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1901, p. 621.
  5. ↑ Dechend: History of the Fusilier Regiment von Gersdorff (Hess.) No. 80: and his regular regiment of the Electoral Hessian Life Guard Regiment from 1632 to 1900. ES Mittler & Sohn, Berlin 1901, p. 618.
  6. ↑ From Die Woche , No. 33, 1913
  7. ^ Military weekly paper . No. 92 of July 9, 1914, p. 2069.
  8. ^ Military weekly paper. No. 42 of October 5, 1918. p. 683.
  9. ↑ Create war memorials! In: Lübeckische Blätter . Born in 1915, No. 14, April 4, 1915 edition
  10. ↑ Arrival of exchange wounded. In: Lübeck advertisements. 166th vol., No. 261, edition dated June 6, 1916.
  11. ↑ Arrival of further exchange wounded. In: Lübeck advertisements. 166 vol., No. 268, edition dated June 9, 1916.
  12. ↑ Emperor's birthday. In: Father-city sheets. Born in 1917, No. 19, edition of February 4, 1917.
  13. ↑ At the end of the film Paths to Strength and Beauty from 1925, it is mentioned that until the end of the First World War, only male adolescents did physical exercise. They did this particularly in the military.
  14. ^ The Lübeck centenary of German gymnastics. In Father City Sheets. Born 1917, No. 27, edition of April 7, 1917.
  15. ↑ Chronicle. In: Father-city sheets. Born 1918, No. 13, edition of February 17, 1918.
  16. ↑ See also list of abandoned buildings in Lübeck: Wisbystraße
  17. ↑ Gunter Spraul: Der Franktireurkrieg 1914 , 1.9 The secret instructions of the General Staff from 1907: “Regulations for the fight in insurgent cities”, Frank & Timme , p. 40 f., ISBN 978-3-7329-0242-2
  18. ↑ The state of Germany at the end of the war was not reflected in the fact that a revolution broke out, but rather in the fact that it was not opposed. Only two generals had taken up arms to maintain military discipline. Besides Wright joined Hanover from Hänisch the Deputy Commanding General of the, X. Army Corps , the mutineers to the sword in his fist against. Only three imperial naval officers had agreed to sacrifice their lives on the SMS König for the black-white-red war flag and against the red cloth of the revolution.
  19. ^ The upheaval in Lübeck. , In: Lübeckische Blätter, vol. 60, number 46, edition of November 17, 1918, pp. 577-579.
  20. ↑ The resolution was published on November 21, 1918 in the Lübecker Volksbote on the last page, see here .
  21. ↑ Helmut Heiber : files of the party chancellery of the NSDAP: Reconstruction of ... Volumes 1–2, 1983, p. 834.
personal data
SURNAME Wright, Harry from
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wright, Harry Francis von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prussian officer, most recently lieutenant general
DATE OF BIRTH July 12, 1859
PLACE OF BIRTH Saarbrücken
DATE OF DEATH May 20, 1925
Place of death Rostock