Hermann von Speck

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Hermann von Speck

Hermann Speck , from 1914 Ritter von Speck (born August 8, 1888 in Munich , † June 15, 1940 near Pont-sur-Yonne ) was a German officer , most recently general of the artillery in World War II .

Life

origin

Hermann was the son of the Bavarian major general Maximilian Ritter von Speck and his wife Josefine, née Pfülf.

Military career

After attending a humanistic grammar school on July 18, 1907, Speck joined the 3rd field artillery regiment "Prince Leopold" of the Bavarian Army as a flag squire . There he was promoted to lieutenant on March 7, 1910 and graduated from the artillery and engineering school from October 1911 . Subsequently, Speck became adjutant of the second division.

As such, Bacon took after the outbreak of the First World War with his regiment to the border battles in Lorraine in part. In early September 1914, he took on his own initiative after a reconnaissance ride two guns against the village Gellenoncourt entrenched French troops, could force his artillery fire the enemy to give up and thus the 10th Infantry Regiment "King Ludwig" save the loss-house fighting. For this achievement, Speck was accepted into the Military Max Joseph Order on September 7, 1914 when he was awarded the Knight's Cross . Associated with this was the elevation into the personal nobility and from this point on he was allowed to call himself Ritter von Speck .

During the further course of the war, Speck was only deployed on the Western Front and took part in the Battle of Verdun , the fighting in the Argonne , Arras , and Flanders as well as the defensive battles between Somme and Oise . Most recently, he served as captain and adjutant to Artillery Commander No. 6.

After the Armistice in Compiègne , Speck returned home, where his staff was initially demobilized in Nuremberg on December 27, 1918 and finally dissolved. He then returned to his main regiment and, after demobilization, was tasked with installing a safety battery. With this volunteer corps , Speck took part in the suppression of revolutionary unrest in southern Bavaria , Landshut , Augsburg and Munich. In June 1919, his safety battery was incorporated into the Reichswehr Artillery Regiment 24 as the 1st battery, and Speck was thus taken over into the Provisional Reichswehr . After the formation of the Reichswehr he was u. a. active in the general staff of group command 2 in Kassel and later as adjutant to the chief of army command Wilhelm Heye in the Reichswehr Ministry. After further promotions, Speck became a colonel in command of the 10th Artillery Regiment of the Wehrmacht . On August 1, 1937, he was promoted to major general and on June 1, 1939 to lieutenant general . From March 1, 1938, Speck was in command of the 33rd Infantry Division .

He was the commander of the XXXXIII. Army Corps .

He was the first German general in World War II to be killed by French machine gun fire during the western campaign in France. Posthumously he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on October 17, 1940 and subsequently promoted to General of the Artillery with effect from June 1, 1940.

family

Speck married Melitta, nee Rogetzki, in 1919. The marriage produced a daughter.

Awards

literature

  • Rudolf von Kramer, Otto Freiherr von Waldenfels, Günther Freiherr von Pechmann: VIRTUTI PRO PATRIA. The Royal Bavarian Military Max Joseph Order of War Deeds and Book of Honor 1914–1918. Self-published by the Military Max Joseph Order. Munich 1966. pp. 413-414.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Veit Scherzer : Knight's Cross bearer 1939–1945. The holders of the Iron Cross of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and armed forces allied with Germany according to the documents of the Federal Archives. 2nd Edition. Scherzers Militaer-Verlag, Ranis / Jena 2007, ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2 , p. 712.
  2. ^ Jürgen Kraus: Handbook of the associations and troops of the German army 1914-1918. Part IX: Field Artillery. Volume 1. Verlag Militaria, Vienna 2007, ISBN 978-3-902526-15-1 , p. 129.
  3. ↑ a b c d Ranking list of the German Imperial Army. Ed .: Reichswehr Ministry . Mittler & Sohn publishing house . Berlin 1924. p. 149.
personal data
SURNAME Bacon, Hermann von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bacon, Hermann; Bacon, Hermann Ritter von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German officer, most recently general of the artillery in World War II
DATE OF BIRTH August 8, 1888
PLACE OF BIRTH Munich
DATE OF DEATH June 15, 1940
Place of death Pont-sur-Yonne